Dissolving the Ego: A Technique

[RiverSnake]

Dissolving the ego can be a very difficult task for anyone on the path...it is the source of all our suffering but still we cling to it...i recently picked up on a very simple but profound and powerful practice that helps dissolve the self and really has been a very cathartic and heart opening technique for me and thought i would share it with a forum.

 

Though it is a very simple practice it can be a very difficult one for some people depending on the strength of there ego...some people's wont even let them do this practice because they are "too important".

 

The practice is simply this...learn how to bow....bow to what?....bow to everything.

 

Bow to your teachers, bow to your friends, bow to the trees in your front yard, bow to the beautiful flowers in your garden, bow to to your worst enemy whom you hate and despise, bow to everything even the mind and ego...from the tiny ants crawling on the ground to the sun in the sky which nourishes all life on earth.

 

Everyday i wake up in the morning i bow to the covers that kept me warm, i bow to my breakfast, i bow to my father, i bow to everything that comes in front of me...not for any intellectual reason...but simply to do so....put everything above yourself...making yourself small in your own life. It is a very powerful and one that can be easily implemented into your daily life...if you have the heart for it.

 

I learned and was inspired to take up this devotional practice through one of my informal teachers Sadghuru whom i have learned so much from and continue to enjoy his words of wisdom. Here is the video which inspired me.

 

"When there is no self...then you are ready for the super-self" Sadghuru

 

Edited March 22, 2012 by OldGreen

[mYTHmAKER]

Dissolving the ego can be a very difficult task for anyone on the path...it is the source of all our suffering but still we cling to it...i recently picked up on a very simple but profound and powerful practice that helps dissolve the self and really has been a very cathartic and heart opening technique for me and thought i would share it with a forum.

 

Though it is a very simple practice it can be a very difficult one for some people depending on the strength of there ego...some people's wont even let them do this practice because they are "too important".

 

The practice is simply this...learn how to bow....bow to what?....bow to everything.

 

Bow to your teachers, bow to your friends, bow to the trees in your front yard, bow to the beautiful flowers in your garden, bow to to your worst enemy whom you hate and despise, bow to everything even the mind and ego...from the tiny ants crawling on the ground to the sun in the sky which nourishes all life on earth.

 

Everyday i wake up in the morning i bow to the covers that kept me warm, i bow to my breakfast, i bow to my father, i bow to everything that comes in front of me...not for any intellectual reason...but simply to do so....put everything above yourself...making yourself small in your own life. It is a very powerful and one that can be easily implemented into your daily life...if you have the heart for it.

 

I learned and was inspired to take up this devotional practice through one of my informal teachers Sadghuru whom i have learned so much from and continue to enjoy his words of wisdom. Here is the video which inspired me.

 

"When there is no self...then you are ready for the super-self" Sadghuru

 

 

I guess you are talking of an inner bow.Try bowing with your body.

[RiverSnake]

I guess you are talking of an inner bow.Try bowing with your body.

 

I do both.

[JustARandomPanda]

I've been reading Sufi writings lately. Sufi Shayks also have their students do many prostrations to empty out the Ego. Indeed I'm convinced Muhammad required it 5x a day in Islam for exactly that reason. To drain out the Ego and especially drain out the Ego's self-centeredness and pride.

 

In particular I've been really loving the book

 

The Sufi Science of Self-Realization: A Guide to the 17 Ruinous Traits, the 10 Steps to Discipleship, and the Six Realities of the Heart

 

It is clear there is Spiritual Wisdom in the Middle East every bit as ancient as those found in India and China. On the very first page I grinned because I immediately recognized Shayk Kabbani describing No-Self realization (although Sufi's don't call it "No-Self" but there was absolutely NO mistaking he was describing No-Self)!

 

 

Tibetan Buddhism also has a prostration practice. I think it's called Ngrondo. There seems to be something activated by bowing that helps the ego dissolve.

 

However, I was under the impression one needed to be part of a lineage for it to work. But maybe it works even for those who do not have a formal teacher or guide of any kind.

 

I'm pretty keen on trying anything that will empty out both thoughts and the ego.

 

I remember reading something from Paramhansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi.

 

 

"Don't do what you want, then you may do what you like."

 

I dream of the day of having that kind of freedom.

[mYTHmAKER]

I do both.

 

So you have prostrated to your father and your friends while they were standing or sitting in front of you.

Excellent

[Lucky7Strikes]

Another good way is to realize that ego is an activity you don't have to participate in.

[RiverSnake]

There seems to be something activated by bowing that helps the ego dissolve.

 

However, I was under the impression one needed to be part of a lineage for it to work. But maybe it works even for those who do not have a formal teacher or guide of any kind.

 

 

Hmm....i guess you could look at it as motion just like in Chi-Gung that triggers certain energetic movements in the body...maybe (whom knows these things?)...i simply think sincerity is the key....though more transmissions probably never hurt.

 

That book of sufism actually looks pretty cool. I might actually check it out, thanks.

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

Edited March 22, 2012 by OldGreen

[RiverSnake]

So you have prostrated to your father and your friends while they were standing or sitting in front of you.

Excellent

 

Nope no prostrations yet, just simple bowing....though your giving me some good ideas...

 

-My 2 cents, Peace