Welcome
to Day 14 of our 40-Day Meditation Retreat.
Summary
These days we have been having wonderful discussions and meetings, meditations, and there is a lot of growth I would say in the environment. And it’s a space that we co-create.
Support of the teacher(s), groups, self-discipline
Yesterday I spoke about the support of the enlightened teacher, or the more aware teacher. We spoke about group energy and the support that you gain from group energy, association with noble souls. We also spoke about self-discipline and the need for self-discipline; that if we really want to achieve our spiritual goals we need to be self-disciplined. We have been exploring the ego in its different forms of expression. We said there are seven levels that correspond to energy centres within us through which the ego expresses itself, giving rise to seven different qualities of expression.
Today I am going to speak about the most powerful energy centre: the one that we really need to awaken and develop if we are to explore this journey in an intelligent and responsible way - the centre associated with the intellect.
Centre between the eyebrow – the “third eye”
In this human journey of self-discovery, of self-exploration, we need to have a very powerful intellect. This is associated with the centre between the eyebrows which is called “the third eye,” and, when you think of the analogy of a third eye, you will think that it’s another way of seeing.
Of course it has to be a more advanced way of seeing, that we are able to see more. This third eye centre gives rise to a very powerful intellect. So the most powerful centre of the third eye, the most powerful centre of ego expression is where the intellect is. That is at the centre of the eyebrows, the brow centre.
So, it is extremely important to have this centre awakened; it is the awakening of intelligence, intellectual intelligence. And, when this centre is awakened it becomes a most powerful companion on the journey. It is the centre of reasoning. We hold reason in a very high place in terms of intelligence in our society. If you can use the intellect very powerfully, we say you are very intelligent. And in fact, this quality of the mind or mental being distinguishes us from other life forms that we are able to transform our world in such a powerful way, even negatively because of this power of intellect.
A powerful intellect – a great asset or powerful obstacle on the journey
A powerful intellect is a very great asset on the journey – the most powerful tool. And of course, by the same token it can be the most powerful obstacle. Intelligence, high intelligence can lead to greater spiritual growth, or it can lead to our downfall. When this centre is awakened, when we have a powerful intellect, we are able to discern or to see clearly, or to distinguish our goals.
“This is what I want to do, and I want to do this, because of how important this is.” So we are able to see how important it is through reasoning and based on that, we are able to focus our attention on what we want to achieve. So we know why we want to achieve it, and we also know how we are going to do it. We can reason that out. Then we can hold our focus on the goal. That’s what the intellect can help us to do.
Intellect as inner teacher and guide
Having this power of intellect is extremely important on the spiritual journey. I would say so important that it is the inner teacher. It allows us to manage ourselves. It allows us to guide ourselves. It allows us to take charge of ourselves, and so it’s a very powerful tool of self-management. It’s our own inner guide on the journey. Before we can even select a teacher, or decide, “This is going to be my teacher,” we need to have a good intellect to be able to do that. So learning how to reason is an important thing, “Why do I want to select this teacher? What do I feel? What do I expect?”
We need to know how to use reason powerfully. And then having made a choice using reason, we need to learn how to keep focused. Now that I have decided what I want to do and why, I need to be focused. And so, in a space with so many distractions I really need to hold my focus. The intellect allows me (the ego) to see what my distractions are, allows me to decide how to deal with them and allows me to stay focused. Whenever distraction comes I can figure out, “How do I deal with this?” and I can figure out a plan to deal with it that allows me to stay focused.
As I begin to experience more and more of my power, the intellect allows me to see and evaluate my experiences and to say whether they are really achieving the goal or not. “Am I really getting closer to my goal? Is the discipline that I am following really helping me to get closer or do I need to change it a little bit? Am I stagnating or am I really moving forward?” So, the intellect allows me to monitor, to evaluate, to assess as I go on, and even to modify my plans and my goals.
Intellect/ego in limitation and surrender
The intellect and ego are like inseparable companions; the ego is using the intellect as a tool. They also need to know when they are limited.
“I can’t figure this out. I really don’t know how to figure this out.” And so, intellect will always have limitations. The intellect is not going to know everything about everything. At some point it has to bow to a greater power or greater intelligence in the Universe. The ego with intellect needs to know when to surrender and say, “I don’t know; I need to know.”
The ego and intellect need to be humble and to clear the way for inner guidance that we call “intuition,” and to see the myriad of ways in which the Universe can bring information when the ego with intellect becomes humble and receptive. So the ego and intellect need to know how to work in harmony with the intelligent Universe around it. This inner guidance is called “intuition.” The intellect has to work in such a way to draw more knowledge from the space whether internal or external or both. This is how important the intellect is on the journey.
Role of the Guru as trusted Guide, Teacher
When the intellect is not sharp enough the ego needs to know, “How do I get guidance? I need to be guided by a powerful and pure intellect from the outside.” That’s where the Guide comes in, that’s where the Teacher comes in. “How can I find someone that I can trust with a clearer intellect who can guide me to develop my own?” So when we can’t trust ours we need to be guided by someone outside of us who has a purer intellect established in goodness. If that person is true, that person will guide us to develop our own.
Yesterday, I spoke about association: how through association, energetically, we are able to also awaken this…simply by the power of association, and receptivity. This is the brow centre and its power. So it’s a most powerful centre on the journey. When this is awakened it helps us to manage all the rest of the energy field. So a good student, a good seeker will want to ensure that he or she has this tool awakened and in proper use.
Today I leave you with the idea of the power of the sixth centre if we are counting the centres in sequence from the base. Get to know it more and begin to see how it features in your own life. It’s an extremely important centre in taking charge of our journey and working intelligently in an intelligent Universe.
