The Zen of Our Shared Evolution
„Spiritual practice is so helpful because it helps us to dissolve identity and identify with something greater than ourselves.”
Diane Musho Hamilton
Those of you who could be envolved in Diane Musho Hamilton’s interactive keynote speech at IEC surely have memories of experiencing the different levels and states of the self.
The first question was simple and we can all connect to it easily:
As the Ego-Centric self, what I notice is…
What does it mean for the individuals to express their Ego-Centric selves; what can they notice in the present moment and place? The general „I” is the average person on an average day in their daily routine driven by habits, emotions, interests and the five senses that give the job to the mind to analyze the world around them. In this state the ego only serves the „I”. I’m my name, my body, my profession, my achievements and the center of my own universe.
And what comes up when your perspective expands?
As the Ethno-Centric self, what I notice is….
Here comes the „we”, the belonging, where connections are crucial and the „I” is not alone anymore but part of a community, a family, a club, a nation. Relations effect the identity so much one would not imagine. Sometimes the „I” can only identify itself in the „we” and completly looses its identity if for any reason it cannot be part of the „we” group any more. An ancient instinct reminds us all to the need of belonging because of security, survival, for having descendants, getting by in life and to exchange the feeling of love. We get out of the „I” zone and became a parent, a European, a Christian ect, where the identity is found in relations. The first level of compassion is born here.
Moving on we take a huge step forward looking around from birds-eyeview:
As the World-Centric self, what I notice is….
This is the stage and state of „everybody”, involving all creatures, plants and animals. You see processes, relations and dinamics from a dimension that nor the „I”, neither „we” can see. Wars bacome senseless, cruel to every living and the interests are not attached to the material world any more. You care about the future as your children will be living in it and you create that future now. Although you express who you are but it is much more for the greater good than in the „we” state.
As for the Cosmic-Centric self we were left with the meditation part only and the feeling that there is even further on towards the ALL (is one) to explore.
About Diane Musho Hamilton click here.
With Love, The IEC team