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Welcome to another of my guide Melinda’s Friday messages about how to live life. If you’d like to know more about her and what she has to say you can find more in the first post in this series.

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I want to talk more about the lack of meaning in things. More specifically the lack of your ability to perceive a meaning or to know what it is.

In life we can know ourselves, we can understand our motivations, and we can be aware of what we feel and experience. All of these things centre around us and our faculties. You do not get to know where someone else is coming from without asking them and you cannot really know what they feel. I can hear the empaths in the room arguing with me on this one. Empathy is not the same as first hand experience. It is still a feeling inside of you and created to fit your experience. It is not a pure experience devoid of interpretation – your spirit codes it so you can get something from it.

So much of the time we are looking to know what another is thinking – or will think. We anticipate so much about those around us. If you do not believe me keep your eyes out for your assumptions about those around you over the next day or two. Do you expect ease with them? Arguments? Agreement? For them to always be there? Life is full of many expectations and perceived agreements. There is nothing wrong with this.

It is when we do not act how we really want to that it is a problem. Our ego works to protect us from realizing our failings, misunderstandings, and expectations. It works to keep our sense of the order of things stable when things are always in flux. Am I being too heady about this? Last week we talked about hierarchy and meaning. Our ego is always ranking us and others through our expectations.

We always know to some degree where we stand with others. We are pack animals after all. We will not challenge those who we believe are above us and we are likely to look down on those who are below us. You might work in a job where this is the facts of life. Your ego will work to protect you there. It might be true in your family or relationships too. As we said last week hierarchies are not always bad. If you are in one that is important to you be grateful to your ego for working to help you keep track of the order of things.

I also feel some of you saying “is this really the ego is it not instinct then?” If we are really animals it cannot be ego can it? Of course it is ego. You are not dodging an attack in real time. If you are under attack you have bigger problems and should be calling 911. Instinct is immediate – ego is not. Instinct is a reaction to something and ego is more caught up in the social sphere of things.

I have some homework for you to do.

The thing I ask you to do is watch your ego and acknowledge it for the next week. Write it down. Look at the hierarchies you are in and be honest about how you feel about them. We will talk about what to do with this information next week.

Thanks for reading.
Melinda

If you would like to get a reading with Andrew and Melinda to help you clarify the tangles of your life book here. Reading are available in person in Toronto or via Skype or phone around the world.

The Hermit’s Lamp is the blog of Andrew McGregor – Toronto Tarot reader, artist and teacher. The Hermit’s Lamp is also a storefront in Toronto selling metaphysical and spiritual supplies. Please visit The Hermit’s Lamp website for more information on readings and classes both online and in Toronto.

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“Puppies” image by Andrew McGregor.