My wife, a practicing Christian, believed there is a devil. I tried to point out that if there really is a devil, that God made it, so the devil must be in our lives for a purpose. She didn’t buy it. I feel the same way about ego. I could not be the person I am today without an ego. After years of letting go of old ideas through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, ego is no longer the prime motivating force, but without the energy of my fearful ego pushing me a little, I would never get off the couch. Perhaps ego is simply the fearful little kid I abandoned as I grew. I’m learning to embrace ego rather than hold it in contempt.
Since I don’t feel qualified to judge what is a right thing or a wrong thing, I like to use the term, “next indicated thing” instead. I read that a monk once asked a holy man what it meant to live a spiritual life. The sage’s reply: “When you are hungry, eat; when you are tired, sleep.” I really do believe it can be this simple — flowing in the direction life is moving, doing the next indicated thing; solving any problems that appear without frustration, confusion, or suffering. I believe this is the life that God intended for us when he put us here.
I’ve had a taste of being in the flow during the past couple of years. The promise that I’ll intuitively know how to handle situations that used to baffle me has come true. I’ve stopped trying to figure it all out and second guessing myself. I trust spiritual intuition (Good Orderly Direction); I try to put one foot in front of the other, and accept whatever the outcome in advance. It works, it really does!