Tippaporn

I'm including this passage as Seth expounds a bit on personality and speaks about perception. Both topics are, from my viewpoint, important to understand, even if only in rudimentary fashion, as they are simply more clues and insights as to who and what we are. ********** Personality is a gestalt of ever-changing perception. It is the part of the identity which perceives. I do not force my perceptions upon the woman through whom I speak, nor is her consciousness blotted out during our communications. Instead there is an expansion of her consciousness and a projection of energy that is directed away from three-dimensional reality. This concentration away from the physical system may make it appear as if her consciousness is blotted out. Instead, more is added to it. Now from my own field of reality I focus my attention toward the woman, but the words that she speaks - these words upon the pages - are not initially verbal at all. In the first place, language as you know it is a slow affair: letter by letter strung out to make a word, and words to make a sentence, the result of a linear thought pattern. Language, as you know it, is partially and grammatically the end product of your physical time sequences. You can only focus upon so many things at one time, and your language structure is not given to the communication of intricate, simultaneous experience. I am aware of a different kind of experience, not linear, and can focus upon and react to an infinite variety of simultaneous events. Ruburt could not express them, and so they must be leveled out into linear expression if they are to be communicated. This ability to perceive and react to unlimited simultaneous events is a basic characteristic of each whole self or entity. Therefore, I do not claim it as some feat that is exclusively my own. Each reader, being presently ensconced within a physical form, I presume, knows only a small portion of himself - as I mentioned earlier. The entity is the overall identity of which his personality is one manifestation - an independent and eternally valid portion. In these communications, therefore, Ruburt's consciousness expands, and yet focuses in a different dimension, a dimension between his reality and mine, a field relatively free of distraction. Here I impress certain concepts upon him, with his permission and assent. They are not neutral, in that all knowledge or information bears the stamp of the personality who holds it or passes it on. Ruburt makes his verbal knowledge available for our use, and quite automatically the two of us together cause the various words that will be spoken. Distractions can occur, as any information can be distorted. We are used to working together now, however, and the distortions are very few. Some of my energy is also projected through Ruburt, and his energy and mine both activate his physical form during our sessions, and now as I speak these sentences. There are many other ramifications that I will discuss later. I am not, therefore, a product of Ruburt's subconscious, any more than he is a product of my subconscious mind. Nor am I a secondary personality, cleverly trying to undermine a precarious ego. I have seen to it in fact that all portions of Ruburt's personality are benefited, and their integrity maintained and honored. --SS, p. 7

One afterthought I want to include. I've always been struck by the utter vagueness and cloudiness which so many enter into when discussing or instructing on who and what we are. Granted, it's a good start. Now let's have some details. Lots of details. I mean a whole lotta details. I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'll be waiting a long, long time.

Entity? Perhaps you're not choosing your words wisely? The use of the word 'entity' and the context in which it is used implies that the ego is an entity unto itself. An appendage of sorts. "You must understand that there are no real divisions to the self, however, so we speak of various portions only to make the basic idea clear." This is the paradox that needs to be resolved. Throughout all of my thoughts concerning the ego I keep this paradox at the very front of my mind. It's easy to gloss over and miss the importance of it. But I take Seth's warning "you must understand" to heart. I take that warning together with Seth's many mentions that language is insufficient as there are no words to describe the true nature of ourselves. So we do the best we can with the tools available. Subordinate? Again, perhaps you're not choosing your words wisely? The ego is that aspect of ourselves which is the outer most portion of our physical personality structure which deals most directly with physical reality. It's function is to sit on the window sill looking both outward and inward. Subordinate doesn't seem to be a fitting description for such an important function. With all due respect, so far not quite. This specific quote will come later but I include it here as it is a statement about the ego which is so beautifully succinct, and so wonderfully nails the cause of the many misconceptions about the ego. With a sledgehammer, i might add. "It cannot relate to a reality that you will not allow it to perceive. It can poorly help you to survive when you do not allow it to use its abilities to discover those true conditions in which it must manipulate. You put blinders upon it, and then say that it cannot see." Boom!!! We confine our ego with our beliefs, limited beliefs I should add, force it to manipulate in that limited and distorted environment, and then complain about it's poor functioning. And to add insult to injury we then accuse it, falsely, of being an obstacle which blinds us to our greater reality and actively prevents us from achieving greater understanding of ourselves and our reality. The ego must function in line with our beliefs. Not only our beliefs about it but also our beliefs about who we are and our reality in general. And if our beliefs are limiting then it's no small wonder that we then force our ego to become a guard rather than a guardian, a tyrant instead of a liberator. That one statement of Seth's forever vindicates the ego of it's poor reputation. Case closed and damages awarded. The ego is not some static 'thing'. It is dynamic. It is ever changing and evolving. It is an aspect of us created for a specific purpose - to deal directly with physical reality in a way that other portions of ourselves cannot. It is not some entity onto itself, an entity which, no less, attempts to limit us and is thus regarded as an enemy of sorts. So here's a question: What is the ideal solution if we feel our ego is an obstacle to greater illumination and self discovery? a) provide it with better beliefs so that it might be able to perform it's function as originally intended or b) circumvent it. I think that the answer for most is to circumvent it. Anyway, I shall continue with another three posts.

Well, not sure what he means by vampire. Methinks the allegory of a vampire is quite clear. "Sucking out your energy and using it against you." Is that not an apt symbolic representation of a vampire's basic nature? "The ego actually has no intelligence or creativity of it's own. It is nothing more than a mass of conditioning and survival responses that has glomed(?) on to an individual mind stream. In order to survive and maintain itself it has to sap that creative intelligence and energy of that mind stream and continuously direct it towards the exhausting task of recreating itself moment by moment. This is why it seems so formidable, manipulative and cunning. It's actually using my own creative power against [points to himself] me. And I put "me" in quotation marks there because, uhm, it's kinda a oxymoron, right? To say, to talk about the ego, which is illusory, and talk about a "me" that is, well, kinda of an air quote. The "me" is the "I am ," it's the, ah, the consciousness, the formless knowing, the formless being of our basic nature." Again, sound like possession by an evil, vampiric entity to me. My, my, the ideas some folks come up with. And he received this information in a meditation. Oh, boy. Some or all people? To answer that question one needs to have a proper, meaning correct, understanding of what the ego is and what it's function is. Without that understanding then how can one accurately talk about the ego? If we talk about the ego and our idea of it is seriously distorted (as in the video you posted) then what have we accomplished? Would we not simply be creating more superstitions and fictions about it? Superstitions and fictions that would ultimately serve as obstacles that would themselves act as repellents to the truth about the ego? Methinks so. What might be happening here? Question: is any action ever taken that is not acting on an idea? An idea in motion, if you will. What's a belief? Might a belief be an idea which is held as "true" by he who subscribes to the idea? Did the politician then not act on his beliefs? What portion of the personality structure collects and maintains beliefs? Might that not be the ego? Now, to properly explain your example event we would have to know the beliefs of the politician. Whilst that may not be possible in the specific his beliefs can be ascertained in the general. But what of the journalist? Isn't he, too, a player in this tragic drama? Are we not forgetting about him? He played a role, after all, did he not? His role was the victim. No small role. How do you fit him in? Or do you simply leave him out? Isn't it true that "it takes two to tango?" Can't just look at half of the story to arrive at the full story now, can we? BTW, did you read the material I offered over three posts which begin to educate on what the ego is and what it's function is? There's much more coming. For those interested, and I can't say whether or not you are, or even what your level of interest is if you are indeed interested, it should prove to be, well, forgive the term, enlightening.

So far, how do Seth's ideas about the ego comport with yours? Any differences? Commonalities? Any general comments or musings?

Why does God allow violence and the eradication of species? Fair question. And a puzzler for many. My answer is that it's neigh on impossible to understand the world we're in without an understanding of who and what we are. When that is understood then the answer to the question becomes self evident. Not only does it become self evident but the realisation comes, too, that it's all good.

What?!?!?! You think I'm going to put you off for 9 months and then not tease you to death at the end of your wait? What kind of a friend do you think I am? Remember, Sunmaster. It's the journey. Anticipation is always the sweetest part of the journey, not the arrival at the destination. That be about it for today, Sunmaster. Read slowly as there isn't a single word that does not carry meaning. And rereading always reveals a new insight.

Seth discusses the outer ego in greater detail. He's already hinting at the fact that the ego is not some static, unchanging characteristic or aspect of ourselves which we possess but rather it is dynamic and in constant development. He's also suggesting that as our current development leads to cut ourselves off ever more from the rest of ourselves it cuts off as well the outer ego's communication with the inner self. Hence the ego becomes a guard preventing awareness of inner knowledge rather than an aid to serve as a bridge to that knowledge. As he states, the true nature of the outer ego has thus far not been recognised. And that is why, in my opinion, the ego is perceived by many as a hindrance to expanding our conscious awareness of our greater reality. My thoughts in regards to Seth's statement that we have simply overestimated the ego is that as humans we have many attributes and in our day and age it is my feeling that we have grossly overestimated our intellect as well. As another once put it, "If the earth had to rely on the intellect alone to maintain it's orbit around the sun then it's orbit wouldn't last a nanosecond. Again, as humans we possess many attributes, such as emotion, creativity and intuition. Intuition has been kicked to the back of the bus, for instance. By and large the great emphasis is placed upon the intellect and the intellect alone for, say, solving the world's ills. "We need more intelligent politicians!!!" is another instance of placing the saving grace of humanity emphasis on the intellect. ********** For convenience's sake, you close out the multitudinous inner communications that leap between the tiniest parts of your flesh, yet even as physical creatures, you are to some extent a portion of other consciousnesses. There are no limitations to the self. There are no limitations to its potentials. You can adopt artificial limitations through your own ignorance, however. You can identify, for example, with your outer ego alone, and cut yourself off from abilities that are a part of you. You can deny, but you cannot change, the facts. The personality is multidimensional, even though many people hide their heads, figuratively speaking, in the sand of three-dimensional existence and pretend there is nothing more. I do not mean to underestimate the outer ego. You have simply overestimated it. Nor has its true nature been recognized. We will have more to say concerning this point, but for now it is enough to realize that your sense of identity and continuity is not dependent upon the ego. Now at times I will be using the term "camouflage," referring to the physical world to which the outer ego relates, for physical form is one of the camouflages that reality adopts. The camouflage is real, and yet there is a much greater reality within it - the vitality that gave it form. Your physical senses then allow you to perceive this camouflage, for they are attuned to it in a highly specialized manner. But to sense the reality within the form requires a different sort of attention, and more delicate manipulations than the physical senses provide. The ego is a jealous god, and it wants its interests served. It does not want to admit the reality of any dimensions except those within which it feels comfortable and can understand. It was meant to be an aid but it has been allowed to become a tyrant. Even so, it is much more resilient and eager to learn than is generally supposed. It is not natively as rigid as it seems. Its curiosity can be of great value. If you have a limited conception of the nature of reality, then your ego will do its best to keep you in the small enclosed area of your accepted reality. If, on the other hand, your intuitions and creative instincts are allowed freedom, then they communicate some knowledge of greater dimensions to this most physically oriented portion of your personality. The fact of this book is proof that the ego does not have the whole kettle of personality to itself, for there is no doubt that it is being produced by some other personality than that of the writer known as Jane Roberts. Since that Jane Roberts has no abilities that are not inherent in the species as a whole, then at the very least it must be admitted that human personality has many more attributes than those usually ascribed to it. I hope to explain what these abilities are, and point out the ways that each individual can use to release these potentials. --SS, p. 6~7

In these passages Seth loosely defines portions of what he terms here our "core identity," and their basic functions. These portions include the inner and outer ego. A rough definition is also given of what the subconscious is. Or perhaps how it would best be properly viewed. ********** Consciousness is a way of perceiving the various dimensions of reality. Consciousness as you know it is highly specialized. The physical senses allow you to perceive the three-dimensional world, and yet by their very nature they can inhibit the perception of other equally valid dimensions. Most of you identify with your daily physically oriented self. You would not think of identifying with one portion of your body and ignoring all other parts, and yet you are doing the same thing when you imagine that the egotistical self carries the burden of your identity. I am telling you that you are not a cosmic bag of bones and flesh, thrown together through some mixture of chemicals and elements. I am telling you that your consciousness is not some fiery product, formed merely accidentally through the interworkings of chemical components. You are not a forsaken offshoot of physical matter, nor is your consciousness meant to vanish like a puff of smoke. Instead, you form the physical body that you know at a deeply unconscious level with great discrimination, miraculous clarity, and intimate unconscious knowledge of each minute cell that composes it. This is not meant symbolically. Now because your conscious mind, as you think of it, is not aware of these activities, you do not identify with this inner portion of yourselves. You prefer to identify with the part of you who watches television or cooks or works - the part you think knows what it is doing. But this seemingly unconscious portion of yourself is far more knowledgeable, and upon its smooth functioning your entire physical existence depends. This portion is conscious, aware, alert. It is you, so focused in physical reality, who do not listen to its voice, who do not understand that it is the great psychological strength from which your physically oriented self springs. I call this seemingly unconscious the "inner ego," for it directs inner activities. It correlates information that is perceived not through the physical senses, but through other inner channels. It is the inner perceiver of reality that exists beyond the three-dimensional. It carries within it the memory of each of your past existences. It looks into subjective dimensions that are literally infinite, and from these subjective dimensions all objective realities flow. All necessary information is given to you through these inner channels, and unbelievable inner activities take place before you can so much as lift a finger, flicker an eyelid, or read this sentence upon the page. This portion of your identity is quite natively clairvoyant and telepathic, so that you are warned of disasters before they occur, whether or not you consciously accept the message, and all communication takes place long before a word is spoken. The "outer ego" and the inner ego operate together, the one to enable you to manipulate in the world that you know, the other to bring you those delicate inner perceptions without which physical existence could not be maintained. There is however a portion of you, the deeper identity who forms both the inner ego and the outer ego, who decided that you would be a physical being in this place and in this time. This is the core of your identity, the psychic seed from which you sprang, the multidimensional personality of which you are part. For those of you who wonder where I place the subconscious, as psychologists think of it, you can imagine it as a meeting place, so to speak, between the outer and inner egos. You must understand that there are no real divisions to the self, however, so we speak of various portions only to make the basic idea clear. Since we are addressing individuals who do identify with the "normally conscious self," I bring such matters up in this first chapter because I will be using the terms later in the book, and because I want to state the fact of multidimensional personality as soon as possible. You cannot understand yourselves, and you cannot accept my independent existence, until you rid yourself of the notion that personality is a "here and now" attribute of consciousness. Now some of the things that I may say about physical reality in this book may startle you, but remember that I am viewing it from an entirely different standpoint. --SS, p. 4~5

The following references the outer ego and hints at it's current state of development. My feeling is that folks tend to think of the ego as firstly something that is us but not us and secondly view it as a static and finished product. ********** I am primarily a teacher, but I have not been a man of letters per se. I am primarily a personality with a message: You create the world that you know. You have been given perhaps the most awesome gift of all: the ability to project your thoughts outward into physical form. The gift brings a responsibility, and many of you are tempted to congratulate yourselves on the successes of your lives, and blame God, fate, and society for your failures. In like manner, mankind has a tendency to project his own guilt and his own errors upon a father-god image, who it seems must grow weary of so many complaints. The fact is that each of you create your own physical reality; and en masse, you create both the glories and the terrors that exist within your earthly experience. Until you realize that you are the creators, you will refuse to accept this responsibility. Nor can you blame a devil for the world's misfortunes. You have grown sophisticated enough to realize that the Devil is a projection of your own psyche, but you have not grown wise enough to learn how to use your creativity constructively. Most of my readers are familiar with the term, "muscle bound." As a species you have grown "ego bound" instead, held in a spiritual rigidity, with the intuitive portions of the self either denied or distorted beyond any recognition. --SS, p. 3 ********** My general comment is to express my long held view that as a species we have become quite technologically advanced as we have focused predominately on objective manipulation in an objective world. As our focus intensified on the purely objective we have largely abandoned our spiritual aspect; to the point where we tend to even deny it's existence. Thus our current development is that of both a highly technical race and an utterly barren one spiritually. These days the mere mention of our spiritual nature causes people to roll their eyes and avoid the subject as quickly as possible. At the same time the idea of technology as the saviour of the human race has become the "talk of the town" and many are rushing headlong into the development and creation of AI with the idea that this superintelligence will become the new "God." Which, quite humourously, will hearken the obsolencence of mankind. Excuse me, but I have to laugh at the sheer idiocy of the idea. In any case, I also view our advanced technology, given our current state of development, akin to giving matches to a small child. I've concluded that everything in this world is a double-edged sword. Whether the edge to be used is the edge that harms or the edge which benefits is at the discretion of he who has his hand on the hilt. And it is hoped that he who wields this sword is blessed with some wisdom. Those developing AI, for instance, are, in my opinion, those who are most removed from any ideas of spirituality. The uses to which they will put AI to I believe will be determined purely by monetary considerations. And the militaries of the world will pay handsomely.

Okay, the marketing portion of my presentation is now complete. The material on the ego is quite voluminous. So much so that I've decided to post it in installments. One or two a day, perhaps. I might take weekends off. But this will give you the benefit of focusing on certain passages and allowing you time to reflect upon them individually. It will also be more expedient and manageable for any replies you might have, Sunmaster. I had a forward in mind but I never put it down on electronic paper and have since forgotten it. I do, however, provide my personal comments prior to each passage. Some of these passages may be lengthy but I had decided it best to provide the fuller context of any of Seth's specific mentions of the ego. I don't think any order is necessary but I will follow their chronological order. Later I may add other material that is not specifically about the ego but has relevance nonetheless. I'll also italicise my comments rather than the material for ease of reading.

An important announcement first! It truly is an auspicious day!! I've just been notified that I've attained the exalted rank of AN Star Member!!! Not sure which of my posts qualified me for that honour. I like to think all of them. Anyway, as night falls today be sure to take the kiddies outside to peek into the heavens and you might catch a glimpse of me. I'm not that bright but I do have shine.

@save the frogs Given that you posted a highly disparaging video of the ego you might want to pull up a seat next to Sunmaster and me whilst we go deep into the ego over a few beers. I've already had more than a few. I need plausible deniability for this presentation so that if I get accused of blabbering nonsensical idiocy I can always excuse myself for being drunk. You might want to bring a diving suit with a very long air line, save the frogs, and keep it next to you in case you want to follow Sunmaster and I as we will be exploring the bottom-most depths of the psyche where the sun don't shine. If you chose to follow us keep constant watch for the deadly, red-eyed gurufish. They don't bite. But they will seriously f with your mind.

Well, Sunmaster, the day has come. I had to do this before the year slipped away. I can see you now, sitting on the edge of your seat in high anticipation, with popcorn at the ready. Admittedly, I'm a bit nervous. After rehearsing this moment in front of my mirror for months on end I feel a bit of stage fright. Perhaps some intro music to help me overcome it.

The ego has gotten a bad, bad reputation. If I were your ego, TBL, I'd take you to court and sue your ar$e off for defamation. Then you would know the true meaning of financial ruin.

I like that idea!! Why didn't you suggest it before I spent 45 minutes looking for it, only to come up empty handed.

what timing? I'm about to give Sunmaster his long awaited reply to a conversation we were having about the ego. It's been 9 months in the making. I haven't been on this thread much since then as I'm sure you've noticed. On coming back one of the first posts I saw was the video you posted, Your Ego Is A Vampire 🧛 That Uses Your Own Energy Against You!! How coincidental is it that I've finally come back with a reply for Sunmaster after all this time and am immediately drawn to a video about . . . the ego? I mean, you just can't make this stuff up, right?!?! But I now see that I f'd it up and quoted the wrong post of yours. So, not only do you get an explanation to my cryptic comment but a correction as well!! And I'll even throw in a comment. It's your lucky day, save the frogs. An explanation, a correction, an added comment, and a reuniting with an old digital friend!! All in the same day. And it's Friday, too (party time!!) Again, you just can't make this stuff up!! And now for my added comment. This guy seems to be into eastern religion (the wall poster or tapestry behind him - as best I can make it out) and appears to subscribe to one of the sects of eastern religion which view the ego in a highly distorted and negative fashion. I mean, the ego is the equivalent of a vampire sucking out your energy and using it against you? Oh, for crikey's sake. Sounds like demon possession to me. I'm about to defend the ego. It's my best friend.

Trying to find your post, Sunmaster. Re Ego. I'm ready.

Yuk! Interesting timing, though.

Quite an excellent and perceptive post, Sunmaster. I'd add only that the world is a literal extension of us. In truth there is no "outside." And so as we change so does our "outer" world.

Hello, old friends!! And goodbye!!! Temporarily, that is. Inside joke. I saw a flourish of activity and couldn't resist putting in my two cents, if even briefly. The Physical Universe As Idea Construction. Kudos to anyone who can understand that most succinct yet utterly true statement. For those who are as yet unable to understand it I say that it is well worth the effort for it is very much a key that unlocks the door to the mystery of creation. You create your own reality. Another key. You get what you concentrate on. There is no other main rule. Another key. There are only two things one could ever think of. What is wanted and what is unwanted. Another key. The present moment is your point of power. Another key. Geezus, I feel like I'm handing out the keys to the goddamned kingdom. With that I'll disappear for a short while. Hopefully when I get back I'll be welcomed with many heartwarming posts about how I, too, was missed. Hey, nothing wrong with making a guy feel useful in life.

The video is classic 60's, too. I enjoyed it on grounds of sentimentality. I spent the rest of that day looking for my old bell bottoms.

Late on your Halloween playlist, bannork?

And the album title track original when Taylor was with the Stones. Off of the '71 Sticky Fingers album.

Now that was truly heavenly, bannork. More than worthy of another selection off of that album. Slow Rollin' Train performed live at the Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA March 4, '90.