Seeking the deeper truth always has been a driving force in my life. When we look beyond the obvious, beneath the surface, there lies the key to compassion and a deeper consciousness of what is.
The how and why of human behaviour and emotions are the least obvious to our understanding. The underlying motivators are unconscious issues and emotions. The operative word here is “unconscious”; which literally means we are not aware of what is at play in our acting out.
Let us take the ego as an example as it is a popular subject of human behaviour. In my experience the ego is a very misunderstood vital part of our existence because its active role and reason for being is less than obvious and it is easily judged for its appearance. It is often seen as a shady and destructive side of our character as it often acts out in ways we judge as shameful and distasteful. What is not evident is that the ego is a warrior. It is instantly ready to g
o to war for our fears; it will fight tooth and nail to try to survive by protecting and hiding the weak and vulnerable in us. Like a protector and saviour it comes to our rescue putting forth an image of superiority, strength, intelligence, anything it can creatively gather to use as armour that will hopefully be impenetrable by the enemy: our judgment of what is weak. The ego is often described as non-loving; something we need to eradicate from our being and our actions. I don’t believe one can survive being human without the ego actively expressing itself. It is an instinctual natural reaction to bring the ego to the frontline for our inner battles. We hide behind it; we put it forth as an archetype of strength (usually what is regarded as masculine), when we feel unable to show ourselves as we are. It comes down to accepting the ways in which we survive.
In my experience, paying close attention to the ego and how it expresses itself, giving it room and space to be; there lies a wealth of opportunity for self-awareness and self-healing. For instance being aware of when we are expressing the need to be right or better than others; acting self righteous; arrogant or acting/feeling superior in some way. Often we do not like who we are being in that moment yet there is such a strong impulse to react as we do. Compassion evolves from becoming aware of what lies beneath the facade of the active ego. What is revealed: are the vulnerable, fragile parts of us that feel weak and desperate not to be seen. It helps to understand that the external behaviour is the exact opposite of what we are feeling deep down and that we compensate by cleverly masking the truth of that feeling. When we feel weak in some way; we put out a mask of being strong, including using our physical strength. When we feel wrong; we need to express and act out how right we are; especially more right than whomever we feel wrong in comparison to. When we feel inferior; we protect ourselves by acting superior, our unconscious gathers information on how we can support the belief that we are superior in some way and we act it out. It is obvious when you think about it, yet while in reactive mode witnessing either our own ego or someone else’s acting out, it is far from evident, and we tend to stay stuck on the outer layer of truth.
There is an infinite amount of ways that we mask our inner vulnerabilities and perceived deficiencies from the outside and through our actions. Controlling our environment and others for instance is the way we express feeling insecure and powerless over certain parts of our life. Outside control is a way to seek a release from the discomfort inside of not being in our own power. Observing oneself becoming controlling is a great indicator and an opportunity for self‑awareness. To question: what is it that I am feeling powerless about? Giving it attention and space by observing its expression, rather than trying to squelch and censor it; transforms how we feel and how we act out.
Compassion and self-acceptance begins with the awareness and understanding of our own behaviours and their underlying emotions. All our fears and issues stem from real life experiences; usually from our youth, which is stored and imprinted in our energy and unconscious. Those fears will express with or without our awareness through our actions and behaviours. It is how we release and heal ourselves naturally.
o to war for our fears; it will fight tooth and nail to try to survive by protecting and hiding the weak and vulnerable in us. Like a protector and saviour it comes to our rescue putting forth an image of superiority, strength, intelligence, anything it can creatively gather to use as armour that will hopefully be impenetrable by the enemy: our judgment of what is weak. The ego is often described as non-loving; something we need to eradicate from our being and our actions. I don’t believe one can survive being human without the ego actively expressing itself. It is an instinctual natural reaction to bring the ego to the frontline for our inner battles. We hide behind it; we put it forth as an archetype of strength (usually what is regarded as masculine), when we feel unable to show ourselves as we are. It comes down to accepting the ways in which we survive.
In my experience, paying close attention to the ego and how it expresses itself, giving it room and space to be; there lies a wealth of opportunity for self-awareness and self-healing. For instance being aware of when we are expressing the need to be right or better than others; acting self righteous; arrogant or acting/feeling superior in some way. Often we do not like who we are being in that moment yet there is such a strong impulse to react as we do. Compassion evolves from becoming aware of what lies beneath the facade of the active ego. What is revealed: are the vulnerable, fragile parts of us that feel weak and desperate not to be seen. It helps to understand that the external behaviour is the exact opposite of what we are feeling deep down and that we compensate by cleverly masking the truth of that feeling. When we feel weak in some way; we put out a mask of being strong, including using our physical strength. When we feel wrong; we need to express and act out how right we are; especially more right than whomever we feel wrong in comparison to. When we feel inferior; we protect ourselves by acting superior, our unconscious gathers information on how we can support the belief that we are superior in some way and we act it out. It is obvious when you think about it, yet while in reactive mode witnessing either our own ego or someone else’s acting out, it is far from evident, and we tend to stay stuck on the outer layer of truth.
There is an infinite amount of ways that we mask our inner vulnerabilities and perceived deficiencies from the outside and through our actions. Controlling our environment and others for instance is the way we express feeling insecure and powerless over certain parts of our life. Outside control is a way to seek a release from the discomfort inside of not being in our own power. Observing oneself becoming controlling is a great indicator and an opportunity for self‑awareness. To question: what is it that I am feeling powerless about? Giving it attention and space by observing its expression, rather than trying to squelch and censor it; transforms how we feel and how we act out.
Compassion and self-acceptance begins with the awareness and understanding of our own behaviours and their underlying emotions. All our fears and issues stem from real life experiences; usually from our youth, which is stored and imprinted in our energy and unconscious. Those fears will express with or without our awareness through our actions and behaviours. It is how we release and heal ourselves naturally.
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