anyone just as he is. And what happens then? When someone comes
along who is willing to love him in that way, unconditionally, just as he
is, rather than for what he does, he gets frightened and hides inside
himself. He rejects it merely because he cannot believe it. He thinks “I
cannot believe that someone loves me, and is not seeking to take
advantage of me. Surely there must be some trap. Surely if I open
myself up to receive, I will be given a great blow and I will suffer even
more. It is not worth it”. And so the proud man, having what he needs
to begin to be happy and being able to appreciate it, rejects it. So he
suffers for not wanting to suffer, for not wanting to fight for feelings.
And what can be done to conquer pride?
The same as with vanity, the first step is to be conscious of the defect
and the second step is to modify the attitude. The mere fact of being
conscious of the defect and its manifestations alone will not prevent it
presenting itself. But recognising it will help us to avoid acting as it
wants when making decisions in our lives. If at the same time we make
these decisions now according to what our feelings dictate, the defect
will gradually get weaker until it is finally conquered.
Becoming conscious happens through knowing in depth what pride is,
how it is manifested in us and what feeds it. Pride feeds from fear,
distrust, self sufficiency and it manifests itself as isolation and repression
of sensitivity. Pride is for sensitivity of the spirit like an armour-plating
which engulfs it, an impregnable strength which surrounds it and
impedes the entry and exit of feelings. Consequently, we must fight to
cast off this armour plating.
The initial step that the proud must take in order to conquer their pride
is to free themselves from the belief that they are not worthy of being
loved, that they will never find anyone who will truly love them.
Whoever seeks true and requited love will find it sooner or later,
because spirits who are alike tend to look for each other and they
recognise each other when they meet. But they must be patient and
constant, because whoever closes the door firmly in order to protect
themselves from evil also closes it to experiencing the good. It is alright
to be prudent to avoid being hurt. But we cannot renounce feelings, or
pay back ingratitude with ingratitude, hatred with hatred, resentment
with resentment, because what makes us suffer also makes others
suffer too. And those who are most conscious of the suffering, through
having more sensitivity, are more responsible for creating it than those
who generated suffering without being conscious. I have already said
it and I say it again, you are not alone. All of you, absolutely all of you