One of the biggest gifts of a spiritual practice is ego awareness and control. 

The ego, or negative self, as my teacher Adnan would call it, is the part of yourself built up over the years of struggle to survive in this human world. The ego can make life miserable while pretending to be your friend. It is the part that pushes you, again and again, to achieve, do more, push, exhaust yourself, prove your worth, and once you achieve your goal, will bash you with the fear of falling, i.e. not maintaining or surpassing your new standard of achievement. It is an endless cycle of never being good enough.

The ego is merciless in its assault. If you are feeling good, it floods you with fears of loss. If you are down, it stomps you into the dirt and then fills you up with excuses about the unfairness of the world and victimhood. It is a nasty mental construct with a life of its own. Its sole purpose is to torment you. 

Most people don’t even realize this negative voice is not their own.  They seek to mute it by staying busy, drinking, drugs, video games, eating, smoking, driving fast, or climbing mountains. The ego never takes a vacation.

The Sufi practice and other spiritual work can help you tame the ego by bringing you into the moment and connecting you to your spirit. In the moment there is no past or future, no worries, no failures or challenges. There is only you, your body, and your breath. In this moment the ego is silent -- as long as you stay in the moment. The ego will try to distract you assailing you with thoughts of the past or future. The Sufi work awakens you to its intrusions and provides the tools to bring you back to the moment.

The Arabic word for this ego voice is "nafs," the mischievous whisper that fills your head with negativity. You could say that the world is currently inundated with nafs. The more we tame our nafs, the more we help others and the world.

Join me for another Nafs taming session tomorrow, February 2 at 9 am PST and Sunday, February 4 at 8 am PST. 

The Zoom link is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89999494833?pwd=V2pOS28yYUdXM3hkaW1rVWIvSjBUdz09

Meeting ID: 899 9949 4833

Passcode: SUFI

Here's a time converter link to check the time in your location.

Be peaceful.

Michelle

Dr. Michelle Peticolas

Life Transformation Coach

Empowering Women to Reinvent Their Life After Loss

Secrets of Life and Death

https://www.facebook.com/secretsoflifeanddeath.com