EGO = Edging God Out

For the past couple days I have been completely engrossed in a 6-CD audio seminar by Wayne Dyer. I grabbed it from Half Price Books as an impulse buy a little over a week ago when I was shopping for a different audio book for my and Brian's 7 hour trek out west for Thanksgiving.

I had only listened to about half of the first CD over the last week when serendipitously a friend of mine had to cancel last minute for a walk we were supposed to take early Wednesday morning. I was already up and dressed, so I figured I would hit the trail and take along my iPod loaded with the seminar CDs. My solo walks have been some of my best meditation times in these last 3 months, and since I believe nothing happens on accident, I assumed this was the Universe's loving nudge encouraging me to spend some quality Kayla time.

What ensued was a leisurely 2-hour walk where I found myself purposely slowing the pace, intentionally taking breaks, and buying more and more time to listen to yet another installment of this great seminar.

In the CDs Wayne talks about his year studying and living the Tao (pronounced Dow) Te Ching, an ancient Chinese text containing 81 verses about life or "the way" written by Chinese master Lao-Tzu. And a core part of Dr. Dyer's message as interpreted from his studies centers around the ever-slippery ego.

Dr. Dyer defines the ego by its characters E-G-O, as in Edging God Out and says that there are six main lies the ego is constantly trying to convince us of to keep itself in tact and powerful.

1. I am what I have.
2. I am what I do.
3. I am what people think of me.
4. I am separate from everyone else.
5. I am separate from what's missing in my life.
6. I am separate from God.

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, and wow. That's six, right?

If ever there was a more eloquent definition, I have yet to read it. In my experience in my own life as well as in this new coaching life, this pretty much sums it up for me and everyone else I know. The first three are in my opinion a perfect embodiment of the rat race known as the American way, and the second three are the obvious impetus behind the first.

Because as I see it, if you didn't buy into the notion of your separateness, then you wouldn't need to spend so much time defining yourself by your possessions, your achievements or your reputation. You would understand that you have, do and are everything you need simply by your association with the Source.

It's so unbelievably freeing and so plainly simple. If I believe in my connectedness with God and that God is truly in everyone and everything, then separateness becomes impossible. And if I'm not worried about being separate, there's no need to differentiate myself by acquiring things, earning accolades or seeking approval.

You just get to be.

Doesn't that just make you want to exhale a huge sigh of relief.

What if you bought into that concept for even a minute? What if who you are as a connected, God-created being abiding in the Oneness of life was all you had to accomplish each day? What if you could wake up and happily say "Done and done!" and then just go about the business of soaking in and enjoying this beautiful life in each and every perfect moment?

As a recovering achievement-seeker, it sounds pretty awesome to me.

The other beautiful takeaway I got from the seminar was Dr. Dyer's description of growing babies en utero as the perfect example of a Godly being living the Tao. They just allow themselves to be 'done,' as in they allow life to happen to them and for them.

As Dr. Dyer said, they don't sit in the womb freaking out saying "Geez, I sure I hope I get a freaking nose soon."

No, they just exist. They just grow and experience and wait and trust. It's from birth and beyond that suddenly we learn the habit of telling the Universe, "I got this" instead of continuing to let life guide us.

I'm so enthralled by that. It's such a beautiful, poetic explanation of another one of my favorite Universal concepts, which is "allow"...allowing others, allowing yourself, allowing experiences, allowing life, and above all allowing God.

Today "Let Go and Let God" has whole new meaning for me...and I'm creating my own definition of the pure loving awareness inside of me...

Letting
Oneness
Validate
Everything

Today I'm meditating on allowing my oneness with Source to be all the validation I need!  And to feel the amazing LOVE that comes along with that. What a great rainy-day refrain.