symbols such as a mod car； an attractive home； fashionable clothes； etc？ Or
have you upleveled the game to internal status symbols such as knowledge
and lots of hobbies so that others perceive you as an interesting； achieving
person？ Or perhaps sex has now bee a power game whereby you enjoy
sex not only for the sensations but also as a challenge to your Power Center。
Do you seek the sexual partner who is hardest to attract because of the ego
challenge？
Have you ever noticed that the people who are the most successful in the
power game are simply living a hollow life with external evidences of worldly
success but without really winning inside in terms of peace； serenity； and
oneness with others？ It often happens that the more successful a person
bees on the outside； the less successful he is on the inside。 Anxiety；
ulcers； and heart disease tend to increase with external “success。”
To the degree that your moment…to…moment consciousness is biased by
security； sensations； and power； you are trapped in the lower consciousness
folkways of our culture and you are not finding enough in life to be happy。
You are ready for your next step toward higher consciousness when you
deeply realize the utter futility of trying to make it in life using these lower
consciousness levels。 This does not necessarily mean that you must
drastically change your external activities。 For what you renounce is your
addictive demands and not necessarily the things you are doing。 For
example； it is not money or sex that causes unhappiness it is your addictive
demands for money or sex。 It is the clanging of the emotion…backed circuits
in your bioputer that keeps you disappointed； frustrated； and suffering if
the happenings outside you do not exactly correspond to your inside
programs。 Thus you do not renounce your worldly activities for it’s all here
for you to enjoy。 You renounce your emotion…backed demands which keep
you from enjoying the bountiful life that has always been available around
you。
It is easy to see the more obvious power games involving money； political
power； status symbols； people bossing each other around； etc。 But it is
helpful to be aware of the more subtle power games we play。 For instance； it
is clear that someone talking in a loud voice may be trying to control people；
but a power game may also be present when someone talks in an unusually
soft voice that makes people be quiet and listen hard if they are to hear。
Someone who is constantly ordering people around and who forcefully insists
that people accept his or her opinion can be ing from the Power Center。
However； someone who is always quiet can be subtly manipulating by his or
her “sweet acceptance” and “you…always…know…best” attitude。 This type of
subtle manipulation makes one put energy into extracting what someone else
really wants。 This game creates a subject…object type of separateness。 We
might ask ourselves； “What do I do to get what I want？” “What masks do I
wear？” “What part in the drama do I play？”
You have hundreds of things in your head that you are now protecting as a
part of your personal boundaries and social position。 You will grow in
happiness as you gradually realize that all of this stuff is not who you really
are。 It’s just ego…backed programming that you picked up on your way to
where you are now。 Your energy will enormously increase and your sleep
needs decrease as you give up guarding the various manifestations of your
security； sensation； and power addictions。
One of the bonuses of higher consciousness is that when you give it all up；
you get it all back。 What you give up are your inner addictive demands
what you get back is more of everything than you need in order to be happy。
As you grow into the Fourth Center of Consciousness； you will find that you
have all the power you need in your life in fact you will have more than you
need。 For your unconditional acceptance of everyone around you will open
doors that you could never have opened when you operated from the Third
Center of Consciousness。
When you approach life with power addictions； you will be instantly resisted
by the power addictions of other people。 Instead of opening themselves to
help you get what you want； they close themselves and are automatically
antagonistic to your power thrusts which threaten them。 As you grow into the
higher Centers of Consciousness； you will begin to experience an
effectiveness that you could never attain when you were shoving from the
Third Center； trying to bulldoze life into giving you what you thought you
needed for happiness。
Some of the most dramatic performances of your ego and your rational mind
will be triggered at the Power Center of Consciousness。 Some methods of
consciousness growth treat the ego and rational mind as enemies to be
destroyed。 In the Living Love Way； we regard the ego and the rational mind
as friends that are really there to help us but they can be like ignorant
friends who hurt us as often as they help us。 Helpfulness requires both skill
and understanding。 Our egos and rational minds are often like the wellmeaning
neighbor who sees his friend lying in the street with a broken spine
after being hit by a car。 When he picks him up to take him to the hospital； the
broken spine crushes the spinal nerves so that his friend will never walk
again。 In trying to help； the neighbor ignorantly damages his friend。
Similarly； when our egos and rational minds use lower consciousness
programming； they continually keep our lives from working in ways that
produce optimal enjoyment。
The Living Love Way does not try to kill your ego or your rational mind。
Since they are our friends that would like to help us； we engage them to help
us root out our addictions and uplevel them to preferences。 We realize that
our egos trigger a feeling of uneasiness when the outside world does not fit
our addictive models of how it all should be。 They also give us a flush of
pleasure when the outside world does fit our addictions。 In either case； we
need our egos to give us the emotional experiences that enable us to bee
aware of our addictive demands and to understand the heavy price that we
pay for all of them sooner or later if they are not reprogrammed into
preferences。
The goal is not to kill your ego but to retire it due to lack of work。 If you
killed your ego； you might retreat into a schizoid…type shell that would keep
you from enjoying the beautiful things life offers you。 Your ego has a vital
part to play in revealing to you the addictions you have yet to work on。 When
you reprogram your addictions； your ego will automatically stop triggering
negative emotions that interfere with your happiness。 So wele your ego；
watch its operation； and use it as a necessary part of you that will give you
the experiences you need in order to grow into higher consciousness。
THE THREE LOWER CENTERS
PRODUCE UNHAPPINESS IN LIFE
CENTERS ASSOCIATED
EMOTIONS
WHY THE THREE
LOWER CENTERS
OFFER A YO…YO
TYPE OF
ENJOYMENT OF
LIFE
1 … SECURITY Fear； worry； anxiety； etc。 1。 Constant driving
pulsiveness。
2。 Constant fear of loss。
3。 The rational mind
can always trigger an
unlimited chain of future
possibilities to worry
about。
2 … SENSATION Disappointment；
frustration； boredom；
etc。
1。 Constant driving
pulsiveness
2。 Constant fear of loss。
3。 When we repetitively
experience an enjoyable
sensation； we bee
satiated and bore
ourselves。
3 … POWER Anger； resentment；
irritation； hostility； hate；
etc。
1。 Constant driving
pulsiveness
2。 Constant fear of loss。
3。 Our power threat
stimulates a counterattack
from others and
we are continually
caught up in defending
and trying to control。
Chapter 11
The Two Joyous Centers
In the previous chapter； we saw that the Security； Sensation； and Power
Centers of Consciousness cannot be depended upon to continuously enable
you to feel that you are getting “enough” to be happy in life。 One problem
with the Security Center is that； with a little imagination； you can always find
one more loophole in your security setup that must be plugged。 And there is
no end 。 。 。The Sensation Center of Consciousness cannot work t