Self, Ego and Communication Skills

 


This morning I got on the road by 5:45, slightly later than usual. Having been out all of last week for the conference at Vegas, I didn’t realize how much sunrise time had moved up. I witnessed the first glimpse of the sun as I had stopped at the light just before turning onto the freeway. Earlier, as I was pulling out of the garage and onto the driveway I had noticed the delicate crescent moon in the eastern sky. Now few minutes later, as the sun began to peek from behind the mountain peaks, I had to crane my neck to spot this crescent but nevertheless it remained visible. 

The sight of the sun and moon took me back to the thoughts that were floating in my mind yesterday as I wrote my perspective on the Heeramandi song. I wrote in that essay how the ego is the smallest entity in the natural order of the universe and yet casts the biggest shadow on everything. Come to think of it, it even casts a shadow on the mighty Brahman or God consciousness! What does this have to do with the sun and the moon? Talking of shadows what came to mind was the phenomenon of eclipses that we see from time to time. The much smaller moon is able to hide the huge sun from our eyes. Well, most of us pretty much spend our  entire lives in a state of spiritual eclipse. For a few who take the steps towards finding the truth about ourselves the shadows of the ego begin to slowly move away exposing the light within us, just like the moon crosses over and away from the sun slowly during a solar eclipse. There is a prolonged phase where you see both, partially the bright light and partially the shadow until the shadow disappears completely.

That is the phase I find myself grappling with lately. There is light shining from one corner and that same light reveals the long shadows of the ego. Another moment the mind again identifies itself completely with the dark parts and the light fades. It is evident that the shadows are dispersing because even in the darkness now insight remains. The progress however appears much slower than I would have liked. It is hard to get a good sense of how long these shadows are going to last before they vanish. When will the mind-intellect entity stop oscillating between the illumined self and the dim ego? 

A more encouraging observation about what that partial getting out of the shadow is doing is it is creating a channel of better communication. The conference I attended last week about End of Life Care put great emphasis on communication skills, not just with the dying patients but also with their families. Today back to work I was pleasantly amazed to see the ease with which communication was occurring with each of my patients. A particularly difficult encounter with a patient who was new to me, had pre existing mental health issues, severe obesity and a new diagnosis of diabetes, went so smoothly and satisfactorily, she commented at the end of the visit that she saw me empowering her. This is the magic of the Light of the Self. It can connect with the light in another person. Just like one bird can connect with another of its own species, our true self has the natural ability to connect with all other beings in creation. It is such a wonderful experience. 

What we see today anywhere in the world is failing communication. We don’t speak each other’s language, sometimes even within one family. Between one person and another, one community and another, one nation and another, one race and another there are often gaping rifts that prove challenging to bridge. I am beginning to see how the distance between two entities is directly proportional to how far each is from their real self. 

During today’s encounter with the seemingly difficult patient it became evident that in the moments when there is pure consciousness one doesn’t need the aid of eyes or ears to see or listen to the other person. It occurs naturally. Similarly what you speak in that  moment of purity effortlessly reaches their soul, not just their ears or brain. Sustaining that degree of purity throughout the day remains a task however. Yet it serves as a standard to adhere to even when you feel you are slipping away into dim territory. 

It was a precious day today. Even managed to catch up casually with a few friends from various corners of the world in between the day’s work. Modern day modes of communication and social media are wonderful because they facilitate staying in touch despite physical distances. Yet they can get someone seriously knocked out unless you learn to manage the volume of interaction. I was headed in that direction of losing control at one point. Fortunately pulled the plug just in time. It has since given me a sense of being in charge with how much to take on the plate. 

Featured saree for the day was a Ponduru khadi with fine checks on the body and a coffee brown woven border. Paired today with a printed cotton blouse. It was nice to be admired and complimented by a patient and her daughter this morning, initiating a brief conversation about the rich traditions of textiles in India.

Comments

Popular Posts