The Scripture ~ Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Galatians 2:20 The Message
The Spiritual Focus ~ “I long to escape the prison of my ego and lose myself in You.” Rumi
Breath Prayer ~ I am loved
The Devotion ~ Loving kindness toward self is a tricky business. Loving kindness toward self is tricky because of our ego nature. Ego as defined for our purposes is a self awareness that takes into account how others perceive us, how we perceive ourselves and how God sees us. Our ego is necessary for survival and when healthy, we naturally practice loving kindness toward the self. An unhealthy ego, either over inflated or under inflated, develops when we see ourselves as the center of our own universe. We either love ourselves too much or too little, often in harmful ways that don’t allow our true nature to thrive. A path to loving kindness of self is when our true nature is linked to our Christ consciousness …the Christ that lives in us. When we become aware, and by faith embrace this theology as true, we can stop striving to impress ourselves, each other and especially God. We are free to live in loving kindness toward ourselves as part of our relationship with God and each other.
In yoga one of the best cues given is to watch where you are striving in your physical posture, and practice loving kindness to your body by modifying the pose. If we are striving our ego has taken over and breath has left the practice. When breath leaves the practice so does the spirit. Loving kindness toward self begins when we stop striving in body, mind and spirit, and as Rumi says lose ourselves in God, God’s promise of life and love in Christ
This week across the world people will practice a church ritual called the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. The symbol of smearing ashes on our forehead reminds us that we are mortal, our egos cannot avoid the fact that we will die a physical death. The Good News is that we are linked to Christ consciousness, Christ’s death and resurrection, a loving kindness and compassion only God can give but that we practice in how we love ourselves.
