Although in some way these times seem to be the darkest of ages, it is also true that more Spiritual information is available to more people than ever before — in the last few thousand years, anyway.

Although perhaps not real “schools” at all, there are schools of thought that have in one way or another come upon some Truth, and published it.

Because such material is quite popular right now in certain circles (and anathema in others, often a good sign), many of my friends are familiar with different versions and bring up some principles now and then.

A remark heard quite often is that, by most people’s interpretations, some material states (in our words, not theirs) that one must incorporate the Not-I’s, own them, or make friends with them; or in other words, that the shadow (false self) is really a part of us and we must admit that, claim it, befriend it, own it.

*Complain to get one's way, whine, stick up for rights, be belligerent, blame, it's all their fault, anger.*

This topic has been broached here before, but obviously some of my friends don’t read FTE, because I am asked often what I think of this tenet to “own” the false self, despite my repeatedly printed and spoken stance on the subject.

The Not-I’s are NOT I!

The Not-I’s are error, first thought up by a baby, a misinterpretation invented out of a physical reaction, later reinforced by all the people around the little one, and elaborated and re-construed and made more sophisticated as she grows up.

*Please them, believe and do as told by accepted authorities, improve oneself to be different.*

It doesn’t matter how sophisticated or applicable or convenient, an elaboration of an error is still an error. It will do you in if you adhere to it. It’s only purpose is to keep itself going at your expense, to torment you, sap your energy and degrade you. If you think you can make friends with such an entity, good luck. it will pretend to be seduced and then turn on you. Check it out if you like. But even a little reflection will demonstrate this is what you have already been doing all your life!

All Not-I’s, every on of them, are based on the false notion that the purpose of living is to gain pleasure and to escape pain. Someone enraptured for a spell in what they love to do — usually involved in a creative act, or even drug-induced states — is about the closest a human could be to full pleasure and no pain; a comatose person is about as free as one will ever be from sensation that might be painful. Neither state — 100% pleasure, 0% pain — is the constant condition of life on planet Earth. Pleasure pass (as everything passes), and a comatose person either awakens or eventually dies.

The Not-I tells us, oh, subtly enough sometimes, that these extreme states must be achieved right now, and maintained always, or else. this is a lie so obvious that it’s actually strange that we don’t stumble upon the Truth on our own (few of us do and thank God for Friends).

The Teaching is that man is walking around asleep, really, reacting to stimuli. Even though they may take care of a family, work for a living, arrange parties and dentist’s appointments, make “decisions” about what to buy and what to eat and where to be entertained, people are, for the most part, unconscious. They are automatically (like programmed machines) reacting to whatever is in the way, whether traffic or the lottery or an unpleasant neighbor or a growling tummy.

The Teaching is that the infant found birth into the world so unpleasant or at least so overwhelming that she immediately made, with feeling, the decision that the whole purpose of being here was to get back where she came from — safe and non-disturbed. This is an error. Obvious to the adult mind (when considered), but perhaps not so obvious to the infant.

Unless consciously unmade, this decision is the foundation for all attitude and action from then on, for the rest of life.

The Teaching is that this master decision spawns all kinds of methods to get itself accomplished. An error manufactures little helper errors. Who don’t help, but hinder, because they are lies. If the purpose of living is erroneous, it follows that the methods to gain the false purpose are erroneous.

All these methods based on the incorrect purpose take energy to create and take energy to maintain. We give them our substance. They get very, very adept at pretending to be real, pretending to be us, and they have convinced us they ARE us. They use our name, they react to tour name. They take on a sort of android “life” of their own. All the while the real Self is sound asleep, not developing, in great danger of atrophy.

The Teaching is that in order to get out of this hopeless situation and begin really to Live, we must first recognize the situation we’re in. Here is where the Teaching about the Not-I and other material often conflict. What needs to be done is this:

Examine your purpose of living. Check to see what motivates every action you take (or avoid).

Recognize that the false self is calling itself by your name. Recognize that we allow this. Recognize that we are a slave to it, and will do whatever it tells us. Recognize that we are capable of doing anything anyone else is capable of doing, if we can justify it. Recognize that others’ justification for whatever they do, while perhaps based on error, is just like our own justification for whatever we do: justification is justification (and a function of the Not-I’s).

Recognize that the Not-I has been trying to hide this enslaved condition from true Awareness. Recognize that there is a huge false pride that acts like a thick leaden wall between the false self and Reality.

Recognizing these things is enough to get the process of transformation from slave to master started. That’s all one has to do. (When truly, honestly recognized, you will then act upon your new understanding to make it Wisdom; you will want to act on it.) When I am Free to recognize, truly see, honestly and without condemnation or justification of any kind, exactly what may motivation is, what my purpose of living is, I Am — the false self is Not. When I recognize that my behavior is killing me, I stop it. (This is not at all just a mental thing; it goes beyond mind and is real Awareness.)

The Work entails a whole lot of letting go of stuff, not owning stuff. Lifting of veils and tearing down of walls, opening of doors, being Free To Experience the walking through them, unhindered by baggage of all kinds NOT really me.

To freely admit I am capable of any kind of behavior (and this is done specifically, and with feeling — not just a blanket, yeah, I might do anything) is The Way.

“I am capable of doing ______” NOT “I am the thing.” Example: “I see I am capable of filthy, degenerate, murderous hatred. I actually wish so-and-so would suffer terrible pain, at least as much as she inflicted on me, and die, the slower the better.”

The Work is to see this capability of feeling, admit the experience of it, admit that I have allowed it and acted it — not to say I am a murderer. And the Work is to see that this is in error — to see that murder is suicide. How can I “be” an error? I can only act erroneously.

Example: “I see I am capable of controlling or trying to control everyone and everything in my environment every minute of the day; that I use the most subtle and devious mean, always justified by my conviction that I know best, and that I’d better control or be controlled. The only reason I am not more infamous than Hitler is because they won’t all allow me to get away with it.” NOT “I am a tyrant.”

Wanting to enslave people is an error (it is not to your advantage — the tyrant is a slave), so you can’t “own” this error, you are not an error! You have only acted erroneously.

Now if you prefer some other teaching and wish to continue to befriend the Not-I, by all means, be my guest.

However, you are on dangerous turf here. The Teaching is that evil (anything derogatory about you or another) is simply not Life. This kind of energy is floating all around us, to be sure. It would be absurd to deny it. Whether “it” truly exists or not is irrelevant, because its effects can be seen everywhere. It has been conjured up and is fed and the man-made world is full of it. But it is NOT Life, it is error, and you can flirt with error and try to seduce it and claim it as your friend, call is yours all you wish, but it is NOT I.

From FTE, Vol. II, No. 3