Chapter 4.VII.1-9 – The Real Question

April 12, 2021

As we have been learning, the ego goes to great lengths to preserve its existence.  It does this by depositing impulses from God into the unconscious along with the impulses from the body. In its role of censor, it then exerts control over what comes into our consciousness. It does not want us to become aware of anything that will highlight its nonexistence.

Vigilance is required for the ego to maintain control of what we are conscious of. If we were to become conscious, “Sane judgment would inevitably judge against it, and must be obliterated by the ego in the interest of its self-preservation.” (2:3)

The ego has told us that we should look to it for protection, but the ego is also identified with the body, which the ego hates because it is vulnerable and open to attack. When we point this out and ask, “Where can I go for protection?” (6:1) the answer from the ego is to further censor in the form of obliteration of the memory of the conflict. We remain uneasy but do not know why.

We are left with a vague anxiety and discomfort. We search for a number of ego-based solutions within this world. We do not have much success though since we do not really know what we are looking for as our question has been eliminated.

What is the solution then? We are seeking “blindly and desperately” (8:1) for something we can not even name because our question has been erased from our memory. We, therefore, need to organize and focus on what our goal is. We need to first ask ourselves what it is that we are seeking. “Meaningful seeking is consciously undertaken, consciously organized, and consciously directed. The goal must be formulated early and kept in mind” (8:2-3)

We need to let go of our confusion over the goal and maintain an unwavering will to keep it in our mind. We need to become “goal-oriented.” (9:1) In other words we need to focus our seeking on this one goal and really invest in it.

What is the goal? The goal is the real answer to the question “Where can I go for protection?” We need to refuse to look for it within the ego’s thought system, where it cannot be found.

Suggested Exercise:

Take some time today and sit quietly with God.

Ask Him “Where can I go for protection?”

Listen in stillness.

Keep a paper and pen to write down anything that may answer you.

Suggested Practice:

I will seek for my protection only in God today.