Body/Mind/Ego our enemies? or part of our Wholeness?

It has taken me all my life to understand it is not necessary to understand everything.---- Rene Coty
Jeanne Porter Ashley likes this..
Ron Alexander: Thanks, Jeanne, I need to hear that and I will share it, as I have been on this intellectual push for most of my life - nothing better than a "Great Mystery"!
"I had rather be happy than right!" (ACIM - this has been a very difficult lesson for me.)
Back when Nancy Reagan was starting "Just Say No" for her anti-drug message, I came up with "Just don't Know"!
Body/mind is your only true enemy, but body/mind is only a passing illusionary concept of being. True being is above and beyond body/mind, and recognizes no enemy.
Ron Alexander: How can we be here Now without our Body/Mind? And aren't we to love our "enemies"?
Travis E. Duke ‎" When two hands clap together a sound is made. What is the sound of the one hand ? "
Ron Alexander:
There can be no order without first experiencing chaos. We experience separation so we can know what Oneness is, we experience hate so we can know what love is. Can it be we experience "body/mind" so we can know what Reality is?
Ron Alexander: The Bible knows what our body is: "the temple of our spirit."
Travis E. Duke: When we live in a world of "duality ", love/hate, right/wrong , That's all we'll ever see. The truth is beyond that and cultivated in " not knowing " The Bible is among the last of the " Holy Books' and it's unquestioned origins are suspect. Torah & Koran are older !!
Ron Alexander: One of the most destructive forms of "duality" is separating our Spirit from our Body/Mind/Ego! Wholeness is embodying Spirit and the Mind/ego! And I enjoy the "Great Mystery" - one of the greatest names of God ever used. We will never know everything. Without mystery, we would lose that wonderful sense of wonder/exploration/adventure.
Travis E. Duke: To me , letting go of body & mind and resting in the awareness of now,with no bodily sensations or mental formations is where harmony and peace reside. No judgement without investigation ... Just investigation of Who am I ?
Ron Alexander: With due respect, I prefer Buddha's meditation (Vipassana) - it is sensory awareness, so we can explore our "emptiness"! Going deep within the body so one can transcend the body(this too shall pass). Eckhart Tolle calls it Space. I was afraid of it at first, but then exploring "nothingness", I found that it is really the Energy of Divine Love, Joy and peace. Bliss is found in emptiness - no thing ness. You may read the Dalai Lama's THE UNIVERSE IN EVERY ATOM (or not.)
Travis E. Duke: Already read it, good suggestion ! I'm thrilled you have found peace on the Buddha's path, which is unsurpassable. I practice that ol' stripped down bare bones Zen. Nothing to get ,Nowhere to go. " No eyes ,no ears, no nose ,no tongue,no body ,no mind ..." Heart Sutra /Another truly wonderful read is : Moon in a Dewdrop, by Eihei Dogen
Ron Alexander: ‎"Many Paths"! and I am happy for you. I have spent many blissful hours at Green Gulch Zen Center in CA. Interesting one workshop there was "Sensory Awareness" by the late great Charlotte Selver. Also, I studied there with Brother David Steindl-Rast, the Benedictine who writes so much about Gratitude (Gratefulness.org). I preferred the "Crazee" Zens (you?), the ones with a sense of humor - the others wanted me to wear those black outfits and sit just like them!
"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple. The philosophy is kindness." the Dalai Lama I will read Moon in a Dewdrop (love that title)! Have you tried a sensory-deprivation tank!
Travis E. Duke: Actually Ron , I have, years ago in Houston. A place called Oasis where you floated in a tank with like this warm salty water ? I could hear & feel my heartbeat ! Way cool ! I know a few folks from Zen Center and I'm not surprised they wanted to get the black robes on you, Ha ha !! Not to mention those delicious " oriyoki" meals. Where's the Beef ? Actually , I've been vegetarian for 8 yrs. I've got zazen @ 6:10 am , so great to chat with you Ron !! Gotta go for now !!
Below is from another site that has ACIM group:

Is the "ego" our enemy or "satan"

Even if we think our "ego" is our enemy, should we not "love our enemies." Actually, the term ego is one of the 3 divisions of the psyche organized by Sigmund Freud. The other two is the id, which is what most people think the ego is - it is the lower ("snake brain") instinctual part of us where fear and survival competitive issues remain. The ego is described by Freud as the CONSCIOUS mediator of reality for us - the part of us that can drive our car and take care of our body. Simply,it is known as our "self". The other part is the "superego" which we would call our Higher Self as in Reality.
Helen was the one who started demonizing the ego when she channeled ACIM. When I was studying with Bill Thetford(the Scribe) in the mid-80's, he told us to "tear out those pages." He had embodied the wonderful essence of ACIM - Oneness in Love! One average size book could be written called The Essence of ACIM and it would be one of the greatest Holy Books ever written!
And remember from the Bible - "the body is the temple of our spirit."

And to be here now, we need our body and ego!

I do believe in the ending of St. Francis's Prayer - "it is letting go of the self, that we are born to eternal life." However, I think you have to be ready to let go of your body also, and we will always have to face that profound choice. However, as of now at age 66, I have never felt more alive!


Reply by Linda Slasberg on August 9, 2010 at 6:37am
Thank you Ron for this.
It is a clear explanation of something I have been trying to find for myself and a discussion group I started.
I am 63 and also feel more alive now than ever have.