Following the spiritual path means transcending the desires of the ego

In this article, I will discuss why  following the  spiritual path means transcending the desires of the ego.

I will base my comments on the teachings of Master Maitreya.

« We have for a very long time presented the path in a different light, namely that it is not mechanical, because the decisive factor for your progress is your willingness to apply the teachings to yourself, look into your subconscious mind, and resolve what we now call the subconscious selves. »[1]

The Mechanical Path and the Inner Path

We all find the spiritual path at different levels of consciousness, but we are certainly somewhere between the 48th and 96th levels. It is very difficult to be ahead of the 96th level of consciousness on Earth without the guidance of an Ascended Master, though not impossible.

When we find the spiritual teachings of the Masters, we accept what is prevalent in the collective consciousness regarding 'being a spiritual person'.

As Master Maitreya says in this discourse, fallen beings have designed a 'spiritual path' in accordance with what people on Earth wanted when they came here.

People wanted a set of rules to follow, or some magical knowledge given by a guru, which they would gladly follow in order to have dominion over what their egos wanted to accomplish in the material world.

They wanted to become masters of matter and, at the same time, perfect their egos so that they could attain salvation through the moral rules defined by a religion or a 'mystery school' created by fallen beings to better control the population of Earth.

This mechanical path, or 'outer path', does not help us to grow as spiritual beings because it is directed at the ego and the mortal sense of identity created on Earth.

If we talk to any average person on Earth about how they conceive of 'salvation', we will see that everyone – whether they are religious or part of a 'spiritual community' – thinks of the external self as the one to be saved.

For millennia, people have forgotten completely that they are more than this outer self, only thinking about it when they think of salvation.

The inhabitants of Earth created the perfect trap for themselves when they decided that they didn’t want to grow or change; they were happy with their lives as they were.

Since the material environment was not conceived as an unchanging world, this, of course, put the planet on a path of self-destruction.

This is why, according to Master Maitreya, fallen beings and avatars were authorised to incarnate on the planet: to break the uniformity and stagnation caused by the choices of its inhabitants.

The inner Path is the Only Spiritual Path

There is only one approach to the spiritual path that serves life and the spiritual growth of any being. Our choices have created countless reactionary patterns in our material bodies, which we call subconscious selves.

These selves compound the ego structure and were formed by our past choices and decisions. They have changed our sense of identity, shifting our awareness from being spiritual beings to accepting that we are mortal.

Humanity has forgotten not only its connection to the spiritual source, but also its freedom. People have pretended that they are not free, and that everything that happens to them is caused by external factors.

This is a consequence of our new sense of identity — the ego — which can only perceive external causes, as it is not self-aware. It merely borrows the self-awareness of the 'conscious you' while the latter identifies with it.

The Spiritual Path aims to help the 'conscious you' awaken from the illusion that it is the outer self, and to resolve our psychology.

What does this mean? It means that only one being can replace every previous choice it has made, taking us from a fallen state of consciousness to a choice that connects us to the Christ mind.

Spiritual growth does not happen overnight. Unless we approach this task with determination, we will not grow spiritually beyond a certain limit.

We cannot depend on someone — no matter how wise and knowledgeable — to tell us how we can change.

Each of us must freely and consciously "roll up our sleeves", so to speak, and make new choices and decisions because the spiritual path is always one of self-awareness.

The spiritual path is an experiential one—we can only grow by acknowledging that certain past choices are no longer serving our growth.

As the Masters remind us, only that which is self-conscious and the result of our freedom can be stored in our causal body.

The spiritual path is not about achieving results in the material world; it is about changing ourselves. The true treasure we are looking for is inside us, or rather around us, embracing us from the heart.

[1] Master Maitreya in Being the Living Christ in Everyday Life, dictated through the messenger Kim Michaels, chap. 29, pg. 349 , 2025, E- book version.