Empowered Doing

Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission they are called to fulfill.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/mission-quotes)

I often wonder about the things we "do". I wonder about whether they are inspired by ego or the deeper part of us. I want to be involved in inspired action rather than egoic reaction and meaningless doing.

What about you?  What motivates the things you do?

Ego directed versus egoless doing

I know right off that the way I have approached Christmas over the years has been directed  by ego rather than my need for peace and spiritual connection. I allowed myself each and every year to get pulled by the current of what was going on around me. Ego was very dominant! I listened! Sure that pull is getting less and less, and I always have some wonderful egoless moments  each season but it is obvious ego is  still there. 

I also know that when I come here every morning...whether there is an ego intention sneaking around back stage or nor...these are primarily egoless moments.  The doing I do here is motivated by something much greater than ego. It  really is not so much about little me.  Hmmm!

How Do We Tell the Difference?

This morning I tapped into a conversation between Tami Simon ( founder of Sounds True publishing) and Eckhart Tolle. (Dec, 2019) ) In the video the difference between the two modes of doing is discussed. According to Tolle, we can usually recognize ego in our actions by:  our motivation, level of stress, the ease by which things are happening, how we react to obstacles, how present we are and how much we enjoy what we are doing. We can also determine what part of us in charge by who we perceive is doing the doing and for whom the doing is done.

What motivates you?

We may be able to recognize that ego is pushing us to act or accomplish something by our motivation.  What is motivating you to do the thing you are doing?  If you have a desire to fill in some major "gap" or sense of insufficiency in your life it is likely ego leading you forward.  If you have a desire for "more" success, money, things, recognition  or redemption...hmmm...probably ego.  If on the other hand you approach what you are doing with this knowing that you are already enough...than that is likely your higher Self leading you to act.

Many of us, including me, are seeking to find happiness and to end the sense of suffering we feel.  Too often enough we feel there is something missing in our lives, that we are less than and insufficient.  We therefore have to "do" something to get there and that doing often involves seeking outside ourselves.  This is always ego doing.  The higher Self already knows we are enough, have enough and the only action we need to take part in is inspired action that makes the world a better place.

How Stressed are you?

So how stressed are you in your attempt to meet an action goal?  Are you snappy and overcharged, over reacting to things that slow you down?  Do you neglect other things of equal or greater importance than your mission?  Are your muscles tense and is your body crying out with one form of dis-ease or another? If so...it may be ego leading your doing. Doing from the higher Self  certainly involves a level of intense focus but there is a certain peace in it that cannot be denied.  This level of intensity is enthusiastic rather than stressed.

I was very "stressed" over Christmas preparation...not enthusiastic. I am also quite stressed over certain things I write...only because I realize that ego is looking to gain a certain recognition for them.  As soon as ego steps into my writing or any of my doing...there is stress.


How easy is it for you to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish?

Are you struggling to meet your goals?  Do you find that there is just one thing going wrong after another?  Is it a constant uphill battle?  Hmmm.  Though obstacles and challenges are always present in any type of seeking, when ego is in charge things never seem to go easy.  We are not in the flow.  When the higher Self is guiding us, there is a certain ease, a certain flow.  The things in the external world that we need to help us achieve our goals just seem to show up and assist us. 

Writing my books did not seem challenging.  They just came out. One came out in less than four months.  Getting them published, however, is a totally different matter.  It seems like there is one obstacle after another.  Why?  The higher Self just wanted me to write the books.  It is ego that wants recognition, success, and payment for them.  I catch myself thinking sometimes, "Oh when they get published I will be more respected and understood then." I might be seeking more recognition than higher Self deems necessary. 

I also find obstacles in "writer's block" ...especially when it comes to finishing my sister's story.  Why?  Ego...once again got in the way. This story was meant as an expression of her, for her... but somehow it became about me.  Writer's block is just ego, I believe, stepping in front of the flow of what wants to pour out...it is like a dam wanting to control and redirect that flow. My sister's story is becoming more about what I can do to make  "little me" look good than it is about creativity. 

How do you react when you meet an obstacle?

So how do you respond when you hit a wall?  How do you react to the things  or people that seem to slow you down?  If you find yourself reacting with frustration, anger, hostility or any form of active resistance, guess what?  Ego is in charge of your doing. If on the other hand you find yourself responding to an added challenge with a certain level of acceptance and allowing than that is the higher you...inspiring your action.  If you can take it a step farther to feel grateful for every obstacle and recognize it as grace providing a learning moment...than you are even more advanced than most.

I felt I had to do something about this thing I got going on in my body.  That doing started out as inspired doing.  Though ego was telling me not to mention the lump for fear of  having to relive past experience...the greater part of me stepped up to make sure I did mention it.  The same with the call to the clinic when I didn't hear back. Fear is of the ego and will never guide us to inspired action. I also  noticed ego stepping in to my doing when I found myself angry, frustrated and blaming others for the fact that my test was not getting done soon enough.  Ego...after not wanting me to do anything... wanted it done so it could put it all behind me and  relieve the shame and fear that still comes with any health seeking I do.  Spirit however...was allowing learning and opportunity for growth with the delay. It encouraged me to allow and see the grace in the delay. Accepting and allowing the obstacle brings more peace than resisting and struggling against it does.

How do you treat the present moment?

So how do you use the moment you are in?  How do you treat the step you are taking right now, right here in the direction of your goal?  Do you rush to get through it?  Do you see it only as a stepping stone to the next moment, a means to an end?  Are you more focused on outcome than what you are doing in this very instant?  Do you resist the moments that add challenging circumstance to your mission? If so...you know who is in charge.  If on the other hand you settle into this moment, embrace this step as if it were all that is...than spirit is leading the way.

How much do you enjoy what you are doing?

How much joy are you getting from the moment you are in right now?  From the step of the journey you are on?  Do you enjoy what you are doing right here and right now or is the destination the only thing you are focusing on? How present are you?  The higher Self is always present, in the moment, focusing more on being here and now rather than outcome focused. In the higher level, doing it is all about the journey, not the destination.

When I come here every morning I lose track of time.  I am completely absorbed in what I am doing, full of enthusiasm and I embrace every moment.  I enjoy it. This I know is an egoless ( for the most part) doing.  I have little recognition and my readership is anywhere between 100 readers a day to 3...and  ultimately that is okay. It doesn't matter what ego may or may not get from this...I enjoy what I am doing. And if only three readers are getting something from this I have served. That feels good.

Who is doing the doing?

So who s doing what you are doing?  Is it "little me'' that takes the credit or blame for your actions?  Or do you feel sometimes that some Greater Force that you cannot even name or describe is flowing through you? If "little me" is taking credit or blame...than ego is in charge.  If you feel you are being done rather than doing, it is the higher Self. 

Poetry, I believe, is done through me rather than me doing anything.  Ego is always in the background with its "Oh My God...you are not putting that up there! I am so embarrassed."  I am learning not to take credit or blame for what I create. It  has so little to do with me...it just comes through me.  So even if t sucks I feel this intense compulsion to put it up.  "Little me" has no say.  :)

For whom is the doing being done?

Who are you doing what you are doing for?  Are you doing it so "little me" will someday feel happy and fulfilled?  If so you know what is going on.  If you are doing what you are doing to serve the world in some way by all means the higher self is inspiring your actions.  Sure "little me" may benefit but the motivation behind it is so much greater than ego need. A true egoless doing provides service to others and Self

Now these are just a few questions to ask yourself before you set out on your mission whatever it may be...to create a literary masterpiece or to find the answer to one of life's many issues...It doesn't matter what that mission is.  Ensure that everything you do is inspired ( in -spirit)  and as egoless as possible...and you as well as the whole world will benefit from your doing. 

Otherwise be content to simply be.

All is well.

Eckhart Tolle & Tami Simon (December, 2019) Conscious Manifestation and The Present Moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjX4IplPQuw