Self-will
What it is
Self-will is the ego’s insistence that life happen according to its own demands. It wants what it wants, when it wants it, and always joins with pride and fear.
Why it matters
Healthy will has patience and self-discipline. It learns to cooperate with divine will instead of trying to replace it.
From Bones
~1~
We’ve each been endowed with free will by God and without it, we have no chance of becoming more godlike.
Compare this with self-will, which is the will of the little self—the little ego. Self-will wants what it wants, when it wants it. It will strive to have its way, regardless of who or what it has to step on to get it. (Chapter 13)
~2~
Self-will is both blind and immature, and it works in opposition to spiritual law as much as in violation of human laws.
And it really doesn’t care.
Self-will is only looking out for itself, and it only seeks what seems most advantageous “for me, me, me.” (Chapter 13)
~3~
It’s so vitally important we muster the courage to figure out what we’re actually feeling. We must find clear and concise words to express what all the parts of us desire.
“What’s coming from my little ego and is therefore a self-centered demand from my self-will?”
This part doesn’t match the rest of our nature, which is just as real. (Chapter 13)
~4~
How then does our self-will connect with fear? If we’re sheltering a mountain of self-will—often extra-powerful because it is lurking in our unconscious—we’re going to live in perpetual fear that we won’t get our way…
Only when we’re ready to stand on equal footing with others will we be free of this fear. (Chapter 13)
~5~
We must not become easily dissuaded by our inner resistance. Our resistance is in just as much error as the images we’re trying to uncover.
In fact, the same self-will we applied to form our images is behind our resistance to surfacing them. And it will continue to cause untold misery if we don’t learn to apply our will in the right way. (Chapter 9)
~6~
Once we accept that we are in some way inadequate, or we accept that the other is, we’ll be able to give up our self-will that demands perfection. But before this, it will feel like we are in grave danger if we yield, if we let go, if we give in to this apparent abyss. (Chapter 19)
