In some articles on the web, in the “New Age” world as well as in many of the questions we receive for our monthly VidChat we encounter the issue of transferal of power from ego to innate knowingness of the soul in order to create the shift of consciousness that many hope for.
We also get the question on how to use Time Line Therapy® for connecting more with the deeper part of our consciousness, the core structure of who we really are.
And we also get asked the following question: “How do I know if it is really the deepest part of me, the true soul, the true consciousness talking or just my ego?”
There is a real problem with this question from the start because the terms “soul”, “consciousness”, “deepest part of me” have so many different meanings to different people that it can be really hard to find your way out of the confusion.
Since it is a recurrent question, I thought it was a good idea to address the issue in an article and share with you some simple ways to help develop your discernment.
Differentiating the two is a delicate matter. First, because most people live lives in which they are in perpetual conflict between their Conscious and Unconscious Mind.
“Heart says one, mind says something else.”
“Logically I think should carry on this way, but emotionally I feel I would rather do it the other way around.”
You’ve heard these befores. It’s almost a cliché in human experience.
The next problem is that not many people are really interested in figuring out the difference between soul, consciousness and the rest. They live in the delusion that who they are equals what they think. I am John. I am Mary. I am a doctor. I am a carpenter. They identify with their momentary thoughts about themselves (Conscious Mind) and as a result they are disconnected from the other parts of their essence.
A great deal of confusion is intentionally perpetuated by various institutions, false spirituality and science to make sure people do not connect with their soul. Indeed, if they do, they would free themselves from external control, from the “shoulds” and the “musts” imposed by others and find their true purpose in life which is NOT only to procreate and perpetuate the species.
On the other hand, everybody is aware of what it is most often referred to as ego. Sometimes the ego is confused with selfishness. That’s why we call the people “egocentric”.
Carl Jung defined the ego as the center of consciousness, whereas the “Self” is the center of the total personality. Oooops! Where is the soul for those who did not study Jungian psychology? Confusing!
Sigmund Freud classified this differently into “Id”, “ego” and “super-ego”. In German “das Es”, “das Ich” and “das Ãœber-Ich”. The word “Ãœber” actually means “above” in which case the translation “super-ego” is a little inferential. The literal translation would be “above I” the word “Ich” meaning “I”.
I know, I know, the Freudian psychologists (less the ones in Germany) will rip me to pieces, for daring to challenge the status-quo, however if you’re really literal in translation, this is what it means. “I” is equated with what I can think about me (Conscious Mind). But I am getting ahead of myself.
We can immediately see the correspondence with what we call Unconscious Mind (the instincts, automatic reactions, knee jerk reflexes, libido, seat of emotions, etc.), the Conscious Mind (the seat of critical rational thinking, the part of ourselves that represents reality) and Higher Conscious Mind (the real immortal part of us, with other sets of rules and directives beyond the purpose of this article, and which some people call the Soul).
Some people associate the Soul with the Higher Conscious Mind, others with the Unconscious Mind. Some associate consciousness with Higher Conscious Mind and some with the Conscious Mind. No wonder it is confusing.
Now, for the sake of the argument let’s associate the ego with the Conscious Mind. In this respect, the ego is restrictive because it has only a very small amount of information available through the five senses, and many times makes conclusions based on the instinctual reactions of the Unconscious Mind. Conscious Mind is constructs its evaluation of the world based on the five senses. See, hear, feel, taste and smell plus the ability for self-talk. Remember “I think, therefore I am”?
The five senses are very restrictive I have to admit. But this is all you have. Love it or hate it. Everything else is a bunch of beliefs. “I believe in past lives.” I don’t believe in past lives.” “I believe I contact other dimensions” “I believe there is nothing else but this physical reality and when you die nothing remains out of you.” “I believe there is a soul.” “Science has not found a soul.”
Well… these are all beliefs. None can be “proven scientifically”, for all it’s worth.
Most people are not “psychic”. They do not have access to other “dimensions” either through clairvoyance, clairaudience or clairsentience. And even the psychics decode what they experience through the lens of the Conscious Mind. This is why they are sometimes spot-on and sometimes off.
So, the Conscious Mind (ego) evaluates reality based on some restrictive filters including the belief system (which is most of the time inherited or learned from others), the person’s decisions, attitudes (mostly learned from others), values (unconsciously accepted or rejected from others), etc. The NLP Model of Communication is very descriptive on how this works. It provides a framework of understanding how Conscious Mind (ego) does it.
All right! We can then say that people identify their ego mostly by deduction. However, when we learn what the Conscious Mind is actually doing, the processes that run inside our conscious reasoning (through NLP), and also the functions and the responses of the Unconscious Mind (through NLP and Time Line Therapy®), we can then find it a little easier to differentiate between the two. We can then use a process of elimination.
But where is the Soul in this equation? According to many New Age fans in order to connect with the Soul we should give up the ego (Conscious Mind). Completely renounce it.
Good luck to you navigating through life! No filtering of right and wrong, no individuality. You will reconnect with oneness (if this is your purpose) anyway after you die.
Jokes aside, do you understand what this proposition really means? It means falling back into unconsciousness. As that would be the solution!
Life in the material universe presupposes individuality as a gate to experiencing oneness. This is actually the secret. To learn to live as an individual and at the same time experience your infiniteness. This is why you need to train your Conscious Mind and your Unconscious Mind.
The Soul (for our purpose in this article let’s say that the Soul is the Higher Conscious Mind), is not contactable through becoming unconscious. It is contactable and you can re-identify with it, but paradoxically the process requires consciousness – because, like it or not folks, this is all you have to filter the information you receive”. This is why you should learn how your Conscious Mind works. This is why NLP is extremely important.
Here is something for sure: if the Unconscious Mind is misguided (or if the Unconscious Mind takes over since many people are living lives deeply unconscious) there is no consciousness to direct the body towards unity with the soul. There is no integration. If the Unconscious Mind experiences negative emotions (and it does), and these emotions are not let go of from the whole neurology of the body with Time Line Therapy®, the Unconscious Mind will be misguided.
And just because we talk about this, no folks, denying you have negative emotions in your past does not mean you got rid of them. I could believe you if you were to live in a cave, and meditate for 30 years. But as long as you live in a society, you have a family, relationships, a job and so on, that means you are a normal human being. And as a normal human being you have experienced negative emotions. Maybe you experience them right now. Unless you have already done Time Line Therapy®, these negative emotions are stored in the memories of every cell of your body. They’re there and so you better let them go if you’re interested in consciousness, and experiencing your Higher Conscious Mind (your soul).
Otherwise, your behaviors, thinking patterns and feelings will be all clouded and your ability to recognize the ego from the soul severely impaired.
Well… it seems we all have more work to do.
Until next time, be well.