Love of Self or Tyranny of Ego

The following is from my Sunday July 3, 2022 Practitioner share at Namasté Center for Spiritual Living in Long Beach, California.

I believe that our nation came into being to be an exemplar of freedom and justice so that all people know it is possible. We are far from perfect but I also believe our Democracy is a work in progress and we can continue to move closer to that vision with shared commitment and effort. Part of the story if that our nation’s founders were seeking independence from tyranny. The rule of one person’s whims over the many.

Like Love, Freedom is one of the qualities we attribute to Spirit, to God. So it is natural for us to desire freedom. Not loving ourselves is a form of tyranny. We subjugate the truth of who we are, our Divine individuation of spirit, to the whims of our ego.

Every great religion states in one way or another that we should treat others as we wish to be treated or to Love others as we love ourselves. We can only love others as much as we love ourselves. If we do not love ourselves and live under the tyranny of our ego then we will treat others in like manner. 

It is from here we can see that true independence comes from a deep reverence for our interdependence. Our Love is self is tied with the divinity of the Life that breaths us. Our recognition of that embodiment, the nurturing of our self-love ultimately is expressed outwardly in the way we interact in the world.

Spirit wants to express Love through you. To not love yourself is to dishonor the Spirit that created you, the Life that breaths you.