Finley Intimate Enemy

Winning the War Within Yourself
1. Auflage 1997
ISBN: 978-1-4835-5460-0
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 233 Seiten

Learn the secrets of how to let go of what has been holding you down in life.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Finley, Guy

Leseproben

1 If he falls in this conflict, then he falls by his own hand; for physically and externally understood, I can fall by the hand of another, but spiritually there is only one who can destroy me, and that is myself. Søren Kierkegaard AWAKENING TO THE SELF ABOVE ALL STRUGGLES As long as we have been on this planet, wise teachers have shared great truths about the real cause of the pain in our lives. And all of them pointed in exactly the opposite direction from where we’ve always tended to look. The enemy is not what we think it is. The real adversary in our lives, that proverbial thorn in our side that leaves us aching and angry, and then sends us looking for someone to blame, is not what we have always believed. It is not something “out there.” It’s something “in here”: an intimate enemy. We can each name a hundred things that we think is the enemy, but the enemy is not: a friend who betrays you a shaky economic system a threatening boss some stubborn habit that rude driver a computer that won’t work These things are all conditions that we must deal with. But the real enemy is much closer to home. Everyone senses what that intimate enemy is as soon as he or she hears the expression. We all know that self-tormenting voice of defeat that rings within our own minds. No one is as critical of us as we are of ourselves. We all know how we are besieged by conflicting voices that send us first one way and then another, and finally make us doubt every decision. No one sabotages our plans and happiness as we, ourselves, do. No wonder none of our victories are permanent. Oh, we may have “fixed” that enemy for a time. Perhaps a heart-to-heart talk eased our anxiety about that relationship, or an especially good job done at the office made that employer finally take notice; however, “fixing” that person outside does nothing to fix the problem inside. The unhappy nature that created the first enemy will just create another. It has to, because the inner dissatisfaction that projected itself outward to identify that first enemy continues to rule from within. A little story helps explain this. One day a man was walking around his property when a stone slipped unnoticed inside the sole of his shoe. The stone was just big enough to set the man slightly off balance, and as he walked across an uneven area of ground, he slipped. Annoyed, but confident of his actions, the man immediately “fixed” the problem by smoothing out the ground with a rake and shovel, but the stone lodged in his sole continued to cause him a great deal of pain. Proceeding with his walk, and squinting his eyes against the growing discomfort, he failed to see the low-hanging branch of a tree ahead of him. Sure enough, he walked right into it and bumped his nose! Greatly irritated, he “fixed” this new problem by cutting down the tree. More annoyed than ever, and unable to think clearly because of the now persistent pain, he got angry with his hired man for letting all these dangerous conditions exist in the first place. The obvious “fix” for this problem was to fire him! It is clear to us as observers of this man’s story that the way he perceived his situation ensured that there would never be an end to his problems and “fixes.” Why? Because the problems he “fixed” were only secondary outcomes. He never addressed the real cause at all. Similarly in our own lives, we’ve been working very hard to correct conditions that are really no more than secondary outcomes, and not the real problem at all. We fight a daily war to protect ourselves against enemies that, in fact, never are responsible for the pain we feel. The resolution of all our difficulties lies in correctly identifying and then eliminating the “stone in our sole.” To do this, we must embark on a journey of self-discovery that examines many hidden reaches of our being, leaving no stone unturned! When the journey has been completed, we will never see ourselves or the world we live in the same way again, and our new understanding will give us an inner strength that can never be defeated. Discover the Hidden Forces Behind the War within You The unhappiness we feel is the bitter fruit of a lack of selfunderstanding. In our confusion we do many things that are self-harming. We do not deliberately hurt ourselves in this way; the true cause lies in hidden, unconscious forces. Throughout this book we will refer to these forces in a number of ways, just as they have been referred to in spiritual studies and classical literature for thousands of years. They’ve been called negativities, the powers of darkness, opposing forces, even evil spirits, just to name a few. The important issue is not what we call these forces of conflict, but that we recognize the fact of their existence. For regardless of what names we give them, they all refer to one thing: unconscious, mechanical forces that cause human beings to behave like thoughtless machines, driven to action without reflection or compassion. When and wherever we see men and women taken over by something stronger than their ability to resist, whether it be anger, fear, lust, or greed, these hidden forces are at work. At the same time there are Higher forces that can also be in charge of the individual. Down through the ages these powers have been referred to as the forces of Light, Goodness, or simply the Truth: uplifting words that describe higher thoughts and conscious awareness that empower individuals to act and feel in a way that is genuinely good and true for all involved. These higher and lower life forces are in a perpetual battle for control of individuals. Portrayals of this battle between good and evil dominate the art and literature of all recorded cultures. But what does it mean for each of us personally? It means that at any moment we have a choice. We can choose to work to stay awake psychologically and spiritually and live from and within a superior self, or we can fall back into a state of psychic slumber whose chief feature is a life of fear, frustration, and fighting. What do we mean by psychic slumber, and how does it affect our daily experience? In his book, The Secret of Letting Go, Guy supplies a valuable glimpse: Intelligence does not cause itself to suffer. Yet, as proven, we suffer. This can only mean that a counterfeit intelligence has been passed off on us and its thinking accepted as our very own. There is only one way that such a sinister switch could take place within us and go undetected. During those all-too-familiar worry-packed moments, we are asleep to ourselves. In this strange psychic slumber we only dream we are awake, so can you see the solution to this sorry state? Since unawareness of ourselves is the only problem, then awareness is the only answer. A sting operation can only work as long as the victim believes that one of the players who is secretly in on the sting is trying to help him. You may not be able to think your way out, but you can see your way clear. This special kind of inner seeing is safety. Waking up to yourself is the same as letting go of all those self-defeating thoughts and feelings that have been telling you how to win. Many people have unknowingly chosen to stay in psychic slumber for so long that they are no longer aware they even have a choice. Discovering that this choice is ours to make is one of the most exciting revelations greeting the new spiritual student. Unfortunately, as sincere as that student might be, choosing the Light is not a one-time decision that solves the matter forever. Until our spiritual strength grows, we are continually pulled back to our old self-defeating self. We must work diligently to catch ourselves in a state of sleep and try to grab and extend moments of consciousness when we can. Thinking about ourselves in this way, as beings operated upon by forces of either light or darkness, of consciousness or unconsciousness, can help us to understand the battle that wages within us, and that is then projected outward. Dark, negative forces create fear, self-concern, and all the fighting that results. At the same time, the forces of Light are trying to show us that there is a higher world where we are always safe and where there are no enemies to battle. It is only wrong thinking that creates our enemies, and that sustains the view that our universe is a hostile place, a battleground designed to thwart our goals and dreams. Higher consciousness shows us that none of this misperception is real. And when we fully understand this, we also understand that there never really was any battle at all, not even between the forces of light and dark. The Light is always victorious. The superior strength of Reality is that no lie can dwell within it. When our understanding of this is complete, which it will be when we reach the happy conclusion of this book, we will be well on our way to knowing the Truth about ourselves. Then all will be well, for we will also be free. And this is victory! As Sun-Tzu writes: One who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes meet with defeat. One who knows neither the enemy nor himself will invariably be defeated in every engagement. Sure Guarantees for Swift Progress The only higher facts that can transform our lives are those that have been made our own through firsthand experience. Until a child learns to walk for himself, he cannot move from place to place on his...