Our ego is the thing that tells us to listen to one person, and not to another;
to learn from one person, and not from another.
If God came down to Earth looking and sounding like the kind of person your ego wants to listen to, you will listen, at least casually and nod, and say "yes, that person is wise". But if God came down to Earth looking and sounding like the kind of person your ego usually thinks of as having nothing valuable to say, you will ignore God Himself, or Herself. (Depending on what form God chose that day.)
If you don't believe me, believe yourself. Just pay attention to your own reaction when you ask a question to a room full of people, like "what's the best way to get to the highway from here?" Or, "Where should I dispose of my used motor oil?" Or, "What do you think of these candidates?"
Who is it that you find yourself believing, and who is it that you find yourself ignoring? Keep asking random questions, and keep watching your own reaction, and how it feels when each different person gives you an answer. The feelings are from within you. They don't come from the other people. This is how con artists are able to be so successful. They know this game, they know how to act like your preconceived notions of who to believe.
The ego tells us that it knows who to listen to, who has experience, who has the Answers. Not the intellect.
to learn from one person, and not from another.
If God came down to Earth looking and sounding like the kind of person your ego wants to listen to, you will listen, at least casually and nod, and say "yes, that person is wise". But if God came down to Earth looking and sounding like the kind of person your ego usually thinks of as having nothing valuable to say, you will ignore God Himself, or Herself. (Depending on what form God chose that day.)
If you don't believe me, believe yourself. Just pay attention to your own reaction when you ask a question to a room full of people, like "what's the best way to get to the highway from here?" Or, "Where should I dispose of my used motor oil?" Or, "What do you think of these candidates?"
Who is it that you find yourself believing, and who is it that you find yourself ignoring? Keep asking random questions, and keep watching your own reaction, and how it feels when each different person gives you an answer. The feelings are from within you. They don't come from the other people. This is how con artists are able to be so successful. They know this game, they know how to act like your preconceived notions of who to believe.
The ego tells us that it knows who to listen to, who has experience, who has the Answers. Not the intellect.
