This is an error I make all the time. I wish I didn't. These days when I make errors, I get some kind of karmic backlash or "catalyst" condition that helps me realise what is going on quick smart.
I wish I were perfect, but I am not. I sometimes like to think I am wiser than I am. This can make me sound condescending or arrogant. I don't think I am, but an error is an error - and when I do it here it really ticks people off. I might even be doing it now.
As an incarnated human wanderer, I landed with a complete set of baggage, repleat with all the neat spiritual tools and gizmo's, but like lots of us, I lost the frikkin' instructions. Worse still I seem to have acquired an ego that paints a picture of myself to myself - and which actually leaks out as I relate to others. This ego, gets proud - especially when I work out how to use some of the tools in my kitbag that I forgot how to operate before. It likes to sneak in demonstrations and wow the audience, but that is so bad. Its like eating cake when you know you should be fasting.
So anyway, that ego frequently gets me into all sorts of trouble and recently I was lead into a bit of a spiritual materialism trap. As it seems to be these days, Karma was swift in the application of corrective measures. A pain manifested in my throat that made it difficult to keep talking. I could sense something was up so I asked "myself" internally what the problem was, and was rather humbled to get the answer along the lines of "your ego is the problem". How embarrassing. Well I already knew where I had gone wrong - that is in the nature of eating cake when you shouldn't right? So I decided to fess up and told the person I was talking to, and was rather humbled with "We all have egos mate". Thanks - you know who you are and it helped that you understood.
So to recap, elements of my conversation, ego driven, had been spiritually materialistic - resulting in a spiritual kung-fu chop to the throat. Figured out what was wrong. Stopped it. Pain was gone next day. Hooray!
There is a nice definition here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_materialism
My definition is: the treatment of your spiritual gifts/abilities as possessions, potentially with glamorous or awe inspiring qualities, or as objects that can provide status, or means of feeding the ego through recognition.
I am sorry that I do this sometimes. I think I have forgiven myself but I can't promise it won't happen again, but I will try.
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