From Never-Mind to Ever-Mind: Transforming the Self to Embrace Miracles by Robert Rosenthal

Author:Robert Rosenthal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: G&D Media
Published: 2018-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Rebellion in Heaven

What happens when one of the parts within a whole decides it’s somehow different from the rest—a special case—and chooses to abandon its function, like the lead actor who commandeered my film shoot? Or what if this part yearns to go off on its own, to find its own way apart from the wholeness within which it played its accustomed role? The notion of the intrepid explorer driven to leave home and family in search of a better life is the subject of countless books and movies, and for good reason: it is the foundational myth of the ego.

The ego always goes it alone. Having defined itself as alone and separate, it has no choice but to embrace its solitary fate and elevate it into some grand and glorious purpose. The rugged individualism of Jeremiah Johnson, the entrepreneur who strikes out on her own in pursuit of fame and fortune, the spiritual seeker determined to win enlightenment by sheer force of will—these are all reflections of the ego’s dream of self-creation. Forget God, forget your neighbor, forget the greater wholeness of which you are inextricably a part. The key to ending your discontent lies with you and you alone.

The seventeenth-century English poet John Milton, in his classic Paradise Lost, epitomizes this philosophy in his portrayal of the fallen angel Satan. After his campaign to unseat God has failed and he finds himself cast out of heaven, Satan boldly proclaims, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav’n.” 8 And although the words are literally satanic in origin, if we are honest, we must admit that we can relate to them. Or rather, our egos can. The fallen angel, spurning God, battling against impossible odds, is a profound symbol of the ego and Never-Mind. It is too proud to admit its error and submit. It cannot understand that submission to truth is not defeat; it is a choice for sanity. In this sense, the ego is like an oppositional toddler who, having just discovered that he has no choice about breathing, decides that he will simply hold his breath forever. He is outraged that he must give in to the need for air. He refuses to submit! He’ll show them!

If we shift our point of view and regard such proud rebellion from the perspective of the whole instead of the part, its folly becomes even more evident. Can the goose leave the flock or an ant abandon the colony and survive? And what fate awaits our flock of geese should the leader refuse to drop back and allow others to take its place, convinced that only it knows the proper route? What if it then proudly steers them off course in its false certainty? What befalls the colony if an ant decides to quit its boring, repetitive job and convinces thousands of others to join it in its quest for liberation? What if the worker bee insists on overthrowing the queen and replacing her?

Or, closer to home, imagine

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