Freeing yourself from the Oppression of Ego

Once an old Indian grandfather said to his grandson, “There are two wolves inside me, a black one and a white one. One hurts me and the other one helps me. And they are fighting to the death.” The little boy asked breathlessly, “Grandfather, which one will win?” And the old man answered, “The one I feed.”

Your mind can serve only one of two masters. It can serve the ego, or it can serve your higher Self, your true Heart. Whom your mind serves determines the quality and outcome of your life.

When the mind serves the ego you are embroiled in the drama of ‘I.’ There is always a underlying anxiety and sense of unease. Whether you’re sad or elated, fearful or bold, desperately lonely or the life of the party, you are locked in the prison of your mistaken identity.

It is a state of self-delusion, which makes you seek fulfillment in external things, the next success, the next temporary pleasure, the next distraction. From the point of view of one who seeks lasting fulfillment, this is hopeless.

External things have their place of course, and they need their rightful attention. But inevitably time will devour them all and to the extent you have sought happiness in temporal things, you will end up with nothing. This may sound harsh, but it is true and in your wisdom you already know that.

The work of awakening to your true Self is to leave behind the ego’s shallow pursuits and train the mind to serve the Heart. When it serves the Heart, it serves your true being. You know this from moments of true harmony, deep comfort, profound inspiration, or as the lifting of ancient burdens.

HeartSourcing meditation can enable you to taste the great harmony of your being, which is always present in the space of the Heart. With practice you will learn to nurture yourself from it deeply until self-love is second nature to you. This can transform your life. It empowers you to live in a state of unconditional love and become a blessing to all beings around you.

When the mind serves the Heart you are at home with yourself. The mind is clear and the Heart open. You live attuned to the great flow of life. You are in a state of peace. The sense of inner fulfillment can become so strong that it will not leave you, even in moments of great external upheaval and tension.

Just like training the Heart, we can also train the mind so it stops shutting down the Heart with stressful thoughts and emotions. For this we must overcome the conditioning to believe in the reality of the ego, and condition the mind for peace, wisdom and unconditional love.

In that task you have a powerful ally. It is your capacity to observe what is going on within you. It is the internal witness, the clarity of pure consciousness.

The sacred scriptures of India tell us a parable of two birds in a tree. One is busy building its nest, finding food, preening its feathers. The other bird is still and simply watches the first one. It is a metaphor for the capacity of the mind to observe the activities of life with complete clarity and serenity.

To discover this position of tranquil awareness is the key to gain freedom from our negative conditioning. It is a simple shift of perspective and you can do it whenever you remember it. Even in the thick of great drama, this observing mind is always neutral, simply watching the show, never involved in your pain or elation.

This is the position of pure consciousness and it is always present in you. Without it you would not be aware at all. When you ‘step into’ that observer position, the drama may still be going on, but now you are watching it from a calm, uninvolved space.

“Oh, look at that, I am indulging in my depression again. Isn’t that interesting!” Or, “Ah, I am blaming again.” Or, “I can see where that will go – rushing again into a relationship the same way that never turns out right.”

The witness doesn’t change anything. It does not get involved in the activities of mind and body. It just observes what is going on. And that changes everything, because when you are aware of what is going on, you are not identified with negative mental and emotional habits.

When you’re not identified with your drama, but observe it with a clear mind, you no longer feed these negative tendencies. And once you have stopped feeding them, they will melt away and set you free.

Now, instead of reinforcing your conditioning, you are strengthening the true Self. You are training yourself to live from a position of clarity and higher awareness. This will result in the mind shifting allegiance to the Heart.

With that the mind elevates itself beyond mere thinking and becomes intuitive intelligence, the deeper, effortless knowing of the wisdom mind.

Guided by intuitive knowing, life becomes increasingly effortless. You realize that there is a higher force living you, a divine hand guiding your every step. Then you open like a flower to a life of deep gratitude, being led by that invisible, loving hand on your way home. And home is always where the Heart is.

Much love,

Ram Giri