Self, Ego and Selflessness

     "... the end of polarities is the completion of all skillful means, all practices, and all methods that were used to surmount ignorance. When ignorance is no longer pitted against wisdom, there is nonreferenced ease. ... We have to extract the 'me' from our salvation and prohibit identification with the self's return. Many people can understand selflessness; few can keep the self from meddling its way back in. This is not accomplished by forcing but through understanding. To understand exactly what the self is is to end the self. Once understood, it assumes its rightful place in our functional lives but never again assumes a place of power and authority. It takes just one polarizing moment that has gone undetected for self-centered living to resume."

       Rodney Smith. Awakening. A Paradigm Shift of the Heart. Shambhala, Boston, 2014.

"polarities" refers to opposites, the divided mind, boundaries etc
"nonreferenced" means unconditional - independent of causes and conditions
"functional" a healthy ego is described in Western psychology as like a verb (functional) rather than a noun (a solid object)
"polarizing moment" as soon as we identify with one (versus another) view, opinion, preference, the fictional "solid self" is re-created. This imaginary solid "identity" causes suffering.

 

October near Lewis Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada

Stories of Me, Myself and I

     Stories we create are fascinating and constantly changing - hopefully evolving in a healthy direction.

     The "story of me" is considered to be an attempt to create a solid sense of self, "a storyline" within linear time. Such stories can be helpful if they inspire eg how we overcame obstacles in the past, or handicapping if we rigidly hold onto an image of ourselves as helpless victims.

     Stories, like memories, vary greatly in accuracy. Always arising in the present, both are strongly influenced by present inputs (needs, problems etc), not to mention plain old forgetfulness.

     Neither an abiding solid self, nor continuous linear time are supported by meditative experience (nor apparently by advanced physics). Instead, our self-concept and worldview appear to be paradigms - temporary simple models - of life, and how best to relate to it. It is the nature of scientific paradigms to be regularly replaced ie upgraded when additional data helps create a more accurate paradigm that better approximates complex reality.
     For a sense of agency, a self-concept is expedient, but it is more a verb than a noun, more a fluid process than a solid entity, more of an opening ...

     See also:

http://www.johnlovas.com/2012/01/who-am-i.html

http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/05/135-momentum-of-our-lives.html 

Photo: mefnj   www.dpreview.com