Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 12:12am
'The near enemies' within that hijack spirituality
Column: Spiritual Psychology
In last week's column I suggested that the term "spiritual" may have outlived its usefulness and recommended that we discard it in favor of levels of consciousness — ego consciousness vs. higher consciousness — or what I call omni consciousness.
What prompted the suggestion was my observation, as well as comments of others, that the term "spiritual" is tossed around too lightly, if not carelessly, generating confusion rather than clarity. More often than not, "spiritual" expresses intentionality or wishful thinking rather than genuine spirituality. I pointed out that "spiritual" in popular usage can mean anything from recycling trash to expressions of profound philosophies.
In assessing a spiritual practice, the crucial question to pose is the following: Is it ego-driven or an expression of omni consciousness? Sometimes the answer is obvious.
For example, "The Secret" represents a clear violation of authentic spirituality. While it talks about divinity and spirit, there's a "Me" at every turn — and the presence of "Me" is a sure tipoff that the behavior is off the mark of spirituality. Aligning yourself, or vibrating, with the universe ("The Secret" sound bytes) seems eminently spiritual at first blush, especially when couched in the seductive term "positive." What could be more spiritual than resonating in unison with transcendent forces? But the vibrating in this instance is more for self-stimulation than cosmic unity — "The Secret" gets off on getting stuff for me — Rolex watches, million-dollar homes, fashionable cars — or whatever your ego heart seeks in its orgy of desire. With the ego at center stage, spirituality is off the stage, and not even in the wings.
Other instances are more slippery, making it difficult to see the hidden ego behind a spiritual front. The ego, like the quick hand of a three-card Monte dealer, can be very deceptive — now you see it, now you don't. The masks of ego deceptions masquerading as spirituality are legion. Call them the near enemies of spirituality. Far enemies, like the seven deadly sins, are so clearly antithetical to spirituality, you won't have trouble spotting them: anger, greed, jealousy, insatiable lust, hatred, violence, restlessness, apathy, laziness, and so forth. Near enemies, though, deceptively appear so much like the real thing; but on closer examination, the ego lurks behind the mask.
Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield popularized the phrase "near enemy" in citing the frequent misuse of the term "compassion." In the near enemy version, compassion is not genuine when it is an expression of pity for the other person. Pity reflects separation rather than unity — "your suffering and misfortune." Buddhist compassion is a sense of oneness with all sentient beings — "your suffering is my suffering."
Moving beyond compassion to other spiritual practices and expressions, it becomes clear that all are subject to near enemy distortions that distance them from the spiritual orbit. Love is another powerful example. While love is central to all religions and spiritual paths, its near enemy version abounds. "I love you" are three little words that are easy to say but much more difficult to genuinely mean. Lurking behind affirmations of love can be self-serving egoism, attachment and dependency. Love from the spiritual perspective is unconditional and selfless. But in practice, how often does it mean "I will love you only if you return love"? All too frequently we hear about "love" that quickly morphed into hate and even violence when it was not reciprocated.
In my book, "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" I identify 15 of the most common near enemy versions of spiritual practices: compassion, love, detachment, self-sacrifice, the now, labels, antidotes, conceptual enemies, the spiritual bank account, spiritual posturing, vegetarianism, the right practice, the right teacher, spiritual seeking, and turning to God — all have a near enemy counterpart.
The near enemies punctuate the deceptions in the use of the term "spiritual." Once exposed, uprooting the near enemies becomes a vital focus for spiritual practice.
— — —
In case you missed the last few related columns:
"Is it time to discard the term 'spiritual'?
"Ego death vs. ego transcendence — your choice"
"The spiritual crisis of aging"
"Spirituality + psychology = a powerful duo"
"Ego: An object that cannot change"
"To ego or not to ego, that's a question?"
"If you saw the truth, would you go for it?"
And, "Escaping the prison of the self"
— — —
(My book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and other major book outlets.)
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches "Spirituality in Film" and leads "The Spiritual Forum" at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. His book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. He can be reached at {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr.
What prompted the suggestion was my observation, as well as comments of others, that the term "spiritual" is tossed around too lightly, if not carelessly, generating confusion rather than clarity. More often than not, "spiritual" expresses intentionality or wishful thinking rather than genuine spirituality. I pointed out that "spiritual" in popular usage can mean anything from recycling trash to expressions of profound philosophies.
In assessing a spiritual practice, the crucial question to pose is the following: Is it ego-driven or an expression of omni consciousness? Sometimes the answer is obvious.
For example, "The Secret" represents a clear violation of authentic spirituality. While it talks about divinity and spirit, there's a "Me" at every turn — and the presence of "Me" is a sure tipoff that the behavior is off the mark of spirituality. Aligning yourself, or vibrating, with the universe ("The Secret" sound bytes) seems eminently spiritual at first blush, especially when couched in the seductive term "positive." What could be more spiritual than resonating in unison with transcendent forces? But the vibrating in this instance is more for self-stimulation than cosmic unity — "The Secret" gets off on getting stuff for me — Rolex watches, million-dollar homes, fashionable cars — or whatever your ego heart seeks in its orgy of desire. With the ego at center stage, spirituality is off the stage, and not even in the wings.
Other instances are more slippery, making it difficult to see the hidden ego behind a spiritual front. The ego, like the quick hand of a three-card Monte dealer, can be very deceptive — now you see it, now you don't. The masks of ego deceptions masquerading as spirituality are legion. Call them the near enemies of spirituality. Far enemies, like the seven deadly sins, are so clearly antithetical to spirituality, you won't have trouble spotting them: anger, greed, jealousy, insatiable lust, hatred, violence, restlessness, apathy, laziness, and so forth. Near enemies, though, deceptively appear so much like the real thing; but on closer examination, the ego lurks behind the mask.
Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield popularized the phrase "near enemy" in citing the frequent misuse of the term "compassion." In the near enemy version, compassion is not genuine when it is an expression of pity for the other person. Pity reflects separation rather than unity — "your suffering and misfortune." Buddhist compassion is a sense of oneness with all sentient beings — "your suffering is my suffering."
Moving beyond compassion to other spiritual practices and expressions, it becomes clear that all are subject to near enemy distortions that distance them from the spiritual orbit. Love is another powerful example. While love is central to all religions and spiritual paths, its near enemy version abounds. "I love you" are three little words that are easy to say but much more difficult to genuinely mean. Lurking behind affirmations of love can be self-serving egoism, attachment and dependency. Love from the spiritual perspective is unconditional and selfless. But in practice, how often does it mean "I will love you only if you return love"? All too frequently we hear about "love" that quickly morphed into hate and even violence when it was not reciprocated.
In my book, "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" I identify 15 of the most common near enemy versions of spiritual practices: compassion, love, detachment, self-sacrifice, the now, labels, antidotes, conceptual enemies, the spiritual bank account, spiritual posturing, vegetarianism, the right practice, the right teacher, spiritual seeking, and turning to God — all have a near enemy counterpart.
The near enemies punctuate the deceptions in the use of the term "spiritual." Once exposed, uprooting the near enemies becomes a vital focus for spiritual practice.
— — —
In case you missed the last few related columns:
"Is it time to discard the term 'spiritual'?
"Ego death vs. ego transcendence — your choice"
"The spiritual crisis of aging"
"Spirituality + psychology = a powerful duo"
"Ego: An object that cannot change"
"To ego or not to ego, that's a question?"
"If you saw the truth, would you go for it?"
And, "Escaping the prison of the self"
— — —
(My book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and other major book outlets.)
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches "Spirituality in Film" and leads "The Spiritual Forum" at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. His book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. He can be reached at {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr.