michael4422

So now I know what dropping the ego is. I've been seeing that my mind is the cause of my suffering and it drops away, albeit to some degree and temporarily.

What is left in it's place is nothing short of joy and peace. A seemingly healthy state of mind compared my otherwise tortured existence

All I'm doing now is asking myself how I'm mentally feeling throughout the day. If there is negativity (suffering), I notice that it is unpleasant and that I'm doing this to myself. I intuit the peace and calm available behind it. Then it drops away and I'm more in the present. The negativity can be worry, opinion, judgment, anxiety. Any form of ego inflation or belittling, negative self talk, etc.

I'm interested in anyone has techniques to foster this state of mind.

Michael

Anna

It's amazing, isn't it!

I found that Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" has helped me hugely in this area.

I also try to stop my thoughts when they turn into 'my story'. You know the thoughts that can pass through your mind 'I'm not a creative person', 'I'm not very organized'. They are the thoughts that you continuously tell yourself about yourself. If you can let go of those, you can open yourself up to enormous growth.

Sapling

I use the program of Alcoholics Anonymous...Very early on an oldtimer told me to check my ego at the door when I went to meetings. Humility equals teachability. It was great advice for a self-centered alkie like me. Self-centered - ego-centric...That's what got me into all the trouble I was in.

Boleo

Either you have studied Zen Buddhism at some point in the past or you are reinventing it.

http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/mindf...in_english.pdf

bayliss

I just began reading an amazing book...it is such an easy read and I think it is the first book where I stopped and said "wow".
I highly hiiiighly recommend it.
It is called "Buddha's Brain - The Neuroscience of Hapiness, Love and Wisdom" by Rick Hanson Ph.D. with Richard Mendius, MD. Of course it has some information in there on the brain - but it is all so interesting.
Amazon.com/.ca has it for a lower price then your local bookstores.

I actually might start a thread about it when I am done reading it.
But I am already more mindful of the way I am feeling and what I tell myself.

As the book says "if you can change your brain, you can change your life".

CaiHong

Hi and welcome Michael,

Sounds like you have been reading Eckhart Tolle.

I got sober with the support of AA and this forum and started reading Eckhart Tolle, I think it may have been Anna that mentioned him, (thanks Anna).

I had started searching for God \enlightened at an early age ended up consoling myself with alcohol. I understand now why I used alcohol to self medicate.

Coming up to one year sober I am beginning to lead a spiritual life, one with meaning.

I observe myself especially at times when my ego is at its most strident. What I have noticed I don't hold onto negative feelings as much or as long as I did before by practicing observation.
This is a topic I am very interested in.
Thanks for posting
Love
CaiHong

EternalQ

Regular daily meditation is what has parted the veil for me, Michael. I practice Vipassana meditation. But I hear all the paths lead there.

oh2exhale

Hi Michael- thanks for the share. Staying in the HOW-honest, open and willing. When I have a sincere desire to look past the end of my nose to serve others I feel a sense of humility and connection to mankind-I feel loving. It never lasts long because my ego arises from the dead like a zombie refusing to die ciompletely. Then a spot check step 10 and 11 brings me back to being fit enough for step 12 again.

Zencat

I am the cause of my suffering and I am also the way out of it. Regaining control over my life through instruction from those that are much wiser than me is liberating.

When blame, rationalization, concepts that strip me of my personal responsibility for ingesting harm full substances fall away, then there is only one I need to look at...me.

There is something simple about the singular. When everything is one, its no longer me.

artsoul

Eckhart Tolle is great..... and anything on mindfulness (there's a ton of stuff on the internet about it).

Very cool that this insight has come to you - it really does change our lives (to the point where we practice it, anyway!)

Michael66

Hi Michael,

To aid my recovery I am following a 32 week prayer retreat. The Christian view is very much letting go of the ego - as John the Baptist said "I must decrease, so that he [Jesus] may increase" (John 3:30). A great theme in the prayer retreat I am following is trusting in God, so in that way there is a very significant parallel to AA.

What I have personally found comforting is not only the relinquishing of the ego, but also the relinquishing of the burdens our ego and our drinking has caused. One of the most comforting passages for me in scripture is where Jesus says "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). That is not to say we relinquish personal responsibility or that we should not put things right where we can and should, but that we've handed the burden of our failings over to God, who knows everything about us and loves us all the same.

That's just my personal walk. I hope and pray that whatever path people are on they find healing from the hurt and damage of alcohol or other substances.

michael4422

ww.urbandharma.org/pdf/mindfulness_in_plain_english.pdf

That is a great book! Thanks. I'm just starting up my Vipassana practice again. I did a 10 day retreat last year but have fallen out of practice.

DisplacedGRITS

Humility, honesty and purging myself of self pity has really helped me in my sobriety. I often ind that my desire to drink arises when some balance in my mind is out of wack. When my ego gets out of control, i begin to believe that i have the power of moderation. I slow my roll, check my ego, bring my humility back into balance and the desire dies down. When i start to lie, my anxiety rises as does my desire to drink. Bring my honesty back in and my anxiety lowers and again the desire to drink wanes. Finally, when i catch a case of the woe is me's my self pity drives my desire to drink. Pulling my head out of my arse and recognizing the emotion as a negative state of mind with no positive outcome helps me banish it and the addictive behavior with it. Bringing balance into my life, neither manic nor depressed, has made my journey on the path of sobriety so much easier.

faceitandfixit

Awesome thread, Michael. I applaud you and everyone else for embarking on a journey towards finding our truest selves. I, too, have begun this pursuit and am simply in awe of the many discoveries I have made.
I have also been following Dr. Wayne Dyer. Has anyone watched "The Shift"? Powerful stuff. Dr. Dyer also talks about the ego, and uses it as an acronym for "edging God out". Regardless of one's faith, I personally have found that letting go of my ego has changed my perspective entirely.