mystikegg.com - A Mystical Guide to Enlightenment

The question of human happiness is one that is both elusive and pervasive. We all strive to “be happy” and to enjoy as much happiness in our lives as possible, but what does happiness represent? What does the scientific community say about happiness and how does that correlate with the spiritual and mystical traditions?

Edward Diener at the University of Illinois has been dubbed Dr. Happiness. His research has focused on defining and measuring happiness and has come up with some interesting conclusions. Some of his observations include that on average most people in the world report being happy most of the time, self-reports of subjective well-being are accurate and correlate with others measures including biological measures, there are distinct types of happiness related to virtue and reason such as life satisfaction vs emotional states of pleasure, and personality factors such as extroversion and neuroticism are extremely important determinants of happiness. Those being considered more extroverted report feeling more happy emotions than those being neurotic have more negative emotions. Social conditions have much less to do with happiness than one would consider as long as basic needs are met, money on average does not represent a significant impact on happiness, however materialism and valuing money over other things such as relationships usually predicts negative well-being. Working toward goals and achieving them are sources of well being, and those that have strong relationships tend to be the happiest people. Dr. Diener also reports that there are significant cultural differences with respect to happiness. Latin societies are consistently happier than Asian societies, and those in Latin nations place more value on positive emotions than Asian nations. Happiness is also widely accepted as a desirable state by people throughout the world, happy people generally are better functioning and achieve more in life. People also seem to want to be happy for the right reasons not just out of hedonism.

Science has also correlated happiness with health and longevity in general. Those that are happy are more resistant to disease. The ends of DNA have sequences called telomeres that protect the vital genetic information contained within the DNA sequence and which as they shrink after each subsequent replication lead to aging. Studies in identical twins show that the twin with greater stress and by extrapolation less happiness have shorter telomeres. Other research with identical twins has shown that we are born with a happiness set-point or thermostat. With respect to the determinants of happiness 50% of the difference in happiness are determined by the set-point, 10% are based on life circumstance and 60% are unknown determinants of happiness. These unknown determinants could be related to our own behavior and choices or in other words our karma.

How does this correlate to spiritual practice and awareness? Most of the science agrees with the teachings of the Dalai Lama. Compassion, loving kindness and the importance of social relationships are very clearly advocated by most spiritual and mystical traditions. Calmness of mind can also correlate with happiness from the perspective of life satisfaction as a measure of happiness. In fact the Dalai Lama state in his book “The Art of Happiness” that the very purpose of life is to pursue happiness and to reduce suffering. Unhappiness and suffering are a result of illusion, stress, frustration and the cycle of samsara. In fact the Dalai Lama has suggested the route to happiness would be to understand the source of unhappiness or the lack of happiness and work on or repair that. Science has demonstrate that the striving for money and materialism does not bring happiness, but achieving ones goals and forming strong social relationships are key in being happy. As well from the Buddhist perspective of the Middle Way, the Four noble truths and the Eightfold Path the 60% of our happiness that is based on our behavior and choices is represented by our karma.

Spring is here, the sun is shining, the green of tulips are beginning to rise from their winters slumber. With the warm weather and all the joy and renewal it brings it also brings some other side effects. Ants. These misadventerous exploreres have found their way into my home. What to do when reaching for a can of Raid doesn’t seem quite right anymore?

Natural Insect Repellent

In the search for a natural solution to pests and insects I visited my local Grassroots store and was pleasantly surprised by an ingenious and organic solution. Diatomaceous Earth appears to be a white very fine powder. It is actually shells of microscopic one-cell creatures called diatoms. These creatures are close to prehistoric algae and live in oceans and fresh water. Diatoms have shells that are made of non-biodegradable silica (chemically identical to quartz and white sand), and have been falling to the floor of oceans and lakes for 150 million years.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is completely natural however there are treatement methods that create a crystalline type that can cause chronic lung irritation, this form is often used for pool use. The natural form is not harmful to humans, however it can be lethal to insects. It sticks to the exoskeleton of insects, blocking breathing holes and removes their protective wax coating. This causes the insect to become dehydrated and incapacitated. DE is effective for all manner of household insects and can be sprinkled around problem areas, doors, baseboards. When used as a barrier or border it repels insects and larger amounts applied directly are lethal within 12-36 hours.

For those who show loving kindness to all sentient beings including ants, using DE as border around entry points is a way of discouraging trespassing while not attempting to destroy the colony. This approach also works for slugs and snails when used as a border around gardens. My grandmother used to tend her garden lovingly using sheep manure and spread egg shells around her precious lettuce plants to prevent them from being eating by slugs. My grandmother was an organic gardener and didn’t even know it.

When looking at the microscopic remains of these ancient creatures one can not be but amazed at the beauty and simplicity of nature. A visual meditation on the many unique and organic structures of these diatoms is sure to bring one to a sense of awareness beyond themselves.

Here is another tribute to Carl Sagan, one of the most beloved astronomers of our time. This video captures the vastness and sheer enormity of our universe. The video is truly awe inspiring. Set to the music of Pink Floyd it creates a mystical sense of the eternal and infinite. I have always thought that the intro to Shine on You Crazy Diamond captured something ethereal, the music of the universe, the music of our consciousness becoming aware of itself.

The Holographic Universe is a “must read” for anyone with an open, inquiring mind and a curiosity about the cosmos in which we reside. You are likely to find the material presented here to be nothing short of astounding. The ramifications for humanity are staggering as this book seriously challenges the basis for our cultural view of reality: materialism. After reading The Holographic Universe, you will understand why so many people are starting to say that a paradigm shift in our science and culture is at hand.Science’s orthodoxy still resists abandoning materialism, but the scientific handwriting has been on the wall ever since 1905 when Einstein delivered his papers on Special Relativity and The Photovoltaic Effect. Subsequent research in Quantum Mechanics (sub-atomic physics) continues to usher us away from materialism and toward something far more interesting. History has shown us that radically new advances in worldviews almost never occur with the blessing of the Old Guard; it invariably takes fresh new minds to accept change of such magnitude. So it is with our society. As we move into the next millennium, concepts similar to those presented by Talbot will become mainstream and commonplace. As a result, our society will also be transformed.The concepts presented in this book are a cornerstone of Quanta-Gaia — the quest to better understand the cosmos and our role in it. After reading this book, you will either dismiss it as fantasy, like so many dismissed Einstein’s papers in 1905, or you will be impressed by the magnitude of change which is at hand.

Indeed, it quickly became apparent to the ever growing number of scientists who came to embrace the holographic model that it helped explain virtually all paranormal and mystical experiences, and in the last half-dozen years or so it has continued to galvanize researchers and shed light on an increasing number of previously inexplicable phenomena. For example:

In 1980 University of Connecticut psychologist Dr. Kenneth Ring proposed that near-death experiences could be explained by the holographic model. Ring, who is president of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, believes such experiences, as well as death itself, are really nothing more than the shifting of a person’s consciousness from one level of the hologram of reality to another.

In 1985 Dr. Stanislav Grof, chief of psychiatric research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, published a book in which he concluded that existing neurophysiological models of the brain are inadequate and only a holographic model can explain such things as archetypal experiences, encounters with the collective unconscious, and other unusual phenomena experienced during altered states of consciousness.

At the 1987 annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Dreams held in Washington, D.C., physicist Fred Alan Wolf delivered a talk in which he asserted that the holographic model explains lucid dreams (unusually vivid dreams in which the dreamer realizes he or she is awake). Wolf believes such dreams are actually visits to parallel realities, and the holographic model will ultimately allow us to develop a “physics of consciousness” which will enable us to begin to explore more fully these other-dimensional levels of existence.

In his 1987 book entitled Synchronicity: The Bridge Between Matter and Mind, Dr. F. David Peat, a physicist at Queen’s University in Canada, asserted that synchronicities (coincidences that are so unusual and so psychologically meaningful they don’t seem to be the result of chance alone) can be explained by the holographic model. Peat believes such coincidences are actually “flaws in the fabric of reality.” They reveal that our thought processes are much more intimately connected to the physical world than has been hitherto suspected.

These are only a few of the thought-provoking ideas that will be explored in this book. Many of these ideas are extremely controversial. Indeed, the holographic model itself is highly controversial and is by no means accepted by a majority of scientists. Nonetheless, and as we shall see, many important and impressive thinkers do support it and believe it may be the most accurate picture of reality we have to date.The holographic model has also received some dramatic experimental support. In the field of neurophysiology numerous studies have corroborated Pribram’s various predictions about the holographic nature of memory and perception. Similarly, in 1982 a landmark experiment performed by a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Optics, in Paris, demonstrated that the web of subatomic particles that compose our physical universe — the very fabric of reality itself — possesses what appears to be an undeniable “holographic” property. These findings will also be discussed in the book.

In addition to the experimental evidence, several other things add weight to the holographic hypothesis. Perhaps the most important considerations are the character and achievements of the two men who originated the idea. Early in their careers, and before the holographic model was even a glimmer in their thoughts, each amassed accomplishments that would inspire most researchers to spend the rest of their academic lives resting on their laurels. In the 1940s Pribram did pioneering work on the limbic system, a region of the brain involved in emotions and behavior. Bohm’s work in plasma physics in the 1950s is also considered landmark.

But even more significantly, each has distinguished himself in another way. It is a way even the most accomplished men and women can seldom call their own, for it is measured not by mere intelligence or even talent. It is measured by courage, the tremendous resolve it takes to stand up for one’s convictions even in the face of overwhelming opposition. While he was a graduate student, Bohm did doctoral work with Robert Oppenheimer. Later, in 1951, when Oppenheimer came under the perilous scrutiny of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Committee on Un-American Activities, Bohm was called to testify against him and refused. As a result he lost his job at Princeton and never again taught in the Umted States, moving first to Brazil and then to London.

Early in his career Pribram faced a similar test of mettle. In 1935 a Portuguese neurologist named Egas Moniz devised what he believed was the perfect treatment for mental illness. He discovered that by boring into an individual’s skull with a surgical pick and severing the prefrontal cortex from the rest of the brain he could make the most troublesome patients docile. He called the procedure a prefrontal lobotomy, and by the 1940s it had become such a popular medical technique that Moniz was awarded the Nobel Prize. In the 1950s the procedure’s popularity continued and it became a tool, like the McCarthy hearings, to stamp out cultural undesirables. So accepted was its use for this purpose that the surgeon Walter Freeman, the most outspoken advocate for the procedure in the United States, wrote unashamedly that lobotomies “made good American citizens” out of society’s misfits, “schizophrenics, homosexuals, and radicals.”

During this time Pribram came on the medical scene. However unlike many of his peers, Pribram felt it was wrong to tamper so recklessly with the brain of another. So deep were his convictions that while working as a young neurosurgeon in Jacksonville, Florida, he opposed the accepted medical wisdom of the day and refused to allow any lobotomies to be performed in the ward he was overseeing. Later at Yale he maintained his controversial stance, and his then radical views very nearly lost him his job.

Bohm and Pribram’s commitment to stand up for what they believe in, regardless of the consequences, is also evident in the holographic model. As we shall see, placing their not inconsiderable reputations behind such a controversial idea is not the easiest path either could have taken. Both their courage and the vision they have demonstrated in the past again add weight to the holographic idea.

One final piece of evidence in favor of the holographic model is the paranormal itself. This is no small point, for in the last several decades a remarkable body of evidence has accrued suggesting that our current understanding of reality, the solid and comforting sticks-and stones picture of the world we all learned about in high-school science class, is wrong. Because these findings cannot be explained by any of our standard scientific models, science has in the main ignored them. However, the volume of evidence has reached the point where this is no longer a tenable situation.

To give just one example, in 1987, physicist Robert G. Jahn and clinical psychologist Brenda J. Dunne, both at Princeton University, announced that after a decade of rigorous experimentation by their Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory, they had accumulated unequivocal evidence that the mind can psychically interact with physical reality. More specifically, Jahn and Dunne found that through mental concentration alone, human beings are able to affect the way certain kinds of machines operate. This is an astounding finding and one that cannot be accounted for in terms of our standard picture of reality.

It can be explained by the holographic view, however. Conversely, because paranormal events cannot be accounted for by our current scientific understandings, they cry out for a new way of looking at the universe, a new scientific paradigm. In addition to showing how the holographic model can account for the paranormal, the book will also examine how mounting evidence in favor of the paranormal in turn actually seems to necessitate the existence of such a model.

The fact that the paranormal cannot be explained by our current scientific worldview is only one of the reasons it remains so controversial. Another is that psychic functioning is often very difficult to pin down in the lab, and this has caused many scientists to conclude it therefore does not exist. This apparent elusiveness will also be discussed in the book.

An even more important reason is that contrary to what many of us have come to believe, science is not prejudice-free. I first learned this a number of years ago when I asked a well-known physicist what he thought about a particular parapsychological experiment. The physicist (who had a reputation for being skeptical of the paranormal) looked at me and with great authority said the results revealed “no evidence of any psychic functioning whatsoever.” I had not yet seen the results, but because I respected the physicist’s intelligence and reputation, I accepted his judgment without question. Later when I examined the results for myself, I was stunned to discover the experiment had produced very striking evidence of psychic ability. I realized then that even well-known scientists can possess biases and blind spots.

Unfortunately this is a situation that occurs often in the investigation of the paranormal. In a recent article inAmerican Psychologist, Yale psychologist Irvin L. Child examined how a well-known series of ESP dream experiments conducted at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, had been treated by the scientific establishment. Despite the dramatic evidence supportive of ESP uncovered by the experimenters, Child found their work had been almost completely ignored by the scientific community. Even more distressing, in the handful of scientific publications that had bothered to comment on the experiments, he found the research had been so “severely distorted” its importance was completely obscured.

How is this possible? One reason is science is not always as objective as we would like to believe. We view scientists with a bit of awe, and when they tell us something we are convinced it must be true We forget they are only human and subject to the same religious, philosophical, and cultural prejudices as the rest of us. This is unfortunate for as this book will show, there is a great deal of evidence that the universe encompasses considerably more than our current worldview allows.

But why is science so resistant to the paranormal in particular? This is a more difficult question. In commenting on the resistance he experienced to his own unorthodox views on health, Yale surgeon Dr. Bernie S. Siegel, author of the best-selling book Love, Medicine, and Miracles, asserts that it is because people are addicted to their beliefs. Siegel says this is why when you try to change someone’s belief they act like an addict.

There seems to be a good deal of truth to Siegel’s observation, which perhaps is why so many of civilization’s greatest insights and advances have at first been greeted with such passionate denial. We are addicted to our beliefs and we do act like addicts when someone tries to wrest from us the powerful opium of our dogmas. And since Western science has devoted several centuries to not believing in the paranormal, it is not going to surrender its addiction lightly.

I am lucky. I have always known there was more to the world than is generally accepted. I grew up in a psychic family, and from an early age I experienced firsthand many of the phenomena that will be talked about in this book. Occasionally, and when it is relevant to the topic being discussed, I will relate a few of my own experiences. Although they can only be viewed as anecedotal evidence, for me they have provided the most compelling proof of all that we live in a universe we are only just beginning to fathom, and I include them because of the insight they offer.

Lastly, because the holographic concept is still very much an idea in the making and is a mosaic of many different points of view and pieces of evidence, some have argued that it should not be called a model or theory until these disparate points of view are integrated into a more unified whole. As a result, some researchers refer to the ideas as the holographic paradigm. Others prefer holographic analogy, holographic metaphor, and so on. In this book and for the sake of diversity I have employed all of these expressions, including holographic model and holographic theory, but do not mean to imply that the holographic idea has achieved the status of a model or theory in the strictest sense of these terms.

In this same vein it is important to note that although Bohm and Pribram are the originators of the holographic idea, they do not embrace all of the views and conclusions put forward in this book. Rather, this is a book that looks not only at Bohm and Pribram’s theories, but at the ideas and conclusions of numerous researchers who have been influenced by the holographic model and who have interpreted it in their own sometimes controversial ways.

Throughout this book I also discuss various ideas from quantum physics, the branch of physics that studies subatomic particles (electrons, protons, and so on). Because I have written on this subject before, I am aware that some people are intimidated by the term quantum physics and are afraid they will not be able to understand its concepts. My experience has taught me that even those who do not know any mathematics are able to understand the kinds of ideas from physics that are touched upon in this book. You do not even need a background in science. All you need is an open mind if you happen to glance at a page and see a scientific term you do not know. I have kept such terms down to a minimum, and on those occasions when it was necessary to use one, I always explain it before continuing on with the text.

So don’t be afraid. Once you have overcome your “fear of the water,” I think you’ll find swimming among quantum physics’ strange and fascinating ideas much easier than you thought. I think you’ll also find that pondering a few of these ideas might even change the way you look at the world. In fact, it is my hope that the ideas contained in the following chapters will change the way you look at the world. It is with this humble desire that I offer this book.

Originally published on Indigenous Weather Modification

I don’t want to spread negativity and fear in any way through this blog, however sometimes we need to question the world and reality we find ourselves in and in becoming aware of our surroundings we can make a conscious effort to create peace and harmony in the world. The question of why we fight is critical to understanding the barriers in place to a more peaceful planet and our role in that either actively or through complacency and ignorance.The documentary “Why we Fight” is enlightening in the current state of the world and how we are moving away from a more peaceful and secure world to one of increasing confrontation and escalating violence. We need to focus on peace and pacifism if that is we want in this world, not the exportation of freedom and democracy. Freedom and democracy at what price, are these virtues not sullied and dirtied by the very act of forcing it on others? We need to focus on non-violent solutions to problems and to start we must look at our own thoughts and actions in our daily interaction with others in times of conflict. We can change the world by changing ourselves. The following quote by President Eisenhower at the end of his term shortly after the end of the second world war brings to light the reality of our times.

“That we recognize the imperative need for this development, yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources & livelihood are all involved so is the very structure of society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

Carl Sagan was one of the most popularized astronomers of our time. His series Cosmos in 1980 brought the wonders of an infinite universe to the living rooms of a generation. Although Carl was an atheist his views on the nature of humanity are reminiscent of the mystics, and contemplative thinkers throughout history. Although Carl relied on the objective and precise lens of science to come to his realizations, many have also come to the same realizations through meditation, and other contemplative practices espoused in Buddhism and Christian mysticism. When the isolation of each individual is taken deeper into a meditative state an awareness arises that reveals the oneness of everything in existence. There are no boundaries between anyone or anything, only those that we have come to perceive as real.

When broken down to the smallest particles, solid matter appears virtually empty. Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2, energy = mass x the square of the speed of light, demonstrates that everything in the universe is a form of energy. Quantum physicists have been searching for the unifying theory that will integrate Einstein’s Theory of Relativity with the the laws of electromagnetism. This Theory of Everything using concepts such as String Theory attempts to understand and quantify the unknowable. These laws and theories are only the shadow cast by the illumination of a cosmic consciousness of the reality and nature of the universe. This cosmic consciousness is a common thread that unifies all things in the universe, including all of humanity. The only reason that these distinctions become important is that we start to realize we are one with the universe and develop compassion and loving kindness for all sentient beings and to nurture and care for the only home we have ever known. Watch the video with a quote from Carl Sagan on the Pale Blue Dot, a picture of earth taken from 139 million kilometers away from the vantage point of Mars.

On the same note as my last post organic cotton is one way to lessen our footprint on the planet. The cultivation of cotton accounts for 50% of the worlds pesticide use. There are cool and fashionable alternatives.  Check out Natural High Lifestyles based out of Santa Monica, California. They offer a range of cool clothes and yoga gear made from hemp and organic cotton. If you need some inspiration check out this video.

How To Go Further: A Guide to Simple Organic Living with Woody Harrelson and Friends

This book is based on the film Go Further by Ron Mann and chronicles the journey of Woody Harrelson and a group of rag tag friends on the Simple Organic Living Tour. The tour started in Seattle and made its way down the West coast to the outskirts of Los Angeles bringing the message of leaving a lighter footprint on the earth to all those willing to listen. I came across this book after watching a documentary on Woody Harrelson and discovered his passion for yoga, Hawaii, and living an organic lifestyle. Things that I have also come to have a passion for. It seemed to me that Woody had found nirvana on his ranch in Hawaii, spending a couple of hours doing yoga everyday, learning to become a vegetarian and vegan, and just hanging island style. I had always been interested in the alternative environmental and cultural creative lifestyle but always felt like an observer looking in. This book along with other similar documentaries opened my eyes to an alternative way of life that critically looks at the impact of the activities we take for granted each day.

As defined in the law of karma, our actions have consequences and we are bound by them, whether or not we are conscious of how they may manifest in the world around us. The increasing rates of obesity and type II diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, infertility, deforestation, global warming, contamination of our fresh water and food supply are all a result, direct or indirect of the corporatization and privatization of our society. When everything we touch and consume is brought to us through channels of production and distribution that have only profit as their motivator, society suffers. When profit comes before the health and well-being of the animals we eat, the water supply we drink, and the health of the environment in general, the cost associated with the resulting societal problems is not factored into the cost of goods that have created the problem.

In the business world human health and well being, and that of the planet are considered ‘externalities’ and as such are not factored into decisions on how those goods are produced. This book explores some of the practices of corporate America that are problematic for the long-term survival of the human species and the health of the planet. Our planet has overcome many cataclysmic events including meteors that have wiped out the dinosaurs. The planet kept spinning and life of a different nature came to exist. We are not in any danger of destroying the planet, just making it uninhabitable for humans and most species alive today. The book offers real examples of how to live a more sustainable lifestyle, lesson the impact and leave a lighter footprint on the earth. It is a place to start for those seeking to become more aware of their impact on the planet and reach higher states of consciousness in order to create a better world.

Check out Woody and Laura’s website VoiceYourself more resources.

David Lynch is known for his bizzare, disturbing and eccentric movies including Mulholland Drive, his TV series Twin Peaks. and his newest film Inland Empire. He is also increasingly becoming known as an advocate for transcendental meditation which invokes the repetitive incantation of a specific sound or mantra. This allows one to disengage from the continuous stream of thoughts and to transcend the mind. David has expressed the desire to set up meditation cafes in each city of the world so that anyone at anytime could join a community of other meditators the theory being that as more people achieve higher states of consciousness this would have a ripple effect on the collective subconscious and affect world change and peace. This concept ties into the idea I have described in an earlier post on the nature of reality.

I have been a fan of David’s movies in an attempt to ascertain the underlying meaning in the cryptic and non-linear plots of his movies and his penetration of the darker side of reality. My challenge in being an unadulterated fan is how his films are so disturbing that I question the value in putting out more darkness and negativity into the world. These dark films seem to be in stark contrast to the theme of higher states of consciousness toward bringing about peace in the world. The only way I can reconcile these apparent contradictions in David’s philosophy and his films is that he is making a point that there is darkness in the world that needs to be overcome, that fear and negativity need to be transcended. Apart from that, had David made Disney movies nobody would probably be paying any attention to his views on transcendental meditation.

For those of you who have children you know what I am talking about, for those that don’t you most certainly have heard of the terrible twos. What they don’t tell most parents is that the terrible two start around 14 months and peaks around 24 months. That’s 10 months of coping of your little angel turning into a little monster. What rears its head during this period is a child’s sense of self or ego. The child identifies with the concept of ‘me’ being separate from others and ‘me’ or ‘I’ is all that matters. Of course your child still loves you and needs you as long as you meet their needs and gratify all their desires. That being said your child also needs to learn boundaries and compassion and empathy for others. This is where the challenge comes in and the strength and tenacity of the ego is clearly manifested. Apart from the interest that most parents would have in this, it is also an interesting case study for anyone attempting to transcend the ego and the self on the path towards enlightenment.

My son is now is 18 months, right in the midst of his self assertion, and we just brought home a brand new baby girl. This has been quite difficult for my son.  Just as he has been enjoying his place at the center of his universe, the apple cart is upset and baby #2 is taking away the spotlight of mom and dad’s love and attention. How has he responded to this? Well, he has been screaming and crying at times inconsolably with us left dumbfounded on how to handle his ‘me-me’ meltdowns. My wife has read all the books and searched the web for the best advice which is basically to let them cry or in our case scream it out, or try to reach out through compassion and empathy. It becomes a battle of the wills, baby superego in one corner and weary mom and dad in the other. It is hard for any parent to hear their child cry in distress, though usually you can tell a whining cry from an all out hysterical cry. Regardless it is hard on the nerves and the heart. I have felt at times that this must being doing damage to his brain, as with prolonged exposure to stress hormones the brain remodels itself in an adaptive capacity that can lead to psychological and psychiatric problems. However the real damage of allowing the ego to take hold and for a child to lose the ability to show empathy and compassion is also a very real concern. These are the woes of a parent, never really knowing what is best for your child and attempting to do the most amount of good with the least amount of harm. In the end I think my son’s brain is probably more resilient than mine and it will be a much easier lesson to learn now then when on his own in the world.

For those on the path toward enlightenment these episodes demonstrate how powerful the ego is in its attempt to assert itself. In your own practice you may find that your ego is still as tenacious and difficult to let go of in adult hood as in childhood. When really breaking ground and having achieved a sense of satori or of the oneness that defines everything, the ego will do its best to assert itself and railroad any attempts of letting it drift on memory bliss. It is at these times when you are closest to realizing your own non-duality and divinity that the ego will strike out. This is why the ego must be transcended and not rejected. When we transcend the ego we accept who we are in this physical realm and feel most acutely all of our physical desires, needs and wants, but we see beyond this to the greater realization that these cravings and impulses do not define us. We are a pure spirit that is a witness to the beauty, complexity and even ugliness that manifests in the world. In order for us to find peace we need to let go of our attachment to these things which our ego has labeled good and bad, black and white and experiences, the totality and oneness, the “I-am-ness” of each and every moment.

All this is great in a metaphysics class, but what about my screaming toddler? Having compassion for what my son must be going through helps a great deal in having patience and discipline to help him through this difficult passage. I can’t claim that I have never felt anger and frustration rising in me as he is throwing a fit, however focusing on my own inner witness helps to transcend this particular rite of passage for my son and for me as a father. At the conclusion of one of his episodes he always comes to me for comfort and security. Our shared love and compassion helps us both to transcend and overcome this traumatic experience. I know that I am helping my son learn to deal and manage with the manifestation of his ego and I am learning to rest in pure spirit and love unconditionally.