“Walking the spiritual path properly is a very subtle process: it is not something to jump into naively. Likewise, in his classic book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader Chögyam Trungpa wrote: “At every moment must proceed with a vigilant eye upon the deceits of the ego and the ambushes of the misleading Powers of Darkness who ever represent themselves as the one source of Light and Truth and take on them a simulacrum of divine forms in order to capture the soul of the seeker.” As the Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo noted: As has been observed by many spiritual leaders, spiritual practitioners and psychologists over the years, the ego has an incessant need to be seen in a positive light, and will eagerly hijack whatever flow of consciousness it can use for its own enhancement. However, this is all much easier said than done.

Spiritual practices also have the potential to help us cultivate compassion, concern and unconditional positive regard toward others-things that can truly evolve our consciousness as a species. Indeed, such practices do have the potential for such an awakening, allowing us to get more in touch with reality as it is right here and now, including the qualities we don’t like about ourselves. “Ego is able to convert anything to its own use, even spirituality.”-Chögyam TrungpaĪ purported benefit of mind-body spiritual practices such as yoga, meditation and energy healing is that they will help “ quiet the ego,” providing an effective antidote to the exalted self.

Author of the quiet american