07/17/05

In your quest for enlightenment, always ask what’s in it for me?

   On the surface the above statement will sound selfish because humanity sees it the other way around and selfishness is measured in human terms, but the truth of the matter is that “nature” is selfish by nature. Nature gives back to nature only after it has satisfied the needs of sustenance of each individual first.  Humanity has taught its members to be selfless and “give” or “do,” whether you like it or not, without question or critical thinking.

   The purpose of life is to create life. No aspect of nature can do that effectively until self needs are met first. I will have little to give back unless I have something in the first place. My first priorities are to sustain my own physical awareness, my own basis needs of food and shelter must be met.

   During the course of a day one will encounter many hands that are reached out, starting with your immediate family and continuing throughout the day. These requests for help are not obligations; they are opportunities that you bring into your life to demonstrate other aspects of your emotional or feeling self. A thought is always manifested or demonstrated physically. If you know yourself to be generous and giving, opportunities will come to you that allow you to reflect that thought. If you know yourself as irrationally selfish you will demonstrate that in your daily affairs.

   All circumstances are opportunities for you to declare who you are and to demonstrate it. They are thoughts acted out on the physical stage for your benefit only. The wants, desires, concerns or feelings of others have nothing to do with you directly unless you decide to respond to them. When you walk by a large display window in a department store, you are not obligated to buy anything, it is simply an opportunity. If you act out of anger, fear, obligation or guilt then you move against what your natural instinct or intuition tells you to do. You are denying the opportunity to demonstrate who you really are by going against these personal characteristics of ego, in short you are lying to yourself which is the worst blasphemy.

   You are obliged by nature to simply be who you are, and not what others would have you be. A rose can never be a watermelon, and it would be insane for the rose to think that it could be. An apple tree can not give until it has satisfied all its basic needs to bring it to fruition. At that point it will bare fruit and give back to nature.

   A child takes selfishly until it is mature enough to sustain itself and collect abundance. At that point it will start to give back, because it has something to give.

   As physical humans beings we give emotionally because we are secure within ourselves to give some of ourselves. If we lack love, we will have no love to give. If we have lacked receiving, we will be reluctant to give. If we have an abundance of anger, we will give anger. If we are fearful, we will generate fear.  

   All of us by nature give generously, the feelings or emotions that are abundant in us. If all we have is lack then that is what we will give away. It is in our own best interest to acquire emotional abundance so that we know we have it to give away, because with maturity comes the awareness that the abundance is given back to us. We cannot give without receiving and we can not take away without loosing.

   We cannot give to another without receiving the feeling of giving, nor can we take away from another without the feeling of loosing something. These feelings remain true to us and reflect our own personal nature, they are validations of how we are feeling and our current thought process, and they are physical symbols that we cannot hide from.

   In all things that we do or say, we must always consider first, what’s in it for me. Is what I am about to do truly reflecting who I am? If it does then you do the thing selfishly from love of self. You benefit yourself first from an enlightened awareness of who you are and your model of the world and yourself in relationship to it. The wants of others are only important to you if you see them as reflections of yourself bringing opportunity to self, to demonstrate who you are and express self awareness that you are alive and this is who you are.

   One should never feel guilty for being rationally selfish, but notice one’s own feelings, if one gives from fear, guilt or anger. The feeling of self denial or betrayal most always brings awareness of anger towards oneself if you betray your own feelings and do not consider them first.

   Give to others first because that is who you are, without the expectation that you will receive recognition for the act, this is the greatest reward. The validation of your own existence, expect nothing else.

   The next time someone calls you selfish, be aware of how you feel. If you react to this statement harshly from guilt, fear or expectation, you have not yet reached a higher level of awareness, which will allow you to acknowledge your selfishness spiritually.

   If you feel comfortable with being called “selfish,” you have reached enlightenment and it is an acknowledgement of your enlightenment and compassion for those that would call you selfish in ignorance of its true meaning.

   If everyone acted from true spiritual selfishness, there would be no lack, no war and no separation. There would be peace and abundance for all.

Roy is a resident of British Columbia, Canada. An international published author, a student of NLP, spiritual philosopher, New Age Light Worker, Teacher and Phenomenologist. Roy's books and articles are thought provoking, and designed to empower your imagination. Review Roy's new book at: http://www.yourlifewasnevermeanttobeastruggle.com