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The Development of Ego, from Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa (This is an excerpt from the chapter that introduces the Ego and its development, and which I have added images to. We can all benefit from a better understanding of what the ego is, especially when we are seeking to know ourselves better and to seeking what is possible in spiritual development. It also gives us some deeper understanding of when we feel a neurotic or confused mind and this becomes a really great launching place for the homeopathic process of case taking. I personally prefer the Buddhist view of the Ego and of what the nature of our reality is over some of the modern writings, especially when it is suggested by some that can suppress or even get rid of the ego. That would be the same as saying we have a right hand so let’s get rid of the left thumb, we don’t seem to need it anyways. I hope you can gain something from this, enjoy!) ~ "As we are going to examine the Buddhist path from beginning to end, from the beginner’s mind to the enlightened one, I think it would be best to start with something very concrete and realistic, the field we are going to cultivate. It would be foolish to study more advanced subjects before we are familiar with the starting point, the nature of ego. [ ]  If we do not know the material with which we are working, then our study is useless; speculations about the goal become mere fantasy. These speculations may take the form of advanced ideas and descriptions of spiritual experiences, but they only exploit the weaker aspects of human nature, our expectations and desires to see and hear something colourful, something extraordinary. If we begin our study with these dreams of extraordinary, “enlightening” and dramatic experiences, then we will build up our expectations and preconceptions so that later, when we are actually working on the path, our minds will be occupied largely with what will be rather than with what is. [ ]
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Homeopathy and Dental work, for adults and children This series of PDFs are free to download, simply message me here on my site or at the Birdsong Holistic Facebook page, and I will send you a link to download this first free PDF on how to use homeopathy for dental issues and procedures. I am about to go to the dentist. Like most people, I really don't enjoy this part of self care. I am getting prepared to make the experience as easy and as painless as possible. I started this PDF when I had a client consulting me for upcoming toddler dental surgery and another client whose little girl knocked out one of her front teeth. I added some other situations so the PDF covers the general needs of dental work.  I would like to share a humorous story about how we can get in our way and affect our health, purely with thoughts and decisions! A long time ago in my early 20's I went to the dentist and found out one of my wisdom teeth needed to be extracted. This was when I lived on Denman Island and the dentist had a mobile dental clinic in a school bus which was pretty cool. I had never heard of homeopathy back then and only knew an acupressure trick for pain relief, holding LI 4, the Hoku point above the thumb. I was sitting in his chair looking out the window at the general store and the soccer field thinking this was the first wisdom tooth I was going to lose and I let out a big sigh. Did losing wisdom teeth mean I was not going to be wise in my older years, I wondered?
The dentist was wonderful and I sat there as he prepared my mouth and the freezing and then reached for his extraction forceps. The funny thing was that as much as he pulled and plied, my tooth would just not come out. He eventually reached for larger forceps and then even larger forceps! Nothing. He was totally confused and decided to take a break. He got up from the chair and stretched a bit. I took this moment to consider what was happening here. Then it came to me, I had made a pact with myself that I would strive to keep all my wisdom teeth as they symbolized the attainment of wisdom to me and I had erroneously decided that without them when I would grow old, I would lack wise council. I realized this error, or at least that I could not hold onto it, and had a quick, inner discussion with myself. I retracted my decision and told myself it was going to be ok to let this tooth go, I did not have to hold onto it and that the best thing for me at this moment was to accept that the tooth had to come out! The dentist sat back down, picked up the larger forceps again and prepared himself for another round with my tooth. I braced myself and again pressed the Hoku point on my hand. He put the tool onto my tooth and gave a good, solid yank. He nearly fell backwards off his chair! The tooth came out as smooth and fast as if it was merely sitting in a pound of butter. He shook his head, we laughed about how odd this was and he finished up the procedure. I had an incredible lesson that day, I understood how much control the mind can have over the body! And the pact I had made was earlier that same year so it was easy to remember making it. What about all the mental decisions we make that we forget? Especially when we are making big decision about ourselves every other day, how can we possibly remember them all? Twenty or thirty years later, those mental pacts can still be affecting how our body is responding to life and situations, without our realizing it. Exploring our inner mental world with a homeopath can start the healing process to unravel these pacts and decisions and give us a more authentic understanding of what is actually happening in the current moment and make our present experiences healthier. For the Homeopathy and Dental work PDF, message me here or at the Birdsong Holistic Facebook page and I will send you a link to download this free PDF. |
