Spiritual Vanity : What It Is, What It Does.

question answered by Saint-Germain comes from monthly channel broadcast on www,joyandclarity.com

Viewer (paraphrased): I feel that true freedom comes when I can choose anything that I might want to create or experience in life. When I can do whatever I want. But doesn't too much freedom lead to difficulties, too? What about vanity, for one? What are your thoughts about freedom, choice, and vanity?

Saint-Germain: An interesting question. You are asking about freedom of choice here, and here is my short reply, "With freedom comes choice, and in choice you will find your freedom." Yes, there is something very wonderful about freedom of choice. But there is also something very seductive about it, especially if you are unprepared for the experience of being able to do whatever you want. And you have rightly named one of these difficulties. It is called, vanity.

What Is Spiritual Vanity?

Let's talk about a particular kind of vanity now. Let's talk about spiritual vanity. Have you ever met anyone who is spiritually vain? I'm willing to bet that you know one or two of them.

A person is spiritually vain when they take excessive pride in their spiritual accomplishments, and then use this to impress or manipulate others around them. It has “tarnished the halo” of many human angels who would lead others on the Earth today.

Spiritual vanity has consequences, too. Just consider how difficult it is for the spiritually vain person to disentangle himself or herself from this folly. It is a monumental task. It is a stumbling block for many who are on the spiritual path, as they journey back toward remembering their Divinity.

The Folly of Spiritual Vanity

Vanity is a trap, indeed, and here's the reason why:

People on a spiritual path often find themselves moving into higher states of awareness, as they progress along the way. The problem of spiritual vanity arises, however, whenever there is a fascination or fixation on these experiences. It is tempting for some people to believe that just because they had this marvelous experience, that they are somehow better or more enlightened than others. This, of course, is absurd.

What is really happening here is that their egos, which are not yet fully reintegrated into the experience of Divine Remembrance, are playing tricks on them.

Let me give you a silly example to illustrate this point.

Let's pretend that the ego is your local school teacher, and that you are a naive student who is willing to believe just about anything that you are told. Your teacher encourages you to write the following incomplete sentence on the blackboard: “My spiritual experience is...,” and then complete it with the following statement: “...better than your experience, any day of the week, so why not let me tell you about it?”

Then your teacher sends you home to repeat this ridiculous statement to your family, friends, and neighbours, until they are either convinced that you know exactly what you are talking about and should lead them to the Holy Land, or that you are certifiably insane. And so, the false prophet is born.

Know this, my friend: The ego will take hold of anything that is yours, and twist it to its own purposes. It loves to make sure that you, and those around you, stay in ignorance of your Divinity.

Why does the ego believe that it deserves to be recognized by, or to be better than everyone else around it? Because it is secretly uncertain of its place and importance in the world. This makes the ego particularly vulnerable to the experience of inflated pride. And the spiritual variety of this is particularly troublesome.The ego can never take legitimate pride in anything that is really important about you, – such as the Truth of your Divinity, because the ego was born out of your ignorance of this fact.

And This Brings Us Back to Vanity.

Spiritual vanity is nothing more than an ego-sanctioned “recognition” of your Divinity. But it is a false recognition. It's just another way to keep you from truly remembering your Divinity by telling you, and those around you, that you've already done it, when you really haven't. The ego encourages you to accept this fiction, by telling you that if you can just persuade enough people to believe that it is so, then it must certainly be true. And this is the trap of spiritual vanity. It is as much a problem for those who would lead others on a spiritual path, as it is for those who would allow themselves to be lead. So, to make things perfectly clear, I will repeat myself: “With freedom comes choice, and in choice you will find your freedom.”

 

Know this, dear friend, that when you are truly free, you will choose your experiences wisely, just as your Soul does, and that spiritual vanity will not enter into the picture at all.

Instead, your decisions about what to do with your life, your relationships, and anything else of importance to you, – will be in harmony with your Soul's Choices about how best to embody its Divinity as the human you on Earth.

And in this harmonious alignment between what is human about you, and what is Divine, you are going to realize the true meaning of freedom. The true meaning of freedom for you as a human being, is liberating yourself from forgetfulness about Who You Really Are... liberating yourself from ego-driven acts of self-sabotage that keep you in the dark about your Divinity.

Know that as you re-integrate the ego's distorted perceptions about who you are, into a conscious appreciation of your Divinity, that you will find freedom and purpose in everything that you do. And, more importantly, you will understand that your growing spiritual awareness has nothing to do with being better than others, or more highly-evolved. Instead, it places you on equal footing with all humans, and asks you to practice humility daily.

This kind of humility asks you to lead and teach by example, and not by showiness or showmanship; demonstrating to others that living a human life, and acting with Divine Awareness, is possible for them, too.

Remember that humility doesn't ask you to deny the grandeur of your Divinity, or to live timidly. Your Divinity IS grand; and so are you, when you feel inspired by it. Humility simply asks you to live your life without false pride. Without ego.

A Need for Discernment

When you can free yourself from the ego's vanity, then you will no longer feel that you are spiritually superior to others, or more enlightened; or that you need to force your higher perspective on them, for their own good. Nor will you be seduced by the competing messages of those who would try to tell, or sell you this kind of packaged vanity. There is much need for discernment about this today. Instead you will be aware of everyone's need to find their way back to remembering their Divinity, and you will be eager to help them in respectful and appropriate ways, whenever they call upon you.

Thank you, my friend, for asking this question on behalf of all those who are present now, and who may be reading this later.

Saint Germain

Source : "Spiritual Vanity : What It Is, What It Does." A Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay & Dan Bennack, April 4, 2010. Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 

Ophiuchus' Note : Posting this article here to remind myself of the constant need for discernment and balance as I walk my path and experience my journey.  

Recommended Reading : Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chogyam Trungpa.