Dear Joshua,
I enjoyed listening to the Land Cruise #2 chat last night. One piece formed a question and it stuck and this morning its still with me.
What's the difference between Selfish and Self-centered? And, why do we want to be self-centered? How do we best be self-centered?
Thank you,
Allyson
Dear Allyson,
We were hoping that someone would ask this question. It is a revelation that will help you alter your perspective. You live in a society that asks you to be concerned for your fellow man, and that is a very good thing indeed. However, that is not the purpose of physical reality. This is a journey of self-discovery and self-actualization. In order to do that, in order to expand as you intended to expand, you can't go around worrying about everyone else. You must be primarily focused on self.
The fact is that you cannot be anything other than self-centered. Even when you are going around trying to help everyone else, you are doing it from your perspective, your motivations, and for your own good. You never do anything for anyone without doing something for yourself. So it is clearly beneficial to have the perspective that you are here to explore reality as you intended and not to try to fix anyone else. If you want to fix them, you do so because that would make your life preferable. Do you get this part?
Being selfish is based in fear, while being self-centered is based in love. From a position of selfishness, you feel lack. You might try to hoard things, people or experiences because you fear lack. Being self-centered comes from a place of love because you understand that no one needs you. They are all capable of navigating their own reality. They are all the center of their own universes, just as you are. They have their own built-in guidance system, just as you do. They are here for the self-discovery and exploration of physical reality in a unique way, just as you are. You concern yourself with you and let everyone else concern themselves with them.
By being self-centered you allow yourself to be who you authentically are. You do not go around telling others what to do, because that would be inauthentic. You do not be who others want you to be, because that too would be inauthentic. You do whatever it is you are inspired to do from a place of love, because it is meaningful to you. You have the experiences you want to have because you want the expansion that will come as a result of those experiences. It's not that you are doing anything to or for anyone else, it's that you were always doing things to or for people from a self-centered position. You just convince yourself that you are doing it from a selfless position. One is authentic and the other is not.
Being true to who you are is authentic and self-centered. Being who you are not is controlling and also self-centered, you just think it's being selfless. When you are nice to someone, you do so because it's what you want to do to make yourself feel good. It's never about the other person. If you think you are a nice person, you're right, but why you are nice is not what you think. You are nice as a form of control. It allows you to feel good. You might be so wrapped up in the belief that you are a good person that you act in ways that are inauthentic just to get people to like you. That is self-centered, but it comes from a place of fear. You can be nice and not care what anyone thinks. That is being self-centered and it comes from an authentic place of love.
With our self-centered and authentic love for you (because it makes us feel good),
We are Joshua
