Ugly Duckling Syndrome and Breaking Away from Ego -ANNE

[Guest guest]

Anne,

 

Thank YOU for sharing!

 

The first thing that came to my mind?

Gratitude!

Be grateful for what you have--even the things that seem 'bad'.

 

After I first heard this lesson, it took awhile to understand it, but

I gave gratitude to God for ALL things.

 

Grateful for 'good' things is obvious.

 

But, to be grateful for what seems bad?

The " bad " things form and mold us into what we finally can become.

Like a piece of steel going through the fire to become a beautiful

sword...a sword to slice through the ego with.

 

No matter what ANYONE (including ourselves) think of our outward

appearance, EVERY soul inside shines with the beauty of a Loving

Creator! Your soul is beautiful! Drop the anger, drop the hate...

and you drop the Ego!

 

The more you work on this, the easier it becomes. Then you will feel

the Glory of the Creator shining from within your beautiful soul!

 

You are Blessed!

Be Grateful!

:)

Stephen

 

 

, " Anne "

<annicole72 wrote:

>

> Hi Group,

>

> I realized something last night while working on some projects.

I haven't thought about this for a long long time. I think I must

have blocked it from my memory. I have been thinking about how to

break free from ego and I have been wondering why outer appearance

has become so important to me. It didn't matter to me before when I

was younger.

> EDITED FOR SPACE................>

> Thanks for reading,

> Anne

>

[Guest guest]

On these same lines, from the sage Ramesh S. Balsekar:

A letter to God:

 

Dear God,

 

This is my record of eternal gratitude to You.

 

You gave me birth in a most respected Hindu family,

but not high enough in social status to make me proud.

 

You gave me a physical form well-admired for its perfection,

but it was small enough to keep me humble.

 

You gave me education high enough to be most useful in life,

but not high enough to make me proud.

 

You gave me success in sports high enough to be satisfied,

but not proud.

 

You gave me a career in which You took me high enough to be

admired, but not high enough to make me arrogant.

 

You gave me a wife and family for which I have always been

eternally grateful, but You did not spare me some grief to remind

me not to forget what life is all about, and to be always grateful

for what I do have.

 

You did not forget to place an adequate number of temptations in

my way so that I may not be too critical of others who have to face

their own temptations.

 

I am now 84, and perhaps the only wish that remains is that the

long life You have given me will not carry a burden at the end.

But in that case, I know You will also give me the necessary

courage to go with it.

 

You gave me a lot to show me how little is needed to be content

and how much could be given away.

 

And, undoubtedly, the most important of all - as if the bounty

You have showered on me were not enough - You crowned Your

achievement by using this psychosomatic apparatus to convey to

the world the most important message of Advaita. Truly I am

blessed. Or, indeed, my Beloved, have You not blessed Yourself?!

 

Finally, it occurs to me, if You were to design for Yourself a life in

phenomenality, could it have been much different from this one?

 

And, for this thought, no tears are enough to wash Your

Noumenal feet.

 

 

Ramesh S. Balsekar