Meaningful Connection
- Dec 12, 2016
- 2 min read
The older I get, the more I value & seek authenticity.
“Midlife is the time to let go of an overdominant ego and to contemplate the deeper significance of human existence.” C.G. Jung
"When we seek for connection, we restore the world to wholeness. Our seemingly separate lives become meaningful as we discover how truly necessary we are to each other." Margaret Wheatley
Despite all the current modes of instant communication at our fingertips, meaningful communication seems exceptionally poor.
“Nobody sees anybody truly but all through the flaws of their own egos. That is the way we all see ... each other in life. Vanity, fear, desire, competition -- all such distortions within our own egos -- condition our vision of those in relation to us. Add to those distortions to our own egos the corresponding distortions in the egos of others, and you see how cloudy the glass must become through which we look at each other. That's how it is in all living relationships except when there is that rare case of two people who love intensely enough to burn through all those layers of opacity and see each other's naked hearts.” Tennessee Williams
At the end of a week-long (or more) silent meditation retreat, participants tend to discover that they feel more deeply connected with each other (though technically strangers), than with most people they've known for many years. Why? Most likely because we sit in silence with our own noisy ego doing everything it can to sabotage our peace of mind, heart & body. We practice accepting the ego as it is, seeing it not as us but merely a transient energy form. As the ego quietens down (hypo-egoic state), we realize that any separation or disconnectedness is an illusion.
“Anyway, the trick is simply this: No matter what happens, keep your heart open. Wide open. The heart is made of love, and love is indestructible, and only the arrogance of ego would presume that it requires protection. To open your heart is to reduce your ego, and this is the only magic that is ever required to experience the naked truth.” Tony Vigorito
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