Inspired by Anthony Truck
ego
Page 19
Kevin learned about a 5-year-old girl named Anastasia who has six channels and over 107 million subscribers total. Last year, she made over $18 million!
Kevin’s eyes bugged out.
Over $18 million?
Over 100 million subscribers?
Page 16
Kevin watched Jesse’s 15 videos. They were short and focused on Jesse playing video games with friends or Jesse talking about a video game.
They weren’t that interesting to Kevin because he didn’t play any video games.
But 552 subscribers!
Wow.
Kevin wanted subscribers. He imagined so many people admiring him. All the kids at school would surround him in awe. He’d be popular.
The Problem with Identity
I am reading “Freedom From the Known” by J. Krishnamurti:
“To identify ourselves with something is fairly easy. Most of us identify ourselves with something – with our family, our husband or wife, our nation – and that leads to great misery and great wars.”
He goes on to explain the chasm or “space” between our knowing selves and that which we are observing. This “space” is what keeps us from really seeing each other. Our perception of each other is really a collection of memories.
I’m not sure I’m explaining it well, but I’m finding much truth to this book.
Stop Swinging
If we choose to continue believing our ego, we will spend our lives swinging up and down. The energy behind our compulsive thinking is the energy of fear. It keeps us looking outside ourselves for the next thing, person or project for fulfillment. However, there is a space between the up and down of our emotional seesaw, when we are equally balanced in the middle. The outer and inner noise disappears; this is where we are able to connect to the essence of our being. It is here, in the stillness, we connect to the energy of love, kindness, equality, a deep sense of worthiness and lasting inner peace. Accessible in every moment, it is within you and me, right here, Now. Our happiness and inner peace can’t be found in the past or the future, but only in the stillness and awareness of the present moment.
Eckhart Tolle
“Likes”
“If you need ‘likes’ on your social media account, you are in pain. Because … you are asking someone else to give you the value…to tell you how much you are worth. And as long as you are in pain, you’re going to act unconsciously.”
Gary Zukav, www.seatofthesoul.com
From Light*
Sadness
Hello, and what do you do?
“When you completely identify with your role (mother…doctor…), then something vital is missing. If you play a role at work, you always have a secondary motive because the ego is at work. You’re not totally focused on the task at hand because there is some self-interest there. You want to protect yourself. You want to get credit for yourself…or use the people around you.”
Eckhart Tolle
Current State of Humanity
“Complaining is one of the ego’s favorite strategies for strengthening itself. Every complaint is a little story the mind makes up that you completely believe in. Whether you complain aloud or only in thought makes no difference.”
Eckhart Tolle
Kismet 