Concepts of the “Ego”

Those who know me well know that I talk a lot about Ego because it is a concept that I have grown to understand in such a real way over the past year.  I have read many books that helped me gain an understanding of the Ego, but one book in particular that I highly recommend is “Your Sacred Self” by Wayne Dyer. He talks a lot about past false beliefs. I did some work last year in identifying those false beliefs and how strongly they had influenced my life and my behaviors. These false beliefs are often things we are taught by well-meaning family and people in authority over us, but it does not make them TRUTH. I did this work by making an extensive list of all the things I was taught in my life that I “should do” and then a list of all the things that I “should not do”….When you put some of these things on paper is becomes so incredibly clear what false beliefs these are – and yet they completely guide and control the direction of our lives if we continue to let them. (I will not share my list here as it is specific to me and my own upbringing, but I do encourage you to take the time to do this exercise as it really is powerful for making change.) I will share with you, though, some of the things I have learned about the Ego.

Lessons I have learned about the Ego:

1.       Ego presents as the false self – Belief that I am my physical body; Ego pushes one to despise the outward appearance and fights constantly against acceptance. While I know this is true, it is still an area that I struggle with because I still hold onto some of those false beliefs which lead me to judge myself. I am continuing to work on reminding myself that “I am not my body”.

2.       Ego teaches separateness – viewing life as a competitive exercise, always seeking our place in the world, seeking greatness or to be better than everyone else. This separateness also allows for judgement.

3.       Ego convinces you of your “specialness” – believing we are special or more deserving than the next person, which also leads to fear and anxiety that we may NOT be special enough.

4.       Ego is ready to be offended – in living in the ego state I was always offended and felt a constant need to defend myself and my actions. When you are living in Spirit, you do not have an “offend-able” nature.

5.       Ego is cowardly – the Ego beats us down robbing us of our divine nature, constantly causing us to see ourselves as lowly sinners rather than the freed and forgiven soul in which God dwells.

6.       Ego thrives on consumption – trying to fill a void that the ego creates, I often filled my life with meaningless things. The Ego pushes you toward external validation. The Ego tries to keep you facing “outside yourself” for peace and joy. *This was a big one for me when I came to this realization. I had been seeking fulfillment and peace outside myself and it always led to sadness and disappointment. Turning inward and seeking after the higher self which is the Holy Spirit within me changed so much for me.

7.       Ego is insane – it believes it is something it is not and tries to convince others of the same. Sanity, therefore knows that you are one with God and united to all.

Of course, having said all of this, one of the biggest displays of “Ego” is when someone believes they are better than others because they are on a spiritual quest or they have some wisdom greater than others….This is not my belief. I do not believe that having learned about this concept makes me any better than anyone else, I simply share with you what has made such an impact on my life. In humility I recognize that we each have our own path, our own trials, and our own beliefs…neither is better than the other, we are all unified by the Holy Spirit in each of us. ~ Namaste