THE EGO MASK

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We often use the words 'ego-maniac' or 'egotistical' for someone like the young man in the above illustration who is self-consumed and probably a bit of a buffoon. It's almost comical. And yet, the ego's illusion is far darker than that, which is what I wish to explore in this post. provide an orientation to the topic.

But first, I've included a number of sample quotes on the topic to provide a brief introduction to this subject: 

When the ego dies, the soul awakes. Mahatma Gandhi

The Ego is a veil between humans and God. Rumi

Don't feed your ego with my soul. Arzum Uzun

Religious people often prefer to be right rather than compassionate. Often, they don't want to give up their egotism. They want their religion to endorse their ego, their identity. Karen Armstrong

Shyness is just egotism out of its depth. Penelope Keith

The Self says ‘I AM’–as in the very grand sayings of Christ, especially in the Gospel of John, in which he says in the state of oneness with Yahweh (which in Hebrew means ‘I AM’), I AM is the way and the truth and the life–but the ego says ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that,’ thus attaching itself only to a small portion of the Vastness. Ravi Ravindra 

The ego-mind both professes its desire for love and does everything possible to repel it… to sabotage it. Marianne Williamson

Ego is recessive in wisdom. Toba Beta

The personal ego already has a strong element of dysfunction, but the collective ego is, frequently, even more dysfunctional, to the point of absolute insanity. Eckhart Tolle

What is life to Spirit, is death to the ego. Vivian Amis

What good is an ego in a universe of one? Ego has no room to move in a universe of one. 
Anthony T.Hincks

The ego is quite rightly seen as a system in and of itself. It is thought externalized and given an identity you but falsely believed to be yourself. From this one externalized thought pattern came most of of your false ideas. A Course in Love (ACOL)

How odd that we spend so much time treating the darkness, and so little time seeking the light. The ego loves to glorify itself by self-analysis, yet we do not get rid of darkness by hitting it with a baseball bat. We only get rid of darkness by turning on the light. Marianne Williamson 

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From the above statements, it seems obvious that the ego has everything to do with fear, resulting in separation, alienation, anger and pain. Even pride, as we see with Mr "I know" is based on the insecurities that result from fear-based beliefs. Definitely, the ego is not our friend, it is ours or someone else's!

Btw, if you haven't read the post on KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE, that may be of interest since the ego's illusory existence is based on the fears we have chosen to believe about ourselves, others and our world.      

In any case. let's begin this discussion with Shakespeare's Hamlet.

This picture is a clip from the 1948 movie of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, starring Sir Lawrence Olivier. Personally, I think Hamlet was being way too hard on Ophelia, considering the sorry state of his haunted mind. He was hardly in a position to tell his sister she had two faces just becaundefineduse she didn’t wish to support his avowal to avenge the murder of their late father.

In any case, the question remains, what does Shakespeare mean, ‘the face that God gave us,’ and the persona mask we deceive ourself with.

Perhaps we first need to ask what do we mean when we use the word ego? Mostly, it's is associated with negative qualities that spring from its root. More often than not, the word means egotistical, egocentric, egoism, egotist, egomaniac, egoic, etc.  

'Ego' is the Latin word for 'I' or 'das ich' from the German 'the I,' first known to be used in 1787. Though it is employed throughout the Elysium narratives, in some ways it seems as an inadequate term, as though it was re-contextualized from the psychological applications of Freud as an analytical device, (though it had already been used in Germany for years by those in related professions). Yet it seems the only modern word available that comes close to what we mean when an attempt to describe the self's illusory state of consciousness. In religious terms, it's often called the 'fallen' or 'sinful' nature of humanity.

Philosopher, scientist and mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1782) employed the word proprium to convey the same idea, which means self-ownership, separation/apartness (self-ism) from the divine. Perhaps this would be the most appropriate word for me to use if it wasn’t considered so archaic and unknown today.

In Elysium’s Passage, the word 'ego' conveys this same meaning of illusory separation when the mind identifies its reality with the 'I' self that remains enthralled with the illusions it creates. Over and over, James’ mountain companions insist the only alternative to that sad state of deceptive existence is for the mind to perceive reality through divine enablement and union with the heart. Only then can we be whole to know who we really are. 

Eminent British Philosopher Bertrand Russell had a very insightful comment regarding how the ego keeps us narrow and how we need to allow our consciousness to expand beyond its limitations.

I agree with Russell's comments but I'm not sure if he provided much of a 'how-to' approach to dislodging the entrenched patterns of the ego within us.

In my studies on this topic, I find the works of G.I. Gurdjieff and P.I Ouspensky to be very insightful. Also, A Course in Miracles (ACIM) and its sequel, A Course of Love (ACOL) give a uniquely clear, non-clinical spiritual interpretation of the ego-self and how to gain dominance of it's 'smallness'. In summation, they state that the ego is not considered to be an entity onto itself. Likewise, the Elysium’s Passage series also takes the position of the ego being an illusion of our separated mind which remains, in effect, insane when it refuses to engage with the heart. Metaphorically speaking, the heart is the portal to the divine Self we really are… our real face, our real Self. The mind on its own is always confused about everything, not having a foundation for knowing anything about its Self. 

In sum, the following list is helpful in comparing the contrasting qualities of Ego Love and Soul Love.

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To pursue this topic of the ego and the soul further, I have included below certain dialogue excerpts to give an idea what Elysium may have to say about the ego, at least from Mo and Eli's perspective. In various ways, they argue there is only one face; that of the divine Self, though it is expressed in as many ways as there are souls.

 

SELECT DIALOGUES FROM ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE SERIES THAT EXPLORE THE EGO CONCEPT

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CHAPTER 8: SURREAL ADVENTURES

‘Think of your friend Pogo,’ he said, ‘the comic strip character from way back that you mentioned a while ago; what was his famous line that everyone likes to quote?’

‘Yes, of course: We’ve met the enemy, and he is us.’

‘That’s right,' said Mo, 'the enemy is us. But not really us; it’s the impostor in us. If you guessed the ego, you’re right. It may not be the best word, but it’s the best we have in the English language.’[1]

‘I take it you are not referring to the ego in clinical Freudian terms,’ I said.

‘Not really, the id a bit of different meaning,’ he said. ‘What I mean, is this mental spectacle, or whatever you wish to call it when contextualized as the phenomenon of a separate self, is the great destroyer of union. In this sense, the ego is the mind when separated from the heart; dysfunctional, hostile and irreconcilably disconnected from its divine Self.

‘Though only a phantom of the unhinged mind, it soon assumes a life onto itself, obsessed with its own illusions of godhood. Yet it knows nothing of the divine Self, it can only go through the outward motions of love, but it can’t love since it has no connection with the heart. 

'It’s like an echo that, having become separate from its source knows nothing of it, and yet it is nothing without the source. That describes much of humanity on earth, having become separate from the Source. Only love remains connected to Source, which is why only it can give meaning and fulfilment to its outward expressions.

‘Unfortunately, this human psychosis dominates much of human history, most obviously in the area of governance. If humanity could understand what it’s missing by neglecting its divine Source, it would no longer look to just external-gratification for happiness and fulfilment. Without an inward connection that creates oneness of being, you are left with only the illusions of the ego.


[1]Mo wasn’t applying Freud’s specific clinical definition of the ego, preferring to use the term in the context as the ‘self’ illusion that seeks to usurp our divine Self, our Christ. Other words, such as proprium, used by Swedenborg, are more obscure.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SUMMIT

‘Therefore,' he said, 'if you are ever to come into a fuller of understanding of existence, it is necessary for you to subordinate your mind to the heart’s inner wisdom. I don’t mean displace your mind, just get it under control. The ego-mind is always externally focused, separating itself from the wisdom of the heart, the centre of your being. That’s why few can see the implicit unity of the universe, and fewer yet care.

‘That's why much of humanity only hear the meaningless clatter of whatever intrudes into their lives, never acting intentionally, only reacting to outward circumstances. It's why the mind needs to remain united with the heart and its wisdom, or it soon loses itself to all the worthless distractions of the ego.’

‘Contrary to what some say, reality isn’t based just on whatever we wish to believe. Even though the ego-mind projects its deceptive illusions, truth remains truth, which often remains much different than what many are prepared to accept with their limited understanding of reality. In fact, those with the narrowest perspectives on earth are primarily those who recognize only surface appearances of material reality, rather than the spiritual dimension, since matter is all they see. And that’s what blinds them from the truth.

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CHAPTER 9: THE SUMMIT  

‘As you consolidate this union, you will see things differently because your mind will now be engaged with your heart, just as your heart will be engaged with your mind. Then, as you become whole, your world will change. Judgment will no longer be so judgmental, but discerning… just as you will no longer react but act. Only then you will create heaven, not hell, for yourself and others. When your heart and mind are in union, you are in perfect equilibrium and perfect harmony. Unfortunately, this state seldom holds for long on earth, as the separate ego-mind continues to go about creating new hells for its host and those it can draw in. But then, the mind can do no other on its own.’

‘I’m not sure what school of psychology you heard this from,’ I said, ‘but certainly none that I’m aware of.’ 

‘But is that not indicative of why the world is as it is?’ Eli said. ‘Few behavioural scientists understand that consciousness is not just about the mind, or as they understand it, the brain. Why is it not obvious to professionals that treating the mind without the heart is futile, especially when one’s very soul is constituted by the affections of the heart? The mind gives form to the thoughts inspired by the heart, be they of love or fear.’

‘Chemical balance in the brain is very important,’ I said.

‘Certainly, it is important,’ Mo said, ‘provided you have a brain. Imbalances obstruct neurotransmission among other processes that lead to a variety of mental dysfunctions and emotional trauma. But such disorders don’t discount the fact that all reality begins in the form of thought, or as we say, a thought-form. Then the thoughts become in-formed as they take on external expressions, be they as objects, events or something else. And so we must constantly ask ourselves what kinds of thoughts are we thinking? Because what we’re thinking is what we’re going to get; the illusory world we create for ourselves.

‘Heavenly thoughts create heaven, hellish thoughts create hell. That’s why there is a heaven and a hell, be it on earth or the spiritual dimension. If everyone understood the importance of their thoughts, they might take greater responsibility for what they choose to think. It’s up to humanity, not God, what is it chooses to create on earth, heaven or hell. At this point on the fulcrum of planetary conscious, things seem to be slowly tipping moving towards heaven, albeit with much resistance.

‘Whatever thoughts humans think will have profound consequences across the globe, whether anyone realizes it or not. Each thought that’s believed, contributes to your planet’s collective reality, be it political, economic, cultural or religious. That’s why throughout the ages, much of culture and civilization was determined by the thoughts of philosophers and theologians. The thoughts they wrote filtered down to the collective thoughts of the masses that ultimately gave form to the nations, for better or worse.’

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CHAPTER 15: THE SUMMIT

‘Observe the legions of ideological movements based on fear and deceit, and then watch how their zealots demand everyone think just like them. They become increasingly strident when they begin to suspect their beliefs are untrue. And when others disregard their fears they become particularly strident. Since fear is of the ego, illusory fears demand to be taken seriously lest they be exposed for what they are. That’s why fear and anger often go together. For the ego-mind, there’s nothing more enraging than having its contrived fears dismissed. Talk to any doomsayer, and this become apparent; they’re never content until everyone is wringing their hands like them.’

‘All human conflict,’ he said, ‘is only symptomatic of a much deeper problem than most wish to realize. It’s the conflict within. As I’m sure you must realize, relationships are most strained when souls become inwardly alienated. Humanity was created in the union of Oneness, not in separation as all too often happens between neighbours.

‘Conflict between the nations, tribes and families inevitably occurs when the mind and heart separate. That’s where the fall is evidenced. No one has a clue who or what they are when they remain divided within. The mind acting on its own is confused and unhinged, resulting in a perpetual state of alienation within and without.’

‘I can see where you are going with this,’ I said. ‘Marx thoroughly discussed the problem of alienation in Das Kapital.’

‘Indeed he did, but unfortunately, he had no idea what he was talking about! He only understood or thought he understood, external socio-political conditions in the context of his scientific materialism. By presuming to solve the world’s problems with external economic solutions, his philosophy created genocide and disaster for a good part of the world.’

‘I have a few Marxist friends who would beg to differ.’ 

‘Then let them beg all they like,’ he said, as he continued with his diatribe. ‘How many tens of millions of his victims were forced to beg before they were starved or murdered? And some still are. A trip to North Korea and a few other egalitarian cesspools still demonstrate this insanity.

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CHAPTER 17: THE SUMMIT

‘Also,’ Mo said, ‘there’s the question of how interested she would remain if she knew about all your past relationships? Many women are looking for something that lasts for more than a few weeks or months… which now brings us to the question we’ve been asking you to consider.’

‘You mean, who am I? Don't worry; I'm still working on it. That's a tough one; not that easy to come up with intelligible answers. Perhaps the real answer is I'm nobody.’

‘Your ego-mind is the real nobody,’ he said, ‘though it likes to think it’s somebody as it presumes to be you. However, as we’ve said before, you're not alone with this; all human nature has the same issue with their ego-mind. Always remember the ego is not who you are, especially when you hear the word nothingness resonating in your mind.’

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‘Isn’t it interesting,’ Mo said, ‘even as a philosopher, who is continually asking questions about the nature of the universe, you haven’t even bothered to ask something as basic as what you want in a relationship? I think it would be safe to say, by your own admission; whatever you thought you were looking for in the past hasn’t been given much thought.’

‘No, I suppose not, but that’s the past, I would prefer not to dwell on that.’

‘We agree,’ he said. ‘Dwelling on the past is never very helpful, especially if that’s where you stay. Still, we'd like you to question your assumptions about women so you won’t carry into the future what hasn’t worked so well in the past. Perhaps that will give you a greater appreciation for who they are, rather than just what they are, especially in reference to meeting your physical needs. If you give this some serious thought, it may be much easier for you to establish an extraordinary relationship in the future.

‘But first, listen to what your heart tells you rather than just your mind,’ Eli said, ‘since the mind doesn’t know anyway. It just thinks it does by overanalyzing everything. But in reality, it understands little when it comes to knowing what women want or even what you want. What everyone truly wants has nothing to do with what the confused ego-mind demands, but what their heart desires. It’s surprising how few people know what that is.’ 

‘Eli’s right about that,’ Mo said, ‘it’s not possible for you to attract what you really want until you come into alignment with the true desires of your heart. If you continue to allow your ego-mind to have charge, it will remain so preoccupied with itself that you won’t be able to hear the wisdom of your heart. It’s an occupational hazard for philosophers since it’s easier to come up with only questions rather than answers.’

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‘It takes much courage, honesty and determination to discern what the heart truly longs for,’ Mo said, ‘especially when the separated ego-mind keeps screaming for all the things it supposedly needs. Power, prestige, gratification, vengeance, pain and suffering: these are among the insane necessities of the unhinged mind, none of which make any sense to the authentic desires of the heart. All they do is hold one in bondage to the ego-self. This is precisely what the ego demands as it derives its bogus existence from the external illusions and idols we allow it to create for us. Yet there is no inward peace with any of these, and so without end, the search goes on without lasting satisfaction. As it has been written, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’

‘So what would you say,’ I asked, ‘are these deepest yearnings of the heart?’ 

‘I believe that at the very deepest level,’ he said, ‘the soul’s basic yearning is relational, to be one with one’s Self, through the Source of all that is. Most, if not all, humans want to love and be loved. That’s why they often do such outrageous things, but we are only capable of loving others to the degree we are able to love ourselves; the essence of who we really are. Likewise, others are not able to receive our love until they are able to love who they are. See how it’s all tied together? Love is not just about relationship but union in relationship, first within and then without.  

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I’m sure many of my colleagues live most of their lives on the surface of mental engagement rather than allow for intuitive promptings. At least I did, often considering these to be quirks of the undisciplined mind. That’s why, according to Mo, so many philosophers remain focused on analysis rather than exploring the broader and more significant yearnings of the heart.

I thought of how, during one of our recent discussions, Mo took the position that belief was of the mind, while faith was of the heart. He also made the point that on earth the terms belief and faith are often used to mean the same thing when actually they’re not.

‘Belief is a passive mental construct related to the ego-mind,’ he said, ‘while faith is orientated to the promptings of the heart. That’s why beliefs are so often wrong; they know nothing of the heart’s faith. Unfortunately, there continues to remain a bias among various philosophers and scientists who assume only the mind can know anything worth knowing. But that too is a belief, not a truth, even if they don’t recognize it as such.’  

After we had breakfast that morning, Mo said, ‘in case you weren’t aware James, one of the reasons we left you alone was not just to find elusive answers, but that you might become aware of how incompetent your mind is in understanding what provides inward peace and happiness. But not just your mind, everyone else’s too. I’m sure you’ve been frustrated in trying to make sense of your life in analyzing the outward parts and segments rather than seeing the whole picture of what’s within as well as what’s without.’ 

‘But at least you’re beginning to receive some important insights now,’ Eli said.  ‘As your mind secedes more of its territory to your heart, you will have greater clarity in life. It often takes a lot of practise and courage to conquer the illusions of the ego-mind, but in the end, it will be worth. Soon you will make some very significant discoveries about yourself. And then, your examined life will be worth living rather than remaining the unexamined life Socrates said was not worth living,’

‘I hope so,’ I said. ‘I've always relied on my mind’s calculations to survive, even if the results I got weren’t always what I wanted, particularly with some women who made it feel like life wasn’t worth living.’

‘Calculating life,’ Eli said, ‘particularly when it involves matters of love and the fragility of relationships, is like trying to create a picture by building the frame rather than painting the picture. You can calculate how to build a picture frame but that’s not the same thing as painting the picture. Painting comes from somewhere much deeper and far less predictable than what you do with a hammer and saw.

‘When you calculate relationships with only your mind, it never works. But the heart doesn’t need to calculate anything; it just paints because it loves to paint, just like it loves to live. And yet both picture and frame are meant to go together in a relationship, just like your heart and mind. Likewise, essence and form; I could go a bit further with this analogue and say...’

‘That’s okay Eli,’ I said smiling, ‘I get the picture… with or without the frame.’

‘Maybe you do,’ he said, ‘but allow me to stretch the canvas out a bit further; there may be a bit more to this.’

‘Like what,’ I asked.

‘It all depends on your frame of mind,’ he chuckled. ‘There’s always more to see if it’s a big frame.’

‘That was rather lame, Eli, even for you.’

‘Actually, there’s some wisdom in Eli’s play on words,’ Mo said. ‘When you’re not in a proper frame of mind, it’s difficult to paint a beautiful picture. That’s why it’s good to meditate before you paint. Let the mind settle down and allow the heart to paint you the picture you need to see. Though it may not always be a pretty picture, it will speak the truth. Though your mind may remain fixated on the frame, allow your heart to paint the canvas within, the mind will eventually join in since it never likes to be left out. As long as it doesn’t get in the way of the heart, it may add contexture to the painting. 

‘But still, you have to be careful it doesn’t take over because, on its own, it will always try. Of course, I’m speaking of the separate ego-mind here. Without the heart, it has no creativity, and yet it will talk incessantly if you allow it to, even though it hasn’t a clue what it’s talking about. Neither does it know what it’s doing, where it’s going, nor what it is. That’s why, in its insanity, the ego-mind tells you to listen to it rather than the heart. It says the heart will cause you to act stupid and behave irrationally, but in the end, you’re the one who appears outwardly stupid and inwardly irrational for listening to it rather than your heart.

‘The only way it can get its bearings is by cooperating with the heart since it has no internal guidance system of its own. It just thinks thoughts indiscriminately to come up with whatever ruse it can before it will admit it’s lost without the heart’s moral compass.’

‘That may be true,’ I said, ‘but let’s not minimize the mind; without engaging the rational faculties of the mind, the heart would lack the analytical grounding it needs to function properly.’

‘No argument there,’ Eli said, ‘it’s never a case of being just the heart or the mind, but the union of both heart and mind. That’s wholeheartedness and therefore wisdom. Union of the mind with the heart makes the mind more rational, not less, and the heart more intuitive, not less. That’s why the best bridges are often the most beautiful, just as the best poems are often the most coherent.’

‘I’m not sure how well bridges and poems illustrate your point,’ I said, ‘but still I think I understand what you may be saying: we function with rational bridges to make it over the stream so we can get to where we are going, but it’s the poem that makes the trip worthwhile.’

‘Well stated James,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself, I think you understand better than you realize. Although, in your case; I might have said chasm instead of a stream. A case where the heart’s desire to get to the other side could have used more input from the mind’s ration faculties.’

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While taking my customary afternoon hike, I became increasingly aware of how my ego-mind had conscripted my rational faculties to collude against my heart. Why hadn’t I noticed this before? Whenever a woman walked out on me, my ego-mind became inveighed with judgment, convinced it was right. Always, it was “that bitch’s fault,” not mine. Then later it would turn on me, accusing me how everything was my fault.

But then, with the ego-mind, you can never win. At least not until the mind and heart become engaged. On its own, the mind becomes an insane phantom of the ego, while the heart, on its own, can easily be blinded by passion. I had been duped over and over, but then, that’s often the way it is with those of us who become fragmented by our intellectual hubris on one side and on the other, the wanton lusts of our heart’s unbridled emotions.

Over these last few days, I had come to accept the wisdom of what Mo and Eli were saying; if I was to find a lifelong relationship I would have to find a way to reconcile my fragmented mind and heart. But I doubted if I would be able to do it alone after all these years of inward confliction. I needed a woman with enough patience to show me how to be whole; someone who understood what I didn’t: the inward meaning of love.

Not long ago, when Eli first brought this topic up, I told him facetiously that I was quite confident I could teach a woman more about love than she would be able to keep up with. Of course, I realized he meant something quite different than what I had in mind, but I wasn’t sure what this essence was. But at least I was finally coming to understand that what I really needed was someone who could show me unconditional love. Not just that I may receive it, but so I may learn how to reciprocate that love, rather than just react with my usual fear of rejection.

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CHAPTER 21: THE SUMMIT

‘That’s where you will find your Source within,’ Mo said. ‘And when you do, you will Know Thyself just as the ancient philosophers of Greece and Egypt implored.[1] By experiencing the essence of what you are, you come to know, rather than just know about. This is what gnosis means. Obviously, Gnostic is the opposite of agnostic, as in a-gnostic. Similarly, theist is the opposite of atheist: a-theist. It’s just about absence like darkness is the absence of light. And so, is it any wonder why you, an agnostic and sometimes atheist, couldn’t find meaning while searching in the darkness of the ego-mind? As it has been said, the denial of God is the ego’s religion.’

‘That’s rather provocative Mo; I doubt if my agnostic colleagues would appreciate hearing how they are in the dark and you’re in the light. I’m sure they would consider themselves the enlightened ones for no other reason than being able to see through everything you’ve just said.’

‘That may very well be,’ Eli said. ‘And if you were to visit them today, I’m sure they would see through you too, for no other reason than you are a spirit.’

‘That was almost witty Eli,’ I said chuckling.

‘He has his moments,’ Mo said, ‘but what’s not so amusing is to be stuck in the Lowlands without knowing the way out. It’s rather sad how many remain stuck. If they had a vision for what they are, then they could find their way out as you did.

[1] The maxim, Know Thyself, was one of the inscriptions in the Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Many Greek philosophers such as Aristotle attributed this maxim to Luxor (Thebes) in ancient Egypt, predating the Greek era of philosophy. Socrates and Plato quoted it regularly as did Pythagoras before.

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CHAPTER 24: THE SUMMIT

In any case, as I reflected more on what Mo said about me not understanding the meaning of love, vision and purpose. He said it was because I didn’t know who I was. But was that fair? I wasn’t sure if it was, although I had to admit I probably had lived a good part of life with my ego-mind rather than my heart intelligence even though I wasn’t aware of it at the time. Which I suppose was his point. Though I was outwardly rational, I realized that on personal matters my ego-mind often became unhinged and confused. As Mo would say, the mind is only in its right mind when it’s at one with the heart! Then he would quote Rousseau: trust your heart rather than your head.[1]

Prior to arriving here, I had never heard these teachings about the separation of mind and heart, but I sure was hearing about it now. Over and over he and Eli emphasized how imperative it was for me to become whole if I ever hoped to achieve enlightenment, even for a minute. I’m sure Mo thought that if I didn’t discover my Self while I had this opportunity, I may never find it when back on the earth plane, and so I would continue to live as only an outward shell. Then I would never be able to experience real love, have a real vision, have a real purpose or be at peace with my accomplishments. I suppose that’s why he felt it necessary to use some tough love on me, even if I resented it at the time.

[1] Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) French philosopher, writer, and composer

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SUMMARY OF ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE: THE SUMMIT

This the first in a series of five Elysium narrations regarding a young British philosopher named James Phillips who finds himself living in an altered state of reality while still remaining on earth.  

After experiencing a near-fatal fall while climbing to the summit of a remote mountain in the Andes, James awakens in a new dimension. He soon encounters two mysterious beings who provide him with a very different perspective on the nature of his existence. Over the next year, before his body recovers from the coma, he is challenged to re-examine his understanding about life’s meaning and purpose far beyond anything he previously believed or could believe.

An engaging and sometime surreal adventure with intimations of impending romance, the narrative explores the most important questions about life, death, reality and our ultimate destiny. 

The Plains of Elysium (Champs-Élysées) was described by Homer, Hesiod, Virgil and many other poets as the paradisiac afterlife realm reserved for heroes. As the title suggests, this is about a journey through a passage that leads towards Elysium’s exciting realm of existence.

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(ATTEMPTED) VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES
 



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PENDING PUBLICATION OF ELYSIUM’S PASSAGE SERIES

                                          Amazon in 2024

 

THE ASCENT: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

THE SUMMIT: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

QUANTUM LEAPS: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

SURREAL ADVENTURES: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

MYSTICAL ROMANCE: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

THE ELIXIR: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

THE RETURN: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

 

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1. The Ascent is the first novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage that’s foundational to everything that happens in the following narratives that embark on an adventure that will surprise and delight the reader like no other book.

It all begins with an extreme adventure of climbing a remote and challenging mountain somewhere in the Andean Mountains. Just as James, the protagonist, is about to reach the mountain summit, he falls into an abyss that leaves him in a coma for almost a year.

After being airlifted by a forestry helicopter and flown back to London, where his body remains for almost a year. Eventually, he learns it was not him but his body that was rescued. Several days later, without understanding what happened, he continues to climb to the summit in an alternate dimension of higher consciousness.

Fortuitously, he meets two adventurers on the summit ridge who are no longer of this world. After that, his surreal life leads him to several new adventures in the subsequent chronicles that include a rich mix of adventure, romance, and fantasy, along with profound discussions of philosophy, spirituality and the afterlife.

 
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2. The  Summit, the second novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, carries on where James, the narrator and protagonist, is taught more about a multidimensional reality that he finds difficult to comprehend.

Not only does he find he’s not as clever as he imagined, but his off-world companions on the summit demonstrate that much of what he believed about life was not just parochial but wrong. At first, he finds this difficult to comprehend since their teachings are contrary to his limited understanding of non-material reality.

After being tricked into teleporting off a ledge where he was trapped, James becomes aware of the new reality that makes him capable of far more adventures than could have ever been experienced previously in his physical body back home.

Now, if only he would win over the only woman in this life who matters, the nurse on the other side of the veil, who continually demonstrates her unconditional love toward his healing.

Warning: This book may also open the reader’s eyes to a much vaster reality than most might be aware. As with the other Chronicles, there are discussions of philosophy, the spiritual afterlife and what might seem like fantasy.

 
 

3. Quantum Leaps is the third novel in Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, where James, the philosopher-protagonist, teleports back to London to visit his body and make contact with the special nurse taking care of it in his absence. Immediately, he feels an inexplicable spiritual bond with her for reasons he remains unaware of.

Now aroused by a renewed interest in matters of love, the beginnings of a relationship begin to emerge as he attempts to reach across the chasm of their worlds. But it’s not until the fifth novel, Mystical Romance, that he encounters her in a way that he finds difficult to believe.

However, before that can happen, there is much about his failed relationships that must be resolved before he is ready to move forward in his new life in Elysium’s Passage. It is during this time he christens his comatose body as the fall guy since it took the fall for him down the abyss so he could learn the lessons he’s now learning.

That will be the next focus of his life, where in his next Surreal Adventures, he is given virtual lessons to release many of his past beliefs about life.

 
 

4. Surreal Adventures is the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, which finds James, the protagonist and narrator, escorted by his companions to a remote South Pacific Island, where he is left to reflect on what he’s learned.

During the next forty days, he battles the demons of his past as he works through some rather painful issues from his early youth. Here, in a tropical storm, he encounters an eery suspended spectre of the one he loved yet still resents for abandoning him as a child.

After this, he achieves peace of mind and is ready to return to his lodge to join his off-world companions on the Andes summit. However, just when it seemed things couldn’t get any stranger, a sixteenth-century sea captain sails his ancient ‘ghost’ ship onto the beach. Together, they sail off on a mystical ocean voyage to a couple of virtual islands supposedly in the South Pacific, where he witnesses and, at times, participates in several important life lessons.

Near the end, these encounters help prepare him for a new challenge within the interior of a mountain, where he falls deep into a dark tomb of fear. After being rescued by a mysterious stranger wielding his Excaliber, he continues on to where his life is about to be transformed in the following chronicle, Mystical Romance.

 
 

5. Mystical Romance is the fifth chronicle in Elysium’s Passage, which will surprise the reader with a romantic twist of how love is expressed in higher realms. From this lofty perspective, everything about intimacy is understood as within, so without.

After escaping his tomb, James, the narrator and protagonist, makes his way through a maze of tunnels until he arrives at a large oak door, which he opens with the golden key he had been given. There, he steps into Elysium’s Passage’s Great Hall, where his life and recent achievements are celebrated now that his eyes have been opened to perceive a fascinating interior world of wonderment… and romance.

To say more might risk diminishing the multitude of delightful surprises as circumstances begin to open to The Elixir, where James is about to re-enter his earthly body’s existence.

 
 

6. The Elixir is the sixth chronicle of the Elysium’s Passage series that prepares James, the narrator-protagonist, to awaken and return to his body in London. Before that can happen, however, his off-worlder friend presents a mysterious equation enshrouded with a light code frequency that will stimulate multidimensional DNA strands within him.

Much of this narration is centred in London, where his nurse unknowingly becomes involved in how the Elixir’s equation finds its way from a taxi cab driver to higher echelons of science. There are many twists in how she unwittingly brings the Elixir to the attention of mathematicians and physicists, after which they eventually discover how to code the equation into a laser ray to stimulate his fall-guy body into full consciousness.

Ostensibly a new Adam, he is destined to return humanity to a higher multidimensional existence. How this happens is filled with intrigue, as is his shocking return to his earthly body.

 
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7. The Return is the seventh and last chronicle in the series where James, the narrator and protagonist, has re-emerged from Elysium’s Passage as he readjusts to life in the third dimension. Many of the events experienced in the previous novels are tied together in an exciting, fast-moving, action-packed narrative over several countries.

 At first, it seems all memories have been lost, with his fall guy’s brain not being aware of what happened to him while in his coma. As a consequence, it takes a while for him to be convinced he had been out of his earthly body for almost a year.

Through some rather unexpected events and evidence, along with his girlfriend’s urging, he is brought to an awareness of much of what occurred. It takes a while for his mind to catch up with the changes made in his heart during his stay in the alternate realm. But after experiencing several harsh realities, he discovers what he became within while out of his body. Gradually, he comes to understand the many challenges that lie ahead for him in fulfilling his future mission on Earth.

This book is filled with adventure, romance and personal intrigue that ties together all six previous narratives of the Elysium’s Passage series.

 

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READER REVIEWS
 

The following comments are among the first Amazon reviews of Elysium’s Passage: The Summit. All are Five Stars! Others reader reviews are included below, along with excerpts from two professional reviews. To read full reviews, go to READER REVIEWS on www.elysiumspassage.com

"Quietly, gently, and without imposition, the Author unfolds the pages, creating an intricate, interlocking bridge spanning the chasm between mind and heart. Renewing, refreshing, restoring. In my bereavement, it was vigil and light…"

"A delightful mix of fantasy, reality, conjecture and humour; Mr Meyers draws the reader into the story with a gentle narrative that captures the imagination, leaving one anxious to get to the next page drawing you into his exceptional world.”

“Excellently written with an exceedingly deep understanding of this world and the next. The characters are very well written and engaging. I can't wait to complete this book!"

“Takes the reader on both a philosophical and spiritual journey, a journey that at times is both disquieting and tranquil. James, a British Philosopher can be irreverent and caustic, traits that should have left me cringing, but instead made me laugh out loud. Elysium’s Passage is a fun, enlightening and remarkable book.”

“This is a masterful fantasy, becoming a real possibility, as the reader is drawn into the story. The Summit leaves you anxious for the next book in the series, yet also leaves you totally satisfied with the world you have just visited. Genius! An exciting, yet calming, experience that is not to be missed."

"There was hardly a page on which I did not find at least one sentence worthy of hi-lighting for future reference. In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed the main character, James, whose personality and passionate verbal exchanges with the other characters, kept me coming back for more. I am reading the book for a second time while I wait for the next one in this series to be made available."

 “N.G. Meyers has clearly put a great deal of research and thought into what the afterlife may look like and I like his perspective. It’s an altogether welcoming and exciting vision. The book gives one a great deal to think about and a reassuring confidence that the end of our lives is truly the beginning of life in the next. I highly recommend it."

“The humour interjected into a serious discussion makes me laugh out loud. Totally unexpected....l may be in the presence of at least a master, if not a genius. A fair ride into reality... seeking that which is unseen, yet absolutely real.”

“An engaging story of adventure embracing man's deepest desire to search for meaning and purpose, N.G. Meyers takes the reader on an adventurous thought-provoking journey. This book has substance. It is a perfect blend of adventure and fantasy combined with spiritual philosophy. It ignited my imagination. The author magically weaves a good story laced with wit and humour together with deep philosophical wisdom. This book has it all!”

“An evolution in thought is triggered by many fresh philosophical themes which could inspire readers to re-think their reality and former ideologies that have dictated their lives… the author fires readers’ imaginations to view what could be possible when spirit vacates the body.”

“This is the book spiritual seekers have been waiting for. For me, it granted a great read as well as increased inspiration to live every day with a heightened sense of purpose. I highly recommend it.

“The Summit is capable of hooking readers and luring them to search for Book 2 to discover more about Dr. Philip’s surreal trek into the mysterious unknown universe. This thick book is well worth the read and to share…”

“Mind-blowing statements and speculation (‘…everyone is a non-physical thought form conceived in the Mind of God, preserved for all eternity because God’s thoughts never die…’). Many will find Meyers’ journey up the Mountain intriguing—and possibly even life-changing.” (BLUEINK REVIEW)

“In its effort to grapple with fundamental questions about the meaning of life, it raises questions that have echoed throughout the ages, including about where we come from, where we are going, who we are.”  (CLARION REVIEW)

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CONTACT INFORMATION

 

WEBSITE: www.elysiumspassage.com  

FACEBOOK: Elysium's Passage Novel Series, Elysium's Passage Public Group page, Elysium's Passage Author's Page, or to my personal page Neil Meyers

TWITTER: N.G. Meyers@neil1113 

INSTAGRAM: elysiumspassage

EMAIL: nmeyers@shaw.ca  

BLOG POSTINGS: https://digitalbloggers.com/articles/elysiumspassage or the Elysium's Passage website

Sample press review: https://www.prweb.com/release