"In the name of Spirit"… or is it?

So often we see and hear people doing or saying things “in the name of Spirit” or because they have been “guided” to do so.

This raises the question, how do you know you are guided by Spirit?  Is it possible that your ego has got involved?

Throughout history atrocities have been committed in the name of a higher power.  At the end of Chapter 2 of  his book Mein Kampf Hitler states “And so I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator. In standing guard against the Jew I am defending the handiwork of the Lord” .  Going back further the crusades were all “in the name of God”.

 

So how do we know?  Clearly what Hitler was doing was beyond heinous and we look back on the crusades and see nothing but barbarism, how can this be the work of Spirit?

When we find ourselves believing we are being guided by Spirit the first question to ask is “does this harm anyone?” or “does this affect another’s free will?”

Personally I believe that Spirit never wishes harm on another soul.   In the case of Hitler or the crusades it is clear to see that his answer would be yes, many many people were harmed by these actions, so maybe something other than a higher power was involved.

We should also, wherever possible, ensure that we do not affect another’s free will.  In the case of healing; although we feel this gift is given to us by spirit, I believe we should not send it without the recipient’s agreement.  To do so would be to allow ego to take over.  Who are we to decide that this person needs healing?  In sending healing are we taking away this person’s opportunity for conscious growth?

·         Another test would be to ask “who is to gain from this?”

This is not so simple to answer.  Often, at first glances it may appear that other people will gain from our actions; but what about being seen as a generous,  loving or wise person?  If the person draws attention to what they have done, is it possible there is more to do with ego than first thought?

In the end, before we claim that we are doing something in the name of a higher power we should sit for a moment and ask ourselves “why am I doing this?”.  Dig deep, really search and see if there is any ego involved.  Do we feel the need to tell others that we are doing this?

Of course, sometimes we are guided by Spirit, for a hidden purpose.  There are times when at first glances a person’s actions appear to remove free will and cause harm, but the final result is of much greater freedom and healing.  On a smaller scale we may be guided to do something so we can learn how our ego can get too big for its boot.

This leads to the question are we guided by Spirit all the time, or does our ego get involved more often than we think?  It is up to you to decide…..