Middlepath: The Goal
of Enlightment© Dick Rauscher May, 2003
Middlepath is a state of mind,
not a place. It can only be achieved when the ego has been emptied
of all beliefs, all opinions,
all certainties, all sense of duality thinking, and all concepts or categories
of “otherness”. As one gets closer to a middlepath consciousness
of one’s self-identity, the experience of happiness
will increase and the experience of depression will diminish.
The best way to begin to understand middlepath
is to picture two black and white primitive ego’s in a heated
argument as to who is right on a particular issue. Black and white
thinking is an early developmental
stage of childhood where the world is broken down or split into all good
or all bad, and all right and all wrong. Each primitive ego struggles
to convince the other primitive ego that their view is the correct view.
It will not be long before the discussion will turn into an argument,
and if continued, will probably lead to conflict or violence. Two young
children fighting on a playground comes to mind.
Unless these two young ego’s grow and mature, the human bodies
that carry them will grow into adulthood but these “adults” will
be children in adult bodies. The conflict and violence that immature,
primitive ego’s can create in an adult body is virtually unlimited.
Virtually all of the conflict and suffering we see in the world today
is caused by adults using immature, primitive, black and white thinking.
Now let’s picture these two primitive egos becoming a bit more
open to the other persons point of view. What has happened? Well, first,
each person’s ego has now entertained the “possibility” that
the other person’s ego might be a little bit “right”.
In a metaphoric sense they have each taken a small step towards each
other. They are no longer defending their understanding of the issue
as “THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH”. They have moved from pure black
and white thinking, to a slightly grayer point of view. They have become
less “reactive” and
are not experiencing each other as much a “personal” threat.
The other is no longer experienced as “the enemy” who is
trying to tell the primitive ego that it is “absolutely” wrong.
They are now beginning to listen a little more
closely to what each other has to say. The noise level is beginning
to drop. They are beginning
to accept the possibility that there might be a bit of “
truth” in what the other person is saying. They have moved from
absolute certainty to a place of “not-knowing-for-certain”.
The potential for conflict and violence between them has lessened. They
are beginning to experience each other as a “person” who
simply “thinks differently” about the subject they are discussing.
These two primitive egos have begun to mature. They are moving toward
a middlepath consciousness. A place where truth is found in both points
of view. A place of silence and listening. A place of openness and not-knowing.
A place where the beliefs and absolute certainties of the primitive ego
have been let go, or emptied. A place where there is less conflict and
violence. A place where each person feels safer, heard, understood, and
valued. A place of increased diversity. And most importantly of all,
a place where duality thinking has given way to concepts of systemic-interdependence
and unity. A spiritual place where the unity of all things is experienced,
and both persons experience themselves and each other as brother and
sister; children of the Creator.
If the ego in each person in our mental scenario
continues to mature, they will eventually experience the unity of the
middlepath; a spirituality
of silence and non-violence where there is no “otherness”;
a place of radical and infinite diversity. When a person has achieved
emptiness of ego or middlepath consciousness, they do not do compassion,
they become compassion.
How we view ourselves, and how we view the world is a mental journey
that begins with the primitive, black and white ego of childhood, and
moves toward a middlepath consciousness called enlightenment. Thus, all
growth in self awareness, all growth in self-consciousness is movement
toward the a middlepath consciousness or a middlepath spirituality. Without
growth in self-consciousness or self-awareness, spiritual growth is not
possible. The journey toward a middlepath consciousness, is the future
of human evolution.
(For a more detailed discussion on the maturation of
the primitive ego see my article on the web site called Spiritual
Growth: The Primitive
Ego Grows Up.)
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
April has brought the long awaited daffodils and crocus
to the Northeast. We have had snow on the ground since last November.
This past winter reminds me of the winters I experienced as a child.
It was not uncommon for snow storms in the good old days of my youth
to be way over my head. My wife of course is quick to remind me that
I was probably only two feet tall at the time. Never the less, those
were the “good old days” when snow storms were life
altering events!
I cranked over the engine on the lawn mower this weekend,
but the battery died before it roared to life. I still have a month to
get it running before the grass begins it’s annual race to grow
faster than I can mow it. Besides, I’m enjoying just walking the
gardens with my coffee watching the plants pushing up through the leaves
and mulch. So far it looks like most of my old friends survived the cold
winter. Even the fish in the farm pond are beginning to swim; pretty
lazy yet, but they are moving.
The first newsletter was received quite well. Several
of you replied with feedback and helpful comments. I was able to respond
to all those who emailed me. I am assuming that for some of you, the
newsletter will be read simply for general information. For those of
you who are genuinely interested in actively exploring the integration
of spirituality and human development I look forward to your comments
and feedback each month. I will continue to respond to your email in
as timely a manner as possible.
The issue raised by many of you who responded by email
concerned the subject of “middlepath”. You asked, what is
middlepath and could I unpack that concept more in future issues of the
newsletter. Since “
middlepath consciousness” and “middlepath spirituality” is
so central to the work we do here at Stonyhill, I am going to focus on
middlepath in this month’s feature article. I would also suggest
you check out ARTICLE LINK on the Stonyhill web site
for more information on middlepath.
GOALS OF THE STONYHILL NEWSLETTER
We live in a world filled with conflict and violence. Almost everyone agrees that something has to change. There is an urgent need to develop a more compassionate global spirituality.
At Stonyhill, we believe it makes no sense to profess the values and morality of peace and compassion while continuing to manifest the primitive ego's paradigm of vertical power called survival of the fittest; a paradigm of power, control, and violence.
We must learn how the unconscious judgments of the primitive ego bring the seeds of conflict, and a sense of "otherness" into the world. If our personal goal is to do no harm to others or the world, then our thinking must consciously evolve and become more conscious or self-aware.
We will become what we think about and authentic spiritual growth is achieved only when we grow in self-awareness.
Traditional mainline religions are based on primitive pre-modern and violent tribal metaphors written during a time when our human consciousness was still very primitive. Until our mainline religions remove the violence contained in their scriptures and come to understand that most of the wisdom in their scriptures is metaphoric and should not be interpreted literally, they will be unable to offer the moral and ethical framework needed to create effective global solutions to the challenges facing us in the 21st century.
We will evolve as humans only as we become more self-aware and intentionally increase our ability to love unconditionally. A compassionate global spirituality is no longer just an interesting philosophic idea; the future of the human species may very well depend upon our ability to create it. The danger that we could destroy ourselves as a species has never been greater. The creation of a compassionate global community is the most important goal of human consciousness in the 21st century.
The Stonyhill Newsletter explores the insights and spiritual practices required to achieve the authentic spiritual growth that comes from deep self-awareness, understanding the primitive ego that resides in each of us, and the intentional evolution of our species consciousness.
The Stonyhill newsletter is written each month for counselors, therapists, clergy, and individuals interested in authentic spiritual growth, intentional growth in our human consciousness, and the formation of a compassionate, non-violent global community that openly embraces radical inclusiveness and diversity.
Namaste
Dick Rauscher
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The Stonyhill Newsletter is written and published by Dick Rauscher, M.Div., Fellow AAPC. For past issues of the Stonyhill Newsletter and other in depth articles on authentic spiritual growth and the Primitive Ego Theory of Human Development written by Dick Rauscher go to www.stonyhill.com
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2007
There are many article on spiritual growth, the middlepath and the primitive ego on the Stonyhill web site at www.stonyhill.com. If you would like to read an in-depth article on The Primitive Ego Theory of Human Development and the relationship between authentic spiritual growth and the growth in self-awareness that comes as we better understand the primitive ego that dwells inside each of us, you can go to the Awakening article #26 on the web site or just click on this link: http://www.stonyhill.com/articles.htm - awakening
Visit the STONYHILL INSTITUTE website at http://www.stonyhill.com/articles.htm for additional articles on the integration of spirituality and psychotherapy.
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QUOTES
Rushing from task to task, responsibility to
responsibility is inherently destructive to spiritual growth. To
grow spiritually we must increase the silence in our lives. Silence
flows into our lives when we simplify our lives and slow down. Simplicity
does not mean selling our possessions and living the life of the
aesthetic. It simply means learning to focus on one thing at a time,
developing the skill of carefully listening to others and not interrupting
them, and taking large blocks of time to simply sit and be in the
moment.
Dick Rauscher
We are being integrated into one interactive,
inter-feeling body by the same force of evolution that drew atom
to atom and cell to cell. Every tendency in us toward greater wholeness,
unity, and connectedness is reinforced by nature’s tendency
toward holism. Integration is inherent in the process of evolution.
Barbara Marx Hubbard
The mystics, and now the quantum physicists,
are stating that there is no other-ness in the universe, only unity,
and unity is simply any pair of opposites. In other words to walk
the middle path of unity and avoid other-ness we need to carefully
define the extreme black and white ideas and beliefs of any issue.
If we embrace the ideas or beliefs on only one side of the issue,
and ignore the ideas and beliefs on other side, the mystics warn
us that we will create pain, suffering and violence. They remind
us that since all things are created by God, there is truth in all
things. Thus to have Truth on any issue requires that we embrace
the ideas and beliefs found on both sides of any issue. This is called,
learning to walk the middle path. It is important to note that compassion,
peace, happiness, and love are found only on the middle path.
Dick
Rauscher
There is no solitude without silence.
True, silence is sometimes the absence of speech---but it is always
the act of listening.
Catherine de Hueck Doherty
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