Ego: Dealing With Negative Ego Neighbors And People

By Dr. Joshua David Stone

Dealing With Negative Ego Neighbors And People

The focus of this article is how to effectively deal with people and neighbors who are dominated by the negative ego.

To begin, it must be understood that when life is looked at from the perspective of the soul, everything is seen as a lesson, challenge and spiritual test. Every interaction is seen as an opportunity to respond from a Christ Consciousness attitude rather then a negative ego attitude, to respond from unconditional love, rather than fear and attack, to choose oneness with God rather than separation from God, to choose forgiveness instead of grudges.

It must be understood that every person is one with God already, for in truth, the negative ego thought system doesn't exist; it is illusion. Even though every person is one with God, not everyone is one with God in terms of realization of this spiritual ideal.

Our thoughts create our realities. Most people are not trained in the difference between spiritual thinking and negative ego thinking, and live in a bad dream filled with negative emotions. They think the cause is outside of themselves, when in truth, the cause of all negative thoughts, emotions and negative interactions is an unconscious choice to interpret the situation from the negative ego mind rather than the Christ mind. Does not the Bible say, "Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus?" To put it another way, you can interpret every situation from your lower self or your Higher Self.

When we interpret our interactions with people from our Christ/Buddha and or Higher Self-mind, we see our job spiritually is to set a better example. Did not the Master Jesus say, "Love your enemies?"

So when you approach a person, neighbor, family member, stranger, fellow worker on the job who is run by the negative ego, the first thing that God is teaching you is how not to be. You are also being taught to maintain and remain in your own personal power. You are being taught by God to remain centered in your bubble of protection so other people's negativity slides off like water off a duck's back.

You are also being taught forgiveness and unconditional love. You are being taught to respond instead of react. You are being taught to create your own reality and to not let other people determine your emotions. You are being taught patience and tolerance. You are being taught to look at difficulties as teachings and lessons instead of bummers and problems. You are being taught even-mindedness and to maintain inner peace in all situations. You are being taught to maintain your self-love and love from God within yourself, and not to seek it outside of yourself. You are being taught to remain right with self and right with God even though someone around you is not. You are being taught to remain whole in your self and not seek wholeness outside of yourself. You are being taught to have preferences and not attachments.

You are being taught to set a better example. You are being taught to let go of all attack thoughts and to be kind instead. In some cases you are being taught humility and to turn the other cheek. In some cases you are being taught to remain silent and unaffected. You are being taught to transcend duality. By this, I mean when truly centered in your God Self, you remain the same whether criticized or praised, in victory or defeat, in sickness or in health. In some cases, you are being taught to speak up in a calm, rational, objective, loving manner rather then a reactive, overly emotional, angry, attacking or upset manner.

You are being taught to love your enemy, and to see the diamond underneath the mud, or the light behind the lampshade. You are being taught to see the Christ within the other person, even though they do not see it in themselves and are not seeing it in you. It must be understood that what you see in others is a mirror of your own consciousness, since outer life is nothing more than a projection screen for your own thoughts. How you see your brother and sister is literally determining your oneness or lack of oneness with God. Your brothers and sisters are sons and daughters of God, even if they are not acting like it. If you do not see this, it is you who are deficient in God's eyes. Be more concerned about learning your lessons than about whether your neighbor or friend learns theirs.

You are also being taught to remain in the Christ Consciousness at all times, even when under attack. You are being taught to stay out of your negative ego at all times. In truth you are being taught to be a spiritual Master. From God's perspective, you should bless your unconscious and negative brother and sister for giving you the opportunity to learn such wonderful lessons. This is quite a different perspective then the negative ego's, wouldn't you say?

So, my friends, your negative ego, neighbor or friend is teaching you God realization. The proper attitude toward all situations in life is to say, "Not my will, but thine, oh Lord." Thank you for the lesson. As Sai Baba says, "Welcome adversity." Everything that happens in life happens for a reason, and the reason is to teach you a spiritual lesson you need to learn; there are no accidents. Some interactions are actually set up by your Higher Self to test you to see if you are ready for higher levels of initiation and spiritual responsibility.

Anyone can be spiritual when things are going well. The true test of your Spiritual realization is if you can remain in your Christ Consciousness when you are attacked. "So what that you gain the whole world, but lose your own soul," the Bible says.

My friends, every single moment of your life, you are choosing God or your negative ego. What do you really want? Do you want power, fame and money at the expense of God? Do you want the permanent or the impermanent? Do you want liberation or endless rounds of rebirth? Do you want Heaven and true God realization or the glamour of matter and worldly attachments?

If you find yourself choosing wrongly in a given moment, stop yourself, forgive yourself, and choose once again. Perfection is not never making mistakes. Perfection is not making conscious mistakes. When you become conscious that you have chosen negative ego, forgive yourself, forgive the other person, and attitudinally heal yourself by choosing the Christed attitude. It only takes 21 days to cement a new habit into the subconscious mind.

In conclusion, bless your negative ego neighbor, family member, coworker or friend who is run by the negative ego for you need the blessing if you are to remain one with God. Every time you choose negative ego, you do not lose your oneness with God, for that is impossible. However, you do lose your realization of your oneness with God. Let your mantra hence be, "I choose God and not negative ego in every interaction with a brother and sister." In final conclusion, as the Master Jesus said in The Course in Miracles, "Be vigilant for God and His kingdom."

For more about the work of Dr Joshua David Stone, please visit http://www.iamuniversity.org/