Imprisoned by Our Thoughts

Continued from yesterday…

The ego is always terrified of being exposed, humiliated, and disapproved of. It fears the judge, our conscience, and the hell of inner torment and suffering that awaits as punishment for our wrongdoings. It’s afraid of anything that threatens its carefully crafted identity. Most of all, it fears death—the end of its importance.

In the hope of avoiding judgment, we hide behind work, alcohol, drugs, food, and any other compulsions that make us forget for a moment our failures, weaknesses, and insecurities. But the judge, our conscience, always re-appears in the restlessness of the night, and in those moments when we are alone with only our thoughts. The verdict is still the same. You are not enough for love, and punishment is required.

While consciously we may be unaware of the sentencing we have received, the hell that we live in demonstrates this unconscious conviction. Stress, anxiety, and unhappiness are just some of the punishment levied by our subconscious. We have sent ourselves to hell—a place of inner torment within us. Imprisoned by our thoughts, we don’t know how to escape the pain and suffering of the hell that we have created.

To be continued tomorrow…

Adapted from Section 2 of Awakening To I Am Love by David Youngren