Politics + Religion Aren’t the Problem, Ego Is…

Ego loves to express itself through positions of power, whether that’s through the power created in a relationship with one particular person or many people. The misuse of power becomes most evident in positions of traditional power like political positions.

We, as a society, have become so accustomed to seeing this play out that we’ve created fitting stereotypes for politicians and lawyers. The inherent purpose of these roles—to serve the greater good of the public—has flipped to self-serving motivations.

Despite these stereotypes, it’s not the positions themselves that should be blamed, but rather ego’s misuse of them. The positions, like anything else, are neutral until they get filled by someone who chooses to use them a certain way.

The same applies to religious leaders…

When a religious leader is seen as having fallen from grace, there tends to be an outcry towards the entirety of the religion they represent, instead the individual “ego” who misused the power their role afforded them.

Ironically, what is really occurring is some judgmental thought (about religion, politics or what have you) is being confirmed and justified…this is ego at work within us. And we must be mindful of this.

We must be willing to identify and understand the inner workings of ego before we make the mistake of applying an ego-based judgment to the entire situation.

This is tricky, especially for fallen religious leaders, since we typically hold a higher standard for how they should behave…

Leaving no leeway for ego, we mistake the person (and where they are in their journey) for the essence of the inherent spiritual teachings in the religion itself. We judge the religion based on ego’s misuse of it.

This is the same as saying “well, they’re not representative of the highest good that the religion speaks to, so that highest good must not be available through that religion”. Or in the case of politics, “they’re not representative of the highest good that the political structure was intended to represent, so that highest good must not be possible”.

This is our own egos confirming whatever beliefs or judgments we are currently holding about the situation. And it’s extremely limiting to both our inner and outer development.

Yes, ego is rampant throughout our society. And, yes, it tends to show itself in society’s most prominent institutions like politics and religion. However, it doesn’t mean these same “power” positions can’t be used for their intended purposes…to serve the greater good and to free people to know the deepest treasure that lives within them.

It’s a matter of raising our own level of inner consciousness, such that we can step into these roles without being affected by ego’s pull. When this happens, everything changes…

With respect to political positions:

When we can’t be “bought”, we’re free to make decisions that actually serve the greater good of the whole.

With respect to religious leaders:

When we no longer need people to listen to us or to follow us, we’re free to share the most spiritually liberating teachings.

Can you imagine the results that these roles could bring about when ego no longer has a pull over us? It’s why our inner work is absolutely necessary to manifesting real change on the physical plane.

Real spiritual courage is needed to take on the transformational work that is necessary to overcome the desire for power, control, and influence. And even more courage is needed to take on political and social structures that are heavily based in the psychological fears that affects all of us. To affect change in this realm, we must be willing to overcome:

:: The desire to belong and feel accepted, which means no longer agreeing to the way things have “traditionally” worked;

:: The desire to be liked and understood, which means weathering the backlash of going against the prevailing mindset;

:: The desire for physical and psychological security, which means letting go of being driven by material comfort as well as the psychological comfort that a reputation in good standing with society brings.

Real spiritual courage is needed to stand against the way of the world, until a new way, based in a higher-level of spiritual consciousness, becomes the norm.

However to effectively do this, all of the above desires must be overcome as a part of our inner spiritual development before we step into these roles…

It can be tempting to try and affect change without first changing ourselves, but this can’t work in the long run. It ends up being a reformation of the way things are, instead of an actual transformation.

There’s always the temptation to start (or join) a cause that addresses a particular issue of concern. However, the cause tends to be based in a judgment of the problem, instead of correcting what is causing the problem…

We join a cause that’s against war. And, then we yell and scream at those who are for war. There’s been no transformation of the root-cause, since we’re still warring within ourselves.

The attempted change is still inherently based in ego-consciousness…the very thing that must be transformed before real change becomes possible.

My point is that there’s no way around fixing the particular issue that we’re peeved about, unless we correct what caused us to be peeved in the first place.

When this happens, we can step into the roles that society offers us to play and begin to affect change from the point of having already been transformed within.

The potential for this transformation is available to you. You just have to be willing to step up to do the work. Fortunately, a small willingness is all you need to begin…it’s the seed of all spiritual courage. So just be willing begin! 🙂

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To having the spiritual courage to affect change,

Shanna

Book Testimony: “A Call to the Heart is well written, funny and enlightening. Her stories are delightful and illustrate powerful spiritual truths. The book pointed out to me that although I have a good sized ego, my spirit is larger and more powerful by far, and that if I connect it with The Spirit, it’s unquenchable! I highly recommend this read to anyone who is ready to take the awesome journey from ego to spirit in his or her own life.” Hugh Liddle, CEO & Founder of Red Cap Sales Coaching, Sebring, FL

If you’d like to purchase a signed copy of A Call to the Heart, email me at shanna@shannacovey.com; otherwise copies can be purchased at Amazon and online at B&N (see sidebar for clickable links).

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