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by
Mateo Sol
January 11,
2020
from
LonerWolf Website
recovered through
WayBackMachine Website
Spanish version
The spiritual ego is the most dangerous type of ego of all.
If you aren't mindful, it can wreak total destruction in your life -
but not in a violent or aggressive way.
Instead, the spiritual
ego is disguised under the mask of,
-
"good intentions"
-
"higher
vibration"
-
"awakened
perspective"
-
humble
pomposity...
Beware of the spiritual
ego...!
It's a trap that many of us spiritual seekers can and will, at some
point, fall into. And the longer we remain in that spiritual ditch,
that stagnant standstill, the more likely we are to develop into a
spiritual narcissist.
Indeed, spiritual narcissism is perhaps the most tragic malady to
befall humanity of all. We'll explore why a little later.
But first...
What is the
Spiritual Ego?
Firstly, let's touch on the basics:
-
the ego is our sense of
self
-
it is the illusory "I" story we carry around in the world as
an evolutionary survival mechanism
-
is the source of all
our suffering and our feeling of being separated from that which we
truly are which is boundless, whole, and infinite
-
we might call this
Spirit, God/dess, Life, Oneness, Consciousness, and so on
So what is the spiritual ego?
The spiritual ego
builds on top of this fundamental ego that we carry around.
It is the ego on
crack, the ego on steroids, the ego inflated beyond its usual
garden-variety size.
Yet the thing is, we
don't realize we've developed a spiritual ego until life well
and truly starts getting messy.
How Does the
Spiritual Ego Develop?
The spiritual ego is a product of spiritual materialism - that is,
using spirituality to serve the ego, instead of approaching the
spiritual path with the intent on trying to move beyond the ego.
When spiritual paths, practices, and concepts become a slave of the
ego, this is the birth of the spiritual ego. In other words, when a
person's central idea about themselves is ruled by the belief that
they're a "spiritual person" this is the spiritual ego.
When being a "spiritual person" eclipses all else that a person is,
this is the spiritual ego in action.
Yes, there are positive
benefits to building your identity around spirituality. But there are also some
pretty scary consequences that we shouldn't ignore.
The
Development of Spiritual Narcissism
Walking the spiritual
path properly is a very subtle process; it is not something to
jump into naively.
There are numerous
sidetracks which lead to a distorted, ego-centered version of
spirituality; we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are
developing spiritually when instead we are strengthening our
egocentricity through spiritual techniques.
This fundamental
distortion may be referred to as 'spiritual materialism.'
Chogyam
Trungpa Rinpoche
Spiritual narcissism is
the very culmination of spiritual egotism:
it is the ego that
has become so solid, so fixed, so unyielding in the idea of its
own spiritual greatness that it is pathological. It is
narcissistic.
As we know already,
narcissism is a mental disorder where a person has an inflated sense
of their own importance (amongst several other hairy issues).
The exact same problem
applies to spiritual narcissists:
they have such unwavering belief
in their own awakened perspective, their own "special" spiritual
achievements and knowledge, that they cannot connect with (or
tolerate) their humanity.
Spiritual narcissists
cannot tolerate other people either - even though they may fine-tune
the external image of being compassionate or wise - others
ultimately pose a threat to their delusional grandiosity.
Spiritual narcissism begins with 'spiritual materialism.' Within
spiritual materialism (the trap of using spirituality to serve the
ego) there is always a seed of spiritual narcissism.
And if that seed keeps
being fed without going unchecked, without being uprooted or
challenged, it grows and grows.
Eventually, we can become so sidetracked, so deluded by the ego that
has used spirituality to make itself indestructible, that we are
worse off on the spiritual path than when we began.
Examples of
the Spiritual Ego
Some of these examples border on spiritual narcissism (or are flat
out narcissistic), others can more typically be seen in the
spiritual community.
Let's look at some
examples of the spiritual ego:
-
Claiming to have
"special access" to a spirit guide/angel/spirit/ascended
master for the purposes of self-aggrandizement
-
Believing oneself
to be the reincarnation of a superior being, famous
spiritual historical figure, etc. (what does it really
matter if one is?)
-
Taking frequent
pictures of one's spiritual practice and posting them online
in order to boost one's self-image, status, and gain
attention/validation
-
Declaring that
others can't possibly understand you because you have
attained a certain state of 'high vibrational awareness,'
awakening, liberation, etc. - and showing contempt for those
who aren't at the same 'level' (instead of compassion)
-
Using Dharma-talk
to avoid being psychologically vulnerable, showing empathy,
and facing human emotions, e.g.,
-
Looking down on,
-
"low
vibe"
-
"unevolved"
-
"unawakened"
-
"asleep",
...people
-
Boasting about
and flaunting spiritual achievements or gifts
-
Imitating what a
"spiritual person" looks and sounds like
You get the picture...
I'm sure you can think of a few more examples, and you're welcome to
share them in the comments.
15 Signs of
the Spiritual Ego
The spiritual ego is so dangerous because it is nearly impenetrable.
People can spend their entire lives (or lifetimes) stuck in the trap
of unknowingly misusing spiritual words, ideas, practices, and paths
to inflate their egos.
Sadly, the spiritual ego can result in instances of abuse and even
murder such as
Jonestown, or the abuse committed
by,
...and so on.
The cases of spiritual
ego are so wide and varied they are impossible to include here.
The reality is that as spiritual beings having a human experience we
are imperfect.
Hell, I've fallen
into the spiritual ego numerous times - and it's not pretty...
But the crucial thing is
to practice,
These qualities are the
best defense against spiritual egotism and narcissism.
So, without further ado, here are signs of the spiritual ego and
spiritual narcissism that you need to look out for (both within
yourself and others):
-
Overly
publicizing (read: boasting) your special spiritual
accomplishments
-
Claiming a stance
of superiority (directly or indirectly) due to one's
spiritual gifts or talents
-
Attempting to
transcend the physical/earthly and take on godlike qualities
-
Believing that
your connection with the Divine is somehow deeper or more
special than other people's connection
-
Focusing on how
"more spiritually evolved" you are than others and …
-
Judging others
for being "less awakened," "asleep," "unconscious"
-
Attempting to
look like, dress like, sound like a "spiritual" person
-
Using spiritual
words and concepts to avoid being wrong, mistaken or facing
vulnerable emotions
-
Flaunting how
spiritual you are on social media (with photos that
demonstrate spiritual postures, setups, locations, tools,
etc.)
-
Becoming overly
identified with spiritual knowledge (and how much "you"
know)
-
Trying to convert
people to your perception (preaching to them or debating)
-
Resistance to
being "called out" and resenting those who try to do this
-
Claiming access
to special and exclusive spiritual knowledge that others
can't access
-
Lack of curiosity
and receptivity to life
-
Wearing a mask of
niceness, positivity or wisdom
Essentially, those wound
up in the woes of spiritual egotism frequently try to reaffirm their
spiritual specialness to the world through covert and overt methods.
However, more often than
not, the spiritual ego is a slippery little devil that is hard to
call out or define clearly, simply because we're so close to it and
find ways to justify it.
Why is the
Spiritual Ego Dangerous?
Quite simply, the spiritual ego is so dangerous because it is
dressed in robes of light.
It appears to be,
awakened,
illuminated, wise, and all-loving,
...and that's what makes
it so difficult to catch.
Furthermore, the spiritual ego makes us feel powerful, even
untouchable which is precisely what the ego seeks to achieve. To
challenge it challenges the very foundations of our own self-worth
and self-image - and that can be positively terrifying.
In fact, we can even feel
like we're committing a profane and sacrilegious act calling the
spiritual ego out because it's so inflated and has such a good
opinion of itself (a delusion which we have totally bought into).
Not only that, but the spiritual ego is also dangerous because it
limits all growth:
it is the death of
any transformation because to evolve means to go through the
cycles of death and rebirth.
And if the spiritual ego
has "already arrived" there is stasis, there simply cannot be any
more growth.
In fact, the deadliest virus on our paths is to believe that "we've
arrived," have become "enlightened," or somehow spiritually superior
to others.
The ego has not only
become narcissistic, but it has developed a full-blown God
Complex; the state of believing that it is in actual fact
God...
But this is not in an
egoless, non-dual way:
this is pure ego-centrism, the very
definition of darkness (or the absence of light).
The more ego-based we are, the further we are from the Light of
Consciousness which goes beyond the self.
And if residing in the
ego equals a disconnection from the Divine, living from a place of
ego-centric God Complex goes one step further:
it is like living in
total darkness - the very definition of hell.
When a person is living
in hell, they will harm others. This is basic knowledge that even a
child could understand.
When there is a total
absence of light, there is only darkness... and,
how can a person see
clearly, feel clearly, think clearly, or behave clearly in such
a state...?
The result is suffering,
both for the one experiencing the God Complex and those
unfortunate souls around him/her.
How to Stop
the Spiritual Ego
As I mentioned previously, we need to approach the spiritual path
with humility, openness, and the willingness to be honest with
ourselves.
A crucial place to start
is,
by practicing a
combination of self-love and
shadow work - two inner work
practices...
We all have a shadow
side (i.e., the face of the ego that isn't presented to the
public), and we need to become aware of it in order to prevent
issues such as spiritual egotism and narcissism from arising.
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