Are you struggling with anything at all? Well then, this is the book for you. Take the time honored healing that The Twelve Steps offer, mix with the spiritual psychology of the world renowned "A Course in Miracles", and add the insight and humor of acclaimed author Bette Jean Cundiff and gain the tools to handle the pesky ego for the rest of your life. This will be the fourth book in the Miracles and More series that includes: "Side by Side the Twelve Steps and A Course in Miracles" and "Hand in Hand - Recovery and Miracles" and "Sacred Steps - Ancient Yoga and A Course in Miracles". You can find these books in the left column)
Enjoy an except from this new book to be ready early 2019.
"...... Are
you walking around in a body? Then you have an ego in working order. Egos run
our lives, our bodies, our developing lifestyles. Egos are praised and egos are
cursed – they are either necessary for proper psychological development, or an
evil that drives us into becoming self centered bores or even sociopaths.
But, the most important thing to
remember about egos is that we all have one, with its unlikable offsprings
guilt, fear, and anger. What we do with our egos and their offsprings, for
better or worse is what this book is about.
‘Jekyl and Hyde’ might be a good name
for ego, but for now I prefer going with the simple nomenclature – Survivor.
Here is your brain honed
down to its simplest directive - use all its expansive resources to keep your
body alive. Alive is good. Dead is bad. Anything that in the slightest bit
resembles death, dying and loss is bad.
Every physical sense,
every synapse lining up to connect electrical pathways, all the information you
collect, all the habits you form, all of this is designed to keep you alive.
And to survive you must keep pushing yourself to your highest level of
performance. Whether it is the most daring athlete, the richest financial
genius, or just going for the gold in resident couch potato – your brain, the
working arm of your ego wants you, no needs you, to survive at what it has
deemed ‘the best for you’.
In the pages ahead we
will be using both The Twelve Steps, originally designed for alcoholics, and ‘A
Course in Miracles as stepping stones to explore more deeply into the ego and
its need to survive, why it uses self sabotaging methods and what they are, and
how true survival must include your emotional, psychological and, eventually, your
spiritual nature.
The good part of ego is that
it will direct you to get better at what it deems important for your survival.
The bad part is that it can collect mistaken beliefs about certain things being
helpful when they are really hurtful – Jekyl and Hyde at odds – and at your
expense.
Ultimately, by following these
stepping stones, we cannot but
come to the conclusion that keeping this corpse walking around forever
is a really rotten idea. ( Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.)
Providentially, our egos
will guide us to do anything to survive, so we can teach it what true living
is. We can teach it that the body is only a tool to help us gain life, and life
is so much more than just living in a body. Then we can take that quantum leap
across miraculous boundaries using our egos to fling us into the arms of
Something indescribable and all encompassing.
Before, we go to that
most important first Step we must shine a light on ego’s offsprings – the
emotions of guilt, fear and anger – the wolf pack lurking within.
(Watch for more excerpts in the future)
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