Pride of Mind

Pride of Mind

There is a saying: ‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.’ The implication is that when we know a little about something we often think that we know a lot – and often we think we know more than others and therefore somehow have the authority to tell others what they should do or how they should be.

A little knowledge can be the basis for pride of mind. As we develop the mind through gaining knowledge we have the impression that somehow we are better, or more intelligent or superior. This is always an illusion.

We become truly intelligent only when we understand universal laws and live them practically. When we do this we are never superior to others because we see ourselves as servants of the universal, not masters of it.

Only in light of the universal do we see how relative our little knowledge is and how full of illusion and distortion it is. An intelligent mind is a humble mind. A proud mind is very judgmental.

In the natural order of life nothing and no one is better or worse than anything else or anyone else. Each has its place and purpose. Nothing more and nothing less.

No one can tell you what your truth is and you cannot tell anyone else what theirs is. I often hear people telling others what they should do when they do not even know the other person. This is frequently a projection on the part of the one telling, and is seldom motivated by love.

One of the characteristics of the lower mind, unenlightened by the higher mind of universal truths and principles, or by the plane of intuition and unconditional love, is that it serves the ego with a kind of semi-conscious self-interest. Such a mind, or a person with such a mind, believes as right and true what it decides to be right and true. Such a pride enables us to invent and defend our own reality as the ultimate reality. In fact, that is what we are doing whenever we are using our defence mechanisms. We use a defence mechanism whenever the authority of the ego is threatened by truth.

Many people use their mind a lot and believe it to be growth-promoting. In fact, what they are often doing is collecting bricks and mortar to add to the construction of their fortress – the egoic structure from which they battle life. Their new knowledge is reinforcement or embellishment of their old knowledge. The mental processes involved do not involve soul energies or qualities. What this implies is that the mind remains in a masculine stance toward reality, which means it is in control and therefore imposes itself and its conditioning and self-interest on whatever it approaches.

Your mind can only perceive the truth of something when it becomes yin or feminine in its openness toward reality and experience, thus allowing truth to present and reveal itself to the mind. When mind is used with soul energies it stretches us into new and unfamiliar territory. This feels threatening to the egoic mind and is often then resisted.

Virtually all ancient cultures lived life with a spiritual perspective. However, through time and the development of linear thinking the spiritual dimension was abandoned. Ancient Greece and India developed the lower mind to an outstanding level, and in the West this has occurred in the past 300 years. What happened during this emphasis on the form to which the lower mind addresses itself, was the loss of its relationship to the spiritual world. The result of this disconnection is literalism as opposed to symbolism. The material world (including thought) was conceived as a reality independent of any spiritual dimensions. This loss of connection between lower and higher mind, between the form and its archetypal essence, has been one of the most significant causes of world problems that promote or uphold separatism.

What aggravates the situation is a recognition that we must connect to spiritual dimensions – but it is done emotionally through blind belief rather than through higher mind understanding. Because emotions are essentially separative our religious beliefs tend also to be separative and believed to be the only right perception of reality.

The restoration of connection between lower and higher mind is now a primary goal in humanity’s evolution of consciousness. When this connection is made and upheld, diversity is valued, meaning is understood and compassion is greatly increased. This is the soul work of the next millennium.

Exercises:

1. In what area of living do you experience pride of mind? Is this a compensation for feelings of insecurity or inferiority? What do you need to focus on to put your knowledge or experience into a bigger picture?

2. Each day focus on at least one universal quality, law or principle so that you can increasingly develop your higher mind (which is the soul mind) and integrate it with your lower, linear thinking. Much of the Soul Journey teachings help you do just that.



By Soul Journey