Enjoy your materialistic goods!
In this reality as we experience it there is the strong tendency that egoic people are more attached to materialistic wealth. But actually, there is no rule of thumb saying that materialism entails egoism. It is very well possible to have a liking for materialistic goods without any unhealthy egoic attachment.
On our spiritual path, especially at the earlier stages of realization, we tend to hopscotch from one extreme to the other. So we see the overwhelming wordly indulgement in materialistic goods and suddenly start perceiving all materialism as bad and non-spiritual. If somebody dreams of having a high-end car, expensive shiny jewellry or a luxury mansion we might tend to default thinking: invest in yourself rather than in ephemeral goods which won't make you any happier.
Even though I have never fallen into real extremes, there was a point when I recognized that my behavior was rather reactive to the world instead of responsive. For instance, especially as I became more spiritual the world's strong attachment to materialistic things had me somewhat develop the exact opposite stance, namely that of seeing money or materialistic things as being bad. In a way, I was unconsciously attempting to balance the imbalance I was perceiving in the world. But at some point I realized that it is not my job to balance anything outside myself, enabling me to gradually readjust my relationship with materialism toward a more healthily balanced direction.
So when somebody loves to have that high-end car, shiny jewellry or luxury mansion they shall have and enjoy it, with no need for myself to judge that person's essence by their materialistic attitude. We CAN have a penchant for sparkly goods without identifying our entire persona with it. But even if somebody identifies with that materialistic good, I am not the one to judge that person in any way.
In fact, excess is never good no matter what we are talking about, and only when we find the balance within we emanate an energy that makes it ripple without to be eventually reflected back to us commensurately.
I have to say that it was particularly information circulating in spiritual teachings and communities which caused me the most inner upheaval many years ago, but from another angle I see that the triggering effects these particular information had on me was just serving to richochet back to me long-forgotten fragmented believes I had held for far too long, now ready for the final release. We are all just experiencing ourselves with nobody being more right or wrong, better or worse, more or less true, which then again is always shifting never stagnant for ourselves.
Have fun with your shiny jewellry,
Alex
"it is not my job to balance anything outside myself" strong one!
ja the feeling of
having the need to save the world, the planet or in this case humanity. Because materialism is a sin, there will be punishment... so the reasoning.
Oh well if they wish so.
Haha, indeed! It is truly time to stop letting oneself dumb down by any kind of "dare you-threads". It is similar to the gist of my former article "Earth is not a Prison planet" whereby many "spiritual" people Display the Epitome of victimhood. Some years ago I partook in a meeting where people shared their spiritual experiences and insights, and this was the first time I did that and thought maybe i will find some like-mindedness. Well, at the end I ended up meeting with about 6 others, all at least 60 years old, with the entire meeting having ended with all other 6 people being completely frustrated that they are "forced" to reincarnate again after this life despite not wanting so. Well, I was the youngest of course, and during the entire meeting I wondered "what am I doing here? Obviously, I was never invited again to another meeting because they considered me somewhat of an outcast among their self-pitying. So being interested in spirituality surely doesn't say anything about having the same perspectives. :)
The issue with materialism is whether you keep it in check or it keeps you in check. Most people are kept in check by materialism and when subject to it, their spirituality is smothered. Most of the people I know are buried in debt to have toys and wants, struggling to work more to pay debts they accrued sometime in the past. Material resources are a means to and end, not the end itself. Your future labor being stripped to pay extant debts is essentially slavery.
Years ago if you got into debts you couldn't pay the debtor was enslaved to the creditor or just sold into slavery to cover the debt. Imagine how many in our world would be sold into slavery if rules like that still existed.
The more frantic the struggle, the less time you have to work on the self.
Lost
I wholeheartedly agree! In myarticle I am actuallly not referring to all those hierachical Systems based on unequality but exclusively about developing dislike toward any physical good for the sake of some pleasure or joy with that good or product. I experienced that and realised that I was just reacting to the world's Imbalance, so some readjustment regarding physical goods was necessary :)
Yes we must use temperance but not withdraw entirely from the world ☺
I like material items that bring other value besides their nominal one. In your case, jewelry looks and feels good, but if you have gold jewelry for instance and are in difficulties, it can be pawned or traded anywhere on earth. Much love for the journey!
Lost
Great message, thanks for the post!