Happiness requires courage to face the light

Love and fear are the deepest, most powerful emotions known to humankind. Every feeling and every action can be traced back to one or the other. And what is the source of these two fundamental emotions, love and fear?

Fear can be either primary or secondary. Primary fear is instinctual. Birds fly away when the cat comes near; dogs bark at a strange noise or unfamiliar face; baseball players lurch away to miss being hit by an oncoming pitch. Secondary fear is unconscious—the fear of fear itself. It is crippling. A man once bitten by a snake remembers his fright, and now fears snakes of all kinds.

 

Ego is the source of all secondary fear. It is grounded in the belief that we are separated beings in the world, which in turn gives rise to a deep sense of insecurity (i.e. fear) about our existence. Consequently, ego is madly in search of security, of certainty, of permanence, in any form it can find. This is why we attach to ideas, beliefs, and possessions so firmly. We fear that without them, we will die. We fear our own fear of death.

Facing Spirit’s Light Is Finding Inner Peace

Spirit is the source of light, love, freedom, happiness, and joy. Yet as much as we want these things, ego is afraid of them. Ego fears that light will snuff out its craving for permanence, certainty, and security—which of course is to snuff out ego itself. To ego, therefore, light portends its own death. In fact, what Spirit will do is snuff out the pain caused by ego’s craving for permanence, certainty, and security. The end of our pain lies in our courage to face the fear of letting go of ego—of that which causes our pain.

How do you let go of ego? There are a number of ways to find help: spiritual seminars, peace of mind books, and spiritual meditation—including transcendental mediation—are a few ways to get started. Whichever path you take, in the end, letting go of ego is having the courage to face it. And to face ego down you must first locate it within yourself, then watch it and learn its insidious ways. Indeed, there is no subject on earth that deserves more scrutiny that the study of your own ego. Not only your personal happiness, but also the fate of the planet depends on this kind of study.

Visit www.beyondtheego.com to learn how Beyond the Ego, which earned a five-star rating (out of five) by Foreword Clarion Review, can help you gain the courage to face Spirit’s light and rid yourself of the painful influence of ego.