Who is in control?

        Many people like the idea of dropping the ego and work hard at spiritual practice.  But of course, it could only be an ego that wants to “get rid of the ego.”  And much of spirituality is really the ego‘s constant desire for more.  In the case of spirituality, it is for more peace, more love, more enlightenment, etc.   It is the rare individual whose desire for truth is stronger than the desire for more or to be a “somebody”.    Most people use spirituality to become a better person, whereas the inconvenient truth is that there is no person.

      The following research evidence has been ignored by the media, much like the early discoveries of quantum mechanics, because its implications directly undermine our experience and our beliefs about reality.  It should be front page news, one of the most important discoveries of all time, but no one is talking about it.  We humans are so sure that we are in control of what we do, that we ignore evidence to the contrary.

           So here it is.  It is so simple and so difficult to believe.  When a person is hooked up to brain/body machine and an action is initiated, the thought to take that action occurs after the action itself.  So I reach for a cup and then, a thousandth of a second later, the thought arises “I’m going to lift that cup.” The brain makes up a commentary that takes ownership of what is already just happening. 

         If we look at birds flying in perfect formation, all of them moving together as one, it is clear that each bird is not in control of the overall pattern. There is some greater intelligence at work, even though if asked, each bird might insist that they are freely choosing where to fly.  We humans are being influenced by this same greater intelligence, and IT is living the life and making the choices that we mistakenly consider to be our own.   The human ego does not want to know this.  We go on making up a story to fit and take ownership of what is happening all by itself.

There is no chooser

      If it is seen that there is no choice, you can then see that there must be no chooser.  How can there be a chooser that can make no choices? This chooser, that does not exist, is what is referred to as the ego.  "It" (the story of "me") takes ownership of what would be (and must be) happening and calls it MY life.  As life proceeds, however, we have many opportunities to see how this "me," despite its belief in its own power, cannot control even the most basic things.  For example, the "me" story may be that “I want to stop (smoking, over eating, being lazy, being depressed, lying, drinking, thinking about my problems, etc, etc).”  What happens in most of these cases is that these "problems" continue anyway.  The ego says “I try to stop these behaviours but I just can’t.” This supposed ego is constantly revealed to have no power and no real existence if we are willing to notice.

        So if the ego is not in charge, than who or what is?  The answer of course is that nobody is in charge. Our lives are just happening, in the same way that everything else in the universe is just happening.  One might say that it is all the direct result of a Power that expressed itself about 14 billion years ago in what has been called the Big Bang.  This big bang had no choice but to be a big bang, and we, its direct descendents, have the same choice.  The big bang is not over yet and we and human evolution and everything else in the universe are a continuing expression of that.

      At first, when we realize that the main character of our story is just a concept and has no power to do anything, it may seem discouraging.  But there is a further revelation, waiting for us, that is much more empowering, when we discover that while our ego is not real, the Power that expressed itself as the Big Bang is indeed real, and we are That.  We humans, having forgotten what we are, are suffering from a painful case of mistaken identity. 

    It is the human condition to want  to see ourselves as separate and free.  As we look inside, however, and read in our holy books, we learn that there is no separate self.  This understanding, when fully digested, makes the idea of free will appear to be the impossibility that it is.  The question to be asked of a person claiming to have free will is, given that the ego is an illusion, who is it that is claiming to have free will?  When we give up the painful folly of creating a false self that takes responsibility for what is just happening, we can finally live in peace

We have no choice about our choices

       Imagine a child who is born with a passive, dependent nature, a child that seeks the approval of others in order to feel worthwhile.  Imagine he is born into a family that teaches that some people (blacks, Jews, Muslims, atheists, Hindus, women, gays, etc) are like a plague on the earth, and need to be eradicated for the good of all.  He is taught that this murder would not be murder, but a gift to god, and that anyone doing such holy service to god will be loved by all.   

  This child grows up and kills one of these “evil” people.  Knowing the biological and social influences on this child’s behavior, can it be said that he had a choice in the matter?  Given these preconditions, could he have chosen otherwise? But if you ask this killer why he did it, he would say that he chose to do it.  What seems clear is that while he “chose to do it,” he had no choice about his choice.

This same illusion of choice underlies every “choice” that we make.  All of our choices are governed by forces that are beyond our control (our genetics and past history).  We can seem to make choices but we cannot choose or control those choices.  We are as responsible for our choices to the same degree that the killer is responsible, and that is not at all.  When we recognize this we are offered total freedom from guilt and the belief in sin.  Forgiveness can then be offered to ourselves and everyone when it is seen that no one has had a choice in the matter. (“Forgive them Father for they know not what they do”) Everyone is doing the best they can at every moment and there is nobody to praise or blame.  It’s all just happening.

Law of Paradoxical Truth

      The Law of Paradoxical truth states that the opposite of a great truth, is also a great truth.  I am defining a  "great truth" as a fundamental belief we hold about an aspect of living such as the meaning of life, the correct ways to raise or educate or discipline a child, how to make and use money, the nature of love, how to have a happy life, beliefs about religion, and most importantly, the belief in our own story. (What kind of a person are we, what are our qualities and our faults, how have we succeeded and how have we failed, etc).

      Applying this Law to our great truths is a powerful tool to overcome false judgment and to learn to see the truth in all points of view.  Practice it by stating a great truth about something, like parenting, for example. What can you say for sure about what is the most important attribute of a parent?  Let's say your great truth is that parents should (set limits, or teach their children right from wrong, or send their kids to school, etc).

      The next step is to consider the truth in the opposite point of view.  So, in the above example, to see that parents should not (set limits, teach right from wrong, or send them to school). As we practice this with all of our great truths, we begin to see that our beliefs are just a point of view, just as true as all other points of view.  Think of a word that best describes you.  Can you also see the opposite?  If I think "I am smart", can I accept that I am also (at times) stupid? How about the opposites of honesty and dishonesty? Or gentle and cruel? When we don't acknowledge the truth of our inner opposites, we are stuck in a rigid story that needs continual judgment.  As we accept all opposites we flow with nature and live a life with nothing (and noone) to defend.

All one

 If humanity is to survive, a fundamental shift in human consciousness must occur.  This shift involves each of us releasing identification with our individual story and remembering our oneness with and interdependence on everything and everyone.  It’s the recognition that each of us are a part of a greater, integrated whole, called Humanity.  From this perspective all that is done is in the best interests of everyone.  From this perspective we care for and share with everyone, recognizing that giving and receiving are one and the same.