Rune

thanks michael, that would be good. just looking at what I wrote in my last post, I think what I really believe when it comes to this subject was best summed up in the first two sentences: "'ego', in the sense I have been working on, is not who I am, but who I am not. ego is a real aspect of the self only in as much as it is a bunch of lies we have adopted at some time during our spirit's existence." I guess I am interested in hearing more about what you call the 'narcissistic self' of ego. I would not regard the ego as deserving in any way of the title 'self'. I see it as nothing but a lie to my true self: "By going "into" the self you can learn of the universe, and this I find true. It has nothing to do with the narcissistic self of "ego." to me, ego is something people learn to rely on as a kind of security. throughout the spiritual process, there becomes an awareness that ego is a hinderance. it's somewhere along this point that the ego becomes not narcissistic in the sense that it shows its true colours as nothing but a deceiver. now the challenge seems to be to shake the ego with hopes to be left only with the pure self. so two questions I have are: do you believe that ego deserves recognition as 'belonging' to the self? and: do you believe ego is something to always be taking holidays from (going "into" the self), or can it be left behind altogether so that all that remains is true self? my answers would be no to the first question and yes to the second. sam

ben tolman

'ego', in the sense I have been working on, is not who I am, but who I am not. ego is a real aspect of the self only in as much as it is a bunch of lies we have adopted at some time during our spirit's existence. this is my belief at this stage: there are hitchikers trying to suffocate our spirits, lying to us, making the path forwards unclear. to believe in "the child" within is to function more on simple instincts rather than be tricked by the lies of spirits telling us how we could be "better than" - that is, different to who we are. I believe 'listening' and not 'doing' is the way further from the trail. innocence is lost if temptation is given in to. and stopping to listen could see the loss of that innocence. instinct knows the way home. that's not to say life can't be the most amazing experience anyone could imagine. the limits of man's endurance are understood by the unquestionable knowledge of the essence. working for peace is a job that is always paid in full. how do you get more than just a feeling of trust in those words? I think there needs to be an awareness of self. so that all the 'demons' if you will have no 'handle' on your soul - no temptations to offer you that you can't easily, flatly refuse. there is a spiritual path for those ready to start going down it, but the first step is to show some kind of serious attempt at working out what is "right" and "wrong", and where "right" and "wrong" fits into your life. it takes sacrifice. constant sacrifice that gets easier as time goes on. as you become more of the 'real' person within.

understanding yourself is not looking at yourself from without. understanding yourself is to be completely within. so the only point of view you see yourself is your own, not from out side of you as if you were looking at a mirror.

michael, I don't know if I believe we 'fall' in this lifetime necessarily. I just heard something recently on the radio about serial killers and the majority of them torturing bugs and little animals when they were kids. I think a child like that is not born into the world innocent, but innocence was lost quite some time ago. to not have that 'human' understanding that something like that is wrong - because it would make you feel terrible to cause suffering on another individual - is to not know 'humanness'.

I think we need to know what this discussion is about - 'knowing thyself' or 'knowing yourself'? because the example horatio used was his mother telling him 'you don't even know yourself'. I think every soul has a personality. maybe it's shaped by the body, living circumstances etc. but there is a true person that you are. you probably knew this person best when you were a kid. and the further we get away from this true self by making 'improvements' to who we are: "hey man, I look so cool when I stand like this", the more lost we are. knowing thyself is, as michael pointed out, a completely different thing.

I think knowing yourself is being aware of (that is, sensitive to) everything you are saying or doing. and I think that's very important.

god and ganja from christians for cannabis

I know exactly what it feels like to be not happy with something. clarity is everything. simplicity and clarity. so you can get the point across without anyone having to reach for their dictionaries or something. I'm rarely happy with what I write. especially after I've written it. sometimes I've thought "yeah, that's right on point" and been fueled with this ego boost which I really deserve, because I have a low self esteem. I want to feel good about things I do, and that means getting them as close to perfect as possible. I think perfection is possible, even if there are flaws, it doesn't mean it's not perfect, the way a tree branch grows "imperfect" if you put a ruler up to it, it would not be perfect. I am already unhappy with this post, but I'll post it anyway to demonstrate what I'm talking about. this paragraph is too big.it makes for a too big bunch of words to look at. I could make you strain a little less when reading this. there is no space between the "big" the full stop, and the "it" in the last post. there should be a comma after the "big" in the last sentence. I work this hard to give people good posts. I try as hard as I can to give people something that is easy to read. I even look at how the structure of the paragraphs 'balance' with each other. if it's an 'inspired' post, it will balance beautifully. I'm strange. a wierdo, but I have an enormous heart, and the best intentions. I don't want problems with anyone. this has turned into a post for the 'self' thread, so I'll stop here. I am really really unhappy with this post. in a way I feel like I shouldn't be posting it, but it's meant to demonstrate something about reaching your highest goals while still having absolute and undeniable respect for god.

a place where I come for a lot of my spiritual inspiration

connecting with god man and mother nature working in unison. man using "mary jane" and other (all feminine) natural substances are also ways to find god again

I like michael's answer the best: the ability to be observed.

life is not 'created' by feminine, but moulded and nurtured after the magical moment of genesis. BOTH masculine and feminine trying to take love they are not worthy of leads to destruction. only the strong will face the pain of going without love until they have paid for their sins. much time alone, thinking and avoiding too many mindless distractions is the way back to love.

btw make sure you stick around for the song to load! ;)

I can think of worse ways to waste five minutes of my time: http://www.lowmorale.co.uk/creep/flash/lm_creep_(FLASH).swf