Lose yourself ... find Yourself!

I have been snailing around listening to an interesting commentary on Tolle's 'New Earth' book on the Oprah website (forgive me -slight cringe there!) . My conclusions have been that Eckhart Tolle and many self help methods coincide most in the whole area of acceptance ... In acceptance lieth Peace. Listening to Eckhart Tolle I find myself doing what I did with the Sedona Method... taking one step back from the 'false me' (The egoic, unconscious self) thus creating 'space', recognising the 'true conscious self' from the standpoint of one observing. With this detachment which the 'space' allows I am able, from an objective standpoint, to hold lightly (accept) all the feelings/thoughts without having any attachment to them. That acceptance = release. (It took me a long time to realise that RELEASE in the SM meant to ACCEPT.) This has been a great help to me. I am also aware of how I gravitate to allowing such negatives as worry, punishing myself, and even torment at the expense of PEACE in the MOMENT. 'Why?' I ask myself. Simply because in doing so the egoic self is strengthened. The Egoic Self (or Ego or self life) uses problems to attach to and constantly wants to find some hook on which to draw energy - anything but the present moment which brings an end to my 'little story' and the ME identity I build upon it! (Thanks ET for the terminology!) I am struggling with the 'pain body' concept but I guess I'm close to some idea of it with my explanation above.

I find great similarities here with my religious experience in that for the Christian there is a 'death to the old self' through the Cross and a 'rising to new life ' through the resurrection.

My one concern is the whole matter of introspection. With alot of these ideas and methods there can be an increasing amount of 'navel gazing' perhaps symbolised by the Buddhist eyes closed looking within. I find this disconcerting as the whole process of seeking release from the egoic self can in itself 'bite you in da bum' and simply be strengthening it! The only answer I can give to this without sounding incredibly pious is having found our way to escape personal egoic caused suffering to look away from ourselves, pick up the suffering around us and with proactive compassion make a change for those powerless to help themselves - even through small acts of kindness. The ultimate goal I think of all approaches to spiritual health should be therefore to lose ourselves for the sake of others and in so doing we shall find ourselves.

(This is an adjustment to a post elsewhere)