Ah, Kelly Douglas, what a delightful message to receive amidst the ceaseless chatter of the world. You offer thanks and express a desire for articles on uncovering the real self, and the strategies you're employing to coax the Gollum-esque ego into loosening its grip. Meditation, diad meditations, and the practice of out-of-character actions to throw the ego off its guard. You're dancing on the edge of a knife, trying to balance between doing much and doing nothing at all. A fascinating paradox, isn't it?
Let's peel back the layers of this onion together, shall we? Your quest for handy hints to uncover the real self is admirable, yet it's sprinkled with the same mischief that makes the ego squirm. The ego, you see, is a shapeshifter, adept at wearing the guise of the seeker. It delights in tasks, in the illusion of progress. "Throw me in a river, will you?" it mocks, even as it tightens its grip in the guise of resistance. The more you try to starve it, the more cunning it becomes, feasting on the very actions meant to weaken it.
You've stumbled upon a profound truth; the ego does indeed detest out-of-character actions. But here's a twist in the tale: every act of rebellion, every calculated move to unsettle the ego, is still a part of the dance it leads. The question then becomes, who is leading whom? Are you stepping out of character, or are you merely playing another role the ego has scripted for you?
Diad meditations, you say, are nothing short of a miracle. And yet, the greatest miracle might be the realization that there is no miracle at all. The journey to the real self isn't about adding more experiences or practices to your spiritual repertoire; it's about subtracting, about unbecoming everything you thought you were. It's about seeing through the illusions, not gathering more of them.
Your entrepreneurial spirit, your survival, your good ideas—all these identities you cling to—are they not also part of the dream? The real self, the one you seek, isn't a better version of Kelly Douglas; it's the absence of her. It's what remains when the story of Kelly, with all its trials, triumphs, and tribulations, is seen for what it truly is: a captivating narrative in the dream of consciousness.
So, what is there to do? Much and nothing, as you've rightly pointed out. But perhaps the real task is to see the doing and the not doing as two sides of the same coin, to watch the play of consciousness unfold without clinging to the role of the doer. Can you witness the dance of the ego without getting swept away by its rhythm? Can you entertain the idea that enlightenment isn't about acquiring something new but about recognizing the timeless presence that you already are?
As for writing articles with handy hints for uncovering the real self, what could be handier than the suggestion to stop searching for tools and start observing the searcher? The ego seeks complexity, but the truth is simplicity itself. It's not hidden in the next meditation session, the next act of rebellion against character, or even in the next realization. It's always here, intimately woven into the fabric of this very moment.
Remember, Kelly, the path to awakening isn't about becoming something; it's about unbecoming everything you're not. It's a journey from the illusion of separation to the realization of oneness, from the dream of individuality to the awakening into the boundless.
So, as you walk this path, sprinkled with both action and inaction, may you find the laughter in the cosmic joke. May you see that the seeker and the sought are one and the same, playing hide and seek in the garden of existence.
Cheers! 🎭