Who Do You Think You Are?

2007-10-22 14:00:00

Joshua writes:

"I had an Idea while I was swinging on a swing in the park. I was thinking about consciously directed thought. I saw the Dark Brothers enacting a ritual during witch they created and vitalized with emotional and mental energy a Train of thought. I now imagine them sending forth this Thought Train. As it circles the globe it gathers people to it who have a similar frequency. Those people, in whom the thought enters their waking consciousness, then share it with other people, and if any one accepts this line of thinking, they become, to a degree, a greater or lesser wheel moving the train forward."

JJ:

Very inspired reception Joshua. Now the question is do you think the Brotherhood of Light uses the same concept for themselves but for benevolent purposes or do they use a different approach?

Thinking Dan writes:

"I am just a few chapters into Book 3 of The Immortal series and find myself at a stumbling block. I have just read through where Joe has run into the question 'Who do you think you are?' and find myself in an odd circumstance.

"First I get a similar feeling just as I am about to post question or response to the group. I get the sense that I am asking myself 'Why do you think they care?' or 'Nobody cares about your questions' and other similar phrases. When I push through those thoughts, I find that I can not put the question I had into words and I am very clouded on what it was I wanted to ask. Most of the time I stop there and walk away unsatisfied, but sometimes I push onward and as I type I find myself very nerve-racked and shaky, similar to that of when you are telling someone of a life-changing experience. (If that makes any sense to anyone) This leaves me feeling that I have not made a full clarification of what I am asking and only leads to personal confusion and more half-questions."

JJ:

I'm glad you posted this Dan as it brings up some good points that needs clarified and emphasized.

First let me point out that the "Who do you think you are?" often does come to you from your Dweller or sometimes the Dark Brothers as an attempt to stop you from moving ahead. This can happen if you are attempting to shine light in darkness or increase the sharing of light within light.

In other words, it can happen if you are confronting an organization in complete illusion or shining a greater light among fellow seekers such as exist here. Gathered seekers are not perfect and still have much to learn and the "Who do you think you are?" will also hamper good dialog being discussed among them.

Secondly, you make a good point in your letter that it does seem that ignoring that mantra could lead to an inflated ego. Should you always ignore the statement or are there times that one should pay attention to it?

The answer to this question again requires the all important Second Key of Judgement. Whenever one decides to follow a rule with a complete black and white attitude there will come times when it does not apply and deception will follow. To avoid getting caught in this trap the principle must be sought and understood. Only when the principle is understood will the seeker be able to see correctly how the mantra is used destructively and then shine the light in the darkness.

To shine the light on the underlying principle we will discuss the two applications of the mantra and how to differentiate.

  1. When it inflates the ego.

The ego tends to over-inflate our own value in relation to our fellow men. When the pilgrim succumbs to this tendency, and does not resist or introspect, the results are startling. The person then begins to see himself as being two, four, ten and a hundred times more capable and important than he really is. Once he follows the path of the ego to great unearned heights his logical mind may throw the question back to himself: "Who do you think you are?"

He will register this question and then ignore it with reasoning such as:

"God has told me who I am so I must be a much greater soul than my brothers."

"I am as great as any man in history."

"I am just like other great persons when they started out but no one knows me yet. I am not seen for who really am."

Example:

The deceived one thinks: "All signs point to the fact that I am a great avatar or messiah. My mind asks who do I think I am, but I must ignore this and submit and follow the voice of my soul or god who tells me who I am."

It is not the voice of God he is listening to but his ego. The voice of God will never tell you that you are a great person or messiah figure. The most it will do is to give you a job to do. God is not interested in your greatness but is interested in the labor you are capable of doing. The great servants will listen to the message and do their job without concern about their own greatness. Those who are ego driven will be very concerned about their greatness being recognized.

The above is an extreme example but in ordinary lives the ego still works overtime. In his job, for example, his ego may convince him he is superior when he is doing a mediocre job. In football he may think he deserves to be the quarterback when others are more proficient than him.

In these and many others "Who do you think you are?" is a legitimate question.

  1. The negative effect of the mantra on sincere seekers is that it makers them doubt themselves and that which they are capable of accomplishing.

Unlike the voice of the ego which tells the pilgrim he is a special being, beyond that which he has earned, the voice of the soul tells him that he as a reflection of God. As such he is capable of accomplishing anything that anyone else has if he wants to put in the time and effort. Equality and brotherhood is stressed by the true voice, not superiority or unearned status.

Here are some examples where the mantra is used in a negative way to discourage seekers.

The pilgrim seeks a revelation through the soul. As he is on the verge of it the mantra comes: "Who do you think you are?"

He thinks to himself "I am silly to think I could get an answer like Moses or Paul did."

The truth is that we all have equal potential and the gifts that are available to one are available to all if one is willing to pay the price.

The pilgrim feels the inner voice telling him he needs to do a work that will further the will of God.

Again he hears "Who do you think you are?" I'm no apostle like Peter or John.

The truth is that what one can do all can do if they are willing to move ahead and invest the time and effort needed.

This also happens in everyday life. Maybe your inner voice tells you to go to college and get a PhD. Then your dad tells you. "Who do you think you are? No one in the family has ever gotten a PhD. Do you think you're smarter than the rest of us?"

Or it may manifest in lesser things with such challenges as:

"You think you're better than me because you quit smoking... "

OR, he is insulted because he...

Learned a second language.

Goes to church.

Got a promotion, etc.

Whenever the seeker moves forward he will, encounter resistance in some form of "Who do you think you are?"

The key to true discernment is to look at the essence of the principle that gives us the true way to respond to this mantra.

The main differentiating point is this:

The ego will emphasize personal unearned greatness and unearned illusionary accomplishment.

The voice of the soul will not put emphasis on personal greatness but on the job to be done or the talent to be acquired.

  

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