There is a difference between spiritual strength and ego strength. Ego strength is built from a deep commitment to our own story, our needs, our preferences, our interpretations of the world. It relies on familiar patterns and well-worn responses, often moving automatically, convinced that its way is the only way. It can appear strong, even decisive, but its strength is rooted in repetition rather than truth.

Strength is essential for the spiritual life. This includes physical endurance as well as mental and emotional strength. But the most profound is the strength of the soul. 

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..." These words, recorded by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, were spoken by Jesus in Paul’s prayer for his affliction to be healed.

What kind of strength do you long for? Is it courage? Endurance? The strength to face loss, illness, or the suffering of someone you love? Not having the strength we need is not a final verdict. Instead, it is an invitation. Yes, we are invited into a new experience that looks as if it will break us, but instead, it strengthens us.

I was thirty-nine, a husband, father, and the new owner of a house with a mortgage. For the past eleven years, I had been a faculty member of a medical residency program at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, School of Medicine. I thought my job was secure, but one day I walked into a faculty meeting, and our director informed us that the resiliency program had lost its government grant. We relied on that grant for all the operations of the residency program, from paper clips to salaries. By the end of the meeting, all of us knew we were out of a job.

In consciousness and spirituality studies, there is a common denominator: the quest for peace. In such studies, all forms of peace can be traced back to the great peace extended to the universe, from beyond ourselves—the peace of the Divine.

The body center of intelligence, like the other centers of intelligence, can be fueled by the ego. Yes, if unchecked, the mental structure of the ego can overtake the body. The unchecked ego has many distortions of reality which impact the body positively or negatively. And, as can be the case with all three centers, the body center can also be in direct coherence with the soul. When the body and soul are in sync, divine energy fuels the body center.