The simplest diagnostic is in the language. Count how many times "I" appears in a thought, a claim, a spiritual statement. "I am peaceful." "I am witnessing." "I am the consciousness." The content has changed. The speaker hasn't. The ego is still organizing around an identity — it's just wearing different clothes. Where the "I" disappears, something else becomes possible.
This is the part so many people miss. The ego can wear a spiritual costume too.
Sometimes the work is not becoming more peaceful. It is being honest enough to admit what is still moving through us without making it wrong.
That distinction between witnessing and bypassing is everything.
Nicely put!
The simplest diagnostic is in the language. Count how many times "I" appears in a thought, a claim, a spiritual statement. "I am peaceful." "I am witnessing." "I am the consciousness." The content has changed. The speaker hasn't. The ego is still organizing around an identity — it's just wearing different clothes. Where the "I" disappears, something else becomes possible.
Yes. Everything after “I am” is the self-concept.
Thanks for your note. I appreciate the interaction.
I invite you to check out the available content and consider subscribing. The subscription will always be free.
Best,
Marty
A controversial thought: If everything is an illusion, does it ultimately matter whether a rock is a rock, spiritually bypassed, or self-realized?
Whatever works.
Unless someone is carrying a deep existential angst and attempting to resolve the disconnect with their true Self, let the rest play with their toys.
It gives them something to do in the theater of the mind.
— The Marketplace Mystic
http://buddhaontherollercoaster.substack.com
A controversial thought: If everything is an illusion, does it ultimately matter whether a rock is a rock, spiritually bypassed, or self-realized?
Whatever works.
Unless someone is carrying a deep existential angst and attempting to resolve the disconnect with their true Self, let the rest play with their toys.
It gives them something to do in the theater of the mind.
— The Marketplace Mystic buddhaontherollercoaster.substack.com
Thanks for the notes and the like.
Please check out my other available content and consider subscribing. The subscription will always be free.
Best,
Marty