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Moving beyond the ego is critical to discovering our higher consciousness, and true life purpose March 4, 2007

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Ego Management.
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The ego and its constant invasion of our real consciousness can present a roadblock that we need to overcome for an effective personal development program to manifest.

On the subject of personal development, and self-improvement generally, I recently got into a discussion as to whether a person can change their basic emotional make-up, or whether changes are possible largely only to a person’s behavior. The conclusion the discussion came to was that it is easier to change our behaviors than it is to change our basic character traits.

For example, as someone who does many things at the last minute, I could work hard at doing things ahead of time, of “doing it now” of not putting things off, but it would be a behavioral change, not a true underlying character change, because my preference would likely be to still want to procrastinate. However, on the other hand, perhaps if a person who normally procrastinates constantly did things ahead of time, it could become firmly engrained in their character trait make-up.

This discussion was prompted by my talking about the personal growth possibilities inherent in Eckhart Tolle’s book,  “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.”  In A New Earth, which I am about halfway through reading, Tolle has devoted a considerable portion of the book to the ego.

For Tolle, the ego, and I am simplifying and interpreting, is that portion of our awareness that is constantly evaluating and making judgments on events, circumstances and things. The ego constantly judges external “reality” or everything going on outside ourselves.

Among other attributes, the ego is that never-ending chattering in our heads which often reviews over and over events or circumstances from the past and projects evaluations into the future – often negatively. For Tolle, however, our ego is not our true identity, and to have peace within, our purpose is to discover who we really are.

Tolle Says, “Every ego confuses opinions and viewpoints with facts. Furthermore, it cannot tell the difference between an event and its reaction to that event. Every ego is a master of selective impression and distorted interpretation. Only through awareness – not through thinking – can you differentiate between fact and opinion.”

Tolle is of the view that who we really are is well hidden beneath the constant stream of thinking from the ego: “Most people are so completely identified with the voice in the head – the incessant stream of involuntary and compulsive thinking and the emotions that accompany it – that we may describe them as being possessed by their mind. As long as you are completely unaware of this, you take the thinker to be who you are.”

Another major aspect of the book is the importance to all of us of living in the “now”, instead of in the past and future. One of the ways we can do this according to Tolle is to recognize the ego for what it is, to make effort to move beyond it, and thereby the fully appreciate the present moment.

I am finding A New Earth a deep philosophical work, which is not only going to require re-reading and noting of particular passages, but also a work that will need study and comparative readings to get its whole benefit. One of the aspects I like about the book is Tolle’s tendency to name spiritual leaders, especially those in the past, who have been the great wisdom teachers and providing examples of their teachings. I’m looking forward to finishing my reading of this book and then trying to put its principles into practice.

The edition of the book that I am reading is in hardcover. The pages discussing the publishing information, says that it is “published by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. It also says, “This is a Namaste Publishing Book.” First printing October 2005. Eckhart Tolle has also written the following books: The Power of Now; Practicing the Power of Now; and Stillness Speaks.

Effectiveness in the Creative Process Results More from Consistent Work Than From “Inspiration” February 28, 2007

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in The Creative Process.
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The ability to generate creative ideas and solutions depends more on consistent application to a field of activity than it does on isolated flashes of intuitive insight.

In the personal development journey, creativity can play a strong component in a variety of areas: achieving goals, implementing the Law of Attraction, forming intentions, manifesting, using visual, spoken, or written affirmations, getting organized, improving our work and our relationships, and much more.

The key to creativity, however, and this is a personal view, does not rest on an innate talent of “being creative.” Resourcefulness, which is a form of creativity, might seem to be inborn in certain individuals, and perhaps it sometimes is.

But the rest of us can become more resourceful, by using tools such as utilizing the thought process in new ways, as explained, for example, by Edward de Bono, who has written excellent books on thinking more creatively through the lateral thinking process.

Creativity can be learned. It might help to have a gigantic IQ, and be a literal storehouse of information, but as Einstein has pointed out, imagination is more important than knowledge. Also, it is a mistake to think of creativity as being dependent upon “inspiration” which, loosely defined, is some kind of wave of emotional intensity coupled with thought, that pushes us into a creative ‘mode’ in whatever sphere we are trying innovate within.

Creativity rather, comes more often from continuously working on something, or as Edison has said, in words to the effect, that most of his inventions came from perspiration rather than inspiration. An artist, such as a painter, for example, cannot be truly creative unless they have paid their dues in learning and applying the various techniques that have arisen through the ages in painting. Nor are they likely to create a new movement or force in painting unless they are thoroughly familiar with all that has gone before.

Most important, however, is that a painter will find that creativity comes mainly from doing a lot of painting. The same applies to writing. If you love poetry and want to write it, you’ll find that the more you write, the more creative ideas, or new ways of expressing yourself,  you will come up with.

Again however, it is important for the aspiring poet to understand the underlying forms of poetry and what has preceded them in the writing of poetry. In other words, those who want to be poets need to have read a lot of poetry and to have written a lot of it before they are likely to have truly innovative or creative concepts in their work.

This makes creativity sound a lot like work. And I think that’s true. The best way to create, such as in the area of personal development, is to work at it. The current fascination with the Law of Attraction for example, is with some people, leading to a misconception that it is as simple as making declarations to the universe and then waiting for virtual miracles to unfold. This expectation shows a lack of understanding of the Law of Attraction and the creative possibilities available by working at it.

Creativity comes to the surface in any endeavor when we put in the work. Waiting for “inspiration” in order to create can be an enjoyable state of mind, but it is not a substitute for work in the creative process. The more we do of anything, the more we are likely to come up with novel or innovative ways of accomplishing things, including our personal development goals.