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June 2008 
Discipline, E-go, and Energy of the Universe
Posted on Jun 6th, 2007
by 
Wabisabisatva
Wabisabisatva
Is it true that the less that we have to figure out about "what to do", on a daily basis the happier we are, or is this yet another way to distract ourselves from the unknown and emptiness that is life. Does routine mean the same thing as discipline? Is this the golden route to contentment, enlightenment. Don't think- just do. Just do the same thing everyday- then there is no question about what I am supposed to be doing... nothing to think about ...no mind ..yes this would seem like it was a good thing...more action - less neurotic thought that keeps us cycling in loops of internal processing with no external action in the world. I suppose that it comes back to if there is truly a difference between the internal and external that I am talking about.
Action in the world is like meditation....keep coming back to the breath and let the thought go....does that translate into keep coming back to being focused on the exact task that you have before you ...without letting any thoughts interrupt you? Like right in this moment - I am typing on this computer....I just typed the word computer...do I keep thinking about the fact that I just typed computer ...do I think about what I am going to type next....do I worry about what I want to type next....well in some ways - yes I am thinking about what I want to type next ...but if I begin to think about it too much, I become frozen - frozen in the loop of thought....perhaps it is not thought which is actually allowing me to type these words but instead a movement of energy - a movement of energy which is simply passing through me and over which I would like to imagine that I have control- I mean these are "my" words rights- this is "my" construction right--- or maybe it's not ....and maybe this is a relief- because then I have nothing to worry about...there is no wrong word ...what I am writing can't be wrong/right - it is just simply the neutral energy that is flowing through this particular entity that I like to call me...
But what if I just stopped the whole charade and decided that everyday ---I was going to let the energy of the universe simply pass through me....if I stopped thinking that it was all about me and what I am supposed to do in the world and instead, simply let it happen....wake up every morning and ask myself ....ok energy of the universe - how would you like to pass through me today? In what way will you manifest through this human form today? What a relief that would be....to stop the illusion of my little ego....maybe I can translate e-go into - "e" for energy and "go" for its desire to go somewhere - to do something....it is not an "I"go but an "e"go ....e is for the potential of that energy to move....
We can even move this concept into the context of literal psychological ego development - when we talk about someone whose ego is not fully developed ....or who is experiencing some sort of neurosis - aren't we just actually saying that this individual's energy is not functioning as it should.....for instance ----neurosis in some many cases is a repetition of thought - which causes a persons energy to become stuck in one repeating cycle....all the great spiritual teachers of the world have understood this - when they do something outrageous to simply knock someone out of this repeating energetic cycle....e-go - the ego actually wants to move- to wants to go ... and eventually it wants to disappear ....into the pure energy that it actually has always been..... I can't wait to become a fully e-go-centric being...to let all of that energy move out of my center ...and to let that rule the way that I live my life....imagine the possibilities of letting go of all the thoughts that we use to take us away from this energetic core....it's ironic how much energy we actually expend to try to keep us safe from this universal energetic law.....it reminds me of the feeling of trying to stop yourself from running down a steep hill....the more that you try to stop yourself from getting pulled by gravity ...the more energy that you actually expend...but there is something almost viscerally frightening to people about just letting go and letting yourself get pulled down that hill- at a high speed....everything starts moving so fast and you feel that you have no control...and you wonder if you will be able to stop when you want to .....this feeling ---- is literally allowing the energy of the universe to guide your life.....gravity wants you to run down that hill....actually gravity ...doesn't really care what "you" do ----it is simply doing what it does....moving objects in nature and you in that moment, in fact, in every moment are an object in nature....gravity is not worried about how fast it is carrying you....somehow, we need to translate this understanding back into the rest of our lives.....and usually, it is thoughts and their related feelings...which take us away from this understanding......thoughts are you trying to slow yourself down from truly getting carried along in the currents and energies of the universe....
However, we also know that without our hearts and our minds, the understanding of this motion and energy wouldn't be possible...so what is the balance between using ones heart and mind to experience the reality of energy and not letting our heart or our mind obscure our vision and experience of this reality....I suppose this is the ultimate spiritual task....having a heart and a mind is part of our toolbox as humans....these elements are actually channels through which energy may flow....but we must know how to navigate these channels....this is much of what the practice of meditation is all about...to recognize the nature to the mind, the heart, the body..... to connect with the experience of each of these - without becoming lost in any aspect....we must completely connect with these aspects and at the same time learn how to completely remove ourselves from these aspects. so - once again, there is an irony....I must utilize the discipline of the mind ..in order to have clarity in the understanding of how the energy of the universe is working through me ...I must consistently remind myself, a task of the disciplined mind- "reminding," that truly it is not about me, not about my ego, but about my "e"-go - about me allowing the energy of the universe to move through me....the origins of the word universe are interesting to keep in mind in this understanding. The Online Etymology dictionary says the following of the origin of the world universe: "the whole world, cosmos," from O.Fr. univers (12c.), from L. universum "the universe," noun use of neut. of adj. universus "all together," lit. "turned into one," from unus "one" versus, pp. of vertere "to turn" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=u&p=7). One, all encompassing turning, one all encompassing movement of energy.....to be part of the universe ...means to be part of a collective, unified, turning of energy.....so all one need do is to let oneself feel and to be moved by that which we are all already part of, anything other than this will undoubtedly cause undo suffering. So why not let yourself feel gravity...because it will be working on you regardless of whether or not you chose to acknowledge its presence.
Action in the world is like meditation....keep coming back to the breath and let the thought go....does that translate into keep coming back to being focused on the exact task that you have before you ...without letting any thoughts interrupt you? Like right in this moment - I am typing on this computer....I just typed the word computer...do I keep thinking about the fact that I just typed computer ...do I think about what I am going to type next....do I worry about what I want to type next....well in some ways - yes I am thinking about what I want to type next ...but if I begin to think about it too much, I become frozen - frozen in the loop of thought....perhaps it is not thought which is actually allowing me to type these words but instead a movement of energy - a movement of energy which is simply passing through me and over which I would like to imagine that I have control- I mean these are "my" words rights- this is "my" construction right--- or maybe it's not ....and maybe this is a relief- because then I have nothing to worry about...there is no wrong word ...what I am writing can't be wrong/right - it is just simply the neutral energy that is flowing through this particular entity that I like to call me...
But what if I just stopped the whole charade and decided that everyday ---I was going to let the energy of the universe simply pass through me....if I stopped thinking that it was all about me and what I am supposed to do in the world and instead, simply let it happen....wake up every morning and ask myself ....ok energy of the universe - how would you like to pass through me today? In what way will you manifest through this human form today? What a relief that would be....to stop the illusion of my little ego....maybe I can translate e-go into - "e" for energy and "go" for its desire to go somewhere - to do something....it is not an "I"go but an "e"go ....e is for the potential of that energy to move....
We can even move this concept into the context of literal psychological ego development - when we talk about someone whose ego is not fully developed ....or who is experiencing some sort of neurosis - aren't we just actually saying that this individual's energy is not functioning as it should.....for instance ----neurosis in some many cases is a repetition of thought - which causes a persons energy to become stuck in one repeating cycle....all the great spiritual teachers of the world have understood this - when they do something outrageous to simply knock someone out of this repeating energetic cycle....e-go - the ego actually wants to move- to wants to go ... and eventually it wants to disappear ....into the pure energy that it actually has always been..... I can't wait to become a fully e-go-centric being...to let all of that energy move out of my center ...and to let that rule the way that I live my life....imagine the possibilities of letting go of all the thoughts that we use to take us away from this energetic core....it's ironic how much energy we actually expend to try to keep us safe from this universal energetic law.....it reminds me of the feeling of trying to stop yourself from running down a steep hill....the more that you try to stop yourself from getting pulled by gravity ...the more energy that you actually expend...but there is something almost viscerally frightening to people about just letting go and letting yourself get pulled down that hill- at a high speed....everything starts moving so fast and you feel that you have no control...and you wonder if you will be able to stop when you want to .....this feeling ---- is literally allowing the energy of the universe to guide your life.....gravity wants you to run down that hill....actually gravity ...doesn't really care what "you" do ----it is simply doing what it does....moving objects in nature and you in that moment, in fact, in every moment are an object in nature....gravity is not worried about how fast it is carrying you....somehow, we need to translate this understanding back into the rest of our lives.....and usually, it is thoughts and their related feelings...which take us away from this understanding......thoughts are you trying to slow yourself down from truly getting carried along in the currents and energies of the universe....
However, we also know that without our hearts and our minds, the understanding of this motion and energy wouldn't be possible...so what is the balance between using ones heart and mind to experience the reality of energy and not letting our heart or our mind obscure our vision and experience of this reality....I suppose this is the ultimate spiritual task....having a heart and a mind is part of our toolbox as humans....these elements are actually channels through which energy may flow....but we must know how to navigate these channels....this is much of what the practice of meditation is all about...to recognize the nature to the mind, the heart, the body..... to connect with the experience of each of these - without becoming lost in any aspect....we must completely connect with these aspects and at the same time learn how to completely remove ourselves from these aspects. so - once again, there is an irony....I must utilize the discipline of the mind ..in order to have clarity in the understanding of how the energy of the universe is working through me ...I must consistently remind myself, a task of the disciplined mind- "reminding," that truly it is not about me, not about my ego, but about my "e"-go - about me allowing the energy of the universe to move through me....the origins of the word universe are interesting to keep in mind in this understanding. The Online Etymology dictionary says the following of the origin of the world universe: "the whole world, cosmos," from O.Fr. univers (12c.), from L. universum "the universe," noun use of neut. of adj. universus "all together," lit. "turned into one," from unus "one" versus, pp. of vertere "to turn" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=u&p=7). One, all encompassing turning, one all encompassing movement of energy.....to be part of the universe ...means to be part of a collective, unified, turning of energy.....so all one need do is to let oneself feel and to be moved by that which we are all already part of, anything other than this will undoubtedly cause undo suffering. So why not let yourself feel gravity...because it will be working on you regardless of whether or not you chose to acknowledge its presence.
Access: PublicTagged with: discipline, ego, energy, universe, suffering, gravity, routine, meditation, action, mind, emptiness, psychology, neurosis, enlightenment, thought, manifestation, illusion, heart, reality
>perhaps it is not thought which is actually allowing me to type these words but instead a movement of energy - a movement of energy which is simply passing through me and over which I would like to imagine that I have control…
Yes, what allows the thoughts? Like a wave. I can't have it, control it, grab it, stop it, understand it… but by golly I can ride it! :)
“maybe I can translate e-go into - “e” for energy and “go” for its desire to go somewhere - to do something….it is not an “I”go but an “e”go ….e is for the potential of that energy to move….”
~yes, Joko Beck has used this same translation in her teachings :)
Stuart Davis also has a great blog http:///twistedmystic.zaadz.com/blog/2007/3/the_secret_the_spirituality_of_narcissism where he delineates in great detail about ego, and the “self” as opposed to the “Self”.
I read a story of the Dalai Lama's first visit to America, he met with Doctoral students at Harvard and they asked him questions regarding “neuroses”, “self-loathing”, and “self-hatred” and he looked at the translator completely perplexed. He had no understanding of these things, they weren't part of his experience.
Thanks for a thoughtful, engaging post, Allison :)