posted August 25, 2007 12:04 AM         

Seems this little guy called my "ego" is not such a nice guy...so I ask!
Doesn't my ego need a little recognizition if I have been good?
Why would it be bad to have/ask for "challenges" to "satisfy" my ego?
Yes, we are all created equal but we sure in the heck don't work equal, so why am I not going to pat my ego in the back when I do a good job and why would I not want for my ego to feel important and special because a good deed has been done...

Am I making any sense here? I mean, I know we should be humble and for the most part I am, but I also know it is also good when I get rewarded somehow , even if it is material or as an acknowledge, actually , acknowledge is most of the time nicer, but yet we are all the same so we shouldn't feed into that... right?

posted August 25, 2007 02:44 AM           

The ego is not a bad thing. Some of the things that come from the ego can be bad and it is those things that we need to rid ourselves of.

There is nothing at all wrong with acknowledging the things you are good at, your talents etc. There is nothing wrong with being happy and proud of your acheivements. There is nothing wrong with loving yourself. In fact, if we don't love ourselves first we can't possibly love anyone else. I mean love in a healthy way, not a narcisstic way. I mean love in the sense of self-acceptance and self-like. In the sense that I am content with myself and who I am and what I have and what I do. In the sense that I would not want to be anyone but who I am.

We all need a healthy ego to survive. It's the unhealthy ego that is spoken of dying to. Not the healthy ego that likes and accepts itself. Our ego is who we are. We are not meant to lose our identity or to dislike ourselves.

It's only inwardly in the soul that we are all alike. Outwardly we are all different. We are all unique. Yet we are connected on the soul level.

Being humble is a good thing. Humility is a virtue. But it is not good to be self-abasing.

posted August 25, 2007 08:30 AM         

ok... on a more serious note.
I may bring some readings I've done in here just to proof a point of how almost everywhere I look for the "way to enlightment" or or "spiritual growth" I get the sense that being individual and setting myself apart by the abilities I have been giving seems to be bad.

posted August 25, 2007 09:54 AM         

As mentioned in another thread, Ekhart Tolles book A New Earth is a fantastic one on this subject, for beginners and non-beginners alike. Osho comes to mind, too.

------------------
"Remembering me, you shall overcome all difficulties through my grace. But if you will not heed me in your self-will, nothing will avail you. If you egotistically say, "I will not fight this battle," your resolve will be useless; your own nature will drive you into it. (18:58-59)
Therefore, remember me at all times and fight on. With your heart and mind intent on me, you will surely come to me." (8:7)
~ The Gita

posted August 25, 2007 09:56 AM         

quote:

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The Ego or Self

The actual mind-training techniques themselves are too involved to go into here, and there are many books and teachers available where you can learn them. I will give some references later on, but let’s briefly look at how these techniques might be helpful.

We are all familiar with the Western concept of the “ego,” sometimes called the “Self,” and selfishness. It is very much a part of modern psychology as well as spirituality. This ego is, as many poets have put it, like the single cloud in the otherwise cloudless sky of our mind. This ego makes seeing into the nature of our mind very difficult, and is more of an obscuration to mental clarity than a window into our mind.

When we study the various chakras and their natures, and the same goes for the bardo states, we need as much clarity as we can manage, that is: wandering in the bardo states or the alternate realities of the various chakras requires all the awareness and acumen we can muster. Anything that is an obscuration to clear seeing must be removed.

Sooner or later, our ego or Self obscures our inner vision into the mind. Certain kinds of meditation techniques are designed to skillfully work with the ego, to break down some of its over-controlling tendency to hog or block all our internal airtime. In other words, through mind training, we can deconstruct and take apart some of the ego’s defenses, allowing us at least a window through which to better glimpse the true nature of our own mind.

Is The EGO Bad?

You can decide that yourself. It is not about whether the ego or Self is good or bad, but whether it prevents us from getting to where we want to go. Let me give you an example, that should make this clear;

I like to kid myself and say that I must belong to the Forest Gump family, in that I have had many near brushes with fame. While I never became famous, some of my acquaintances did (Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Gilda Radner), and even more of them became almost famous. It is the almost famous ones that I want to speak of here, and I won’t name names to protect them. After all, even after what I am about to say, they are very sensitive.

These “almost famous” types, in general, have at least one thing in common, and that is that they like to hear themselves talk. In fact, it is almost impossible to have a dialog with them, as in: a conversation. For some reason, they have got it into their head that they are only to give to others, and never receive. So, they talk and talk, but never listen. It would be like if we only breathed out, and never took any air back in.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I have had plenty of time to observe their egos in motion, since I have nothing better to do but just listen, and I am too polite to confront them. What would be the point?

But it is clear that their sense of Self or ego completely blinds them from what I consider one of the most important aspects of life, dialog, give and take, giving and taking. I can only bow toward those great Eastern adepts who state that the Self of ego is like the one cloud in an otherwise cloudless sky. Surely, each of you reading this must know what I am talking about. You too must have friends whose egos prevent them from knowing much more than their own reflection. My almost-famous friends certainly have no idea who I am or what I am doing, because I have not had a chance to tell them. Do you know what I am talking about here?

Imagine What I Don’t Know

Imagining what I don’t know,
And I don’t know,
I imagine what I don’t know.

I know what I imagine is what I don’t know,
And what I know is not what I imagined.
That much I know.

I can only imagine what I don’t know.
http://lessons.astrology.com/course/show/Astrology-of-the-Heart-Astro-Shamanism/1361-The-Ego-or-Self

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posted August 25, 2007 09:57 AM         

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

posted January 18, 2009 11:32 AM         

I agree with the theory that we need to form a solid identity before we can successfully dissolve it.

I think many people take up these things in an attempt to run away from themselves, because they don't like themselves.

I think we need to deeply understand ourselves, and love ourselves, before we can get beyond ourselves.

Otherwise, it seems to me, there is a great risk of self-delusion, and even the possibility of madness.

Before we can attempt to merge with the infinite, we must accomplish the alchemical process of what Jung called "individuation".

This means bringing up to consciousness what lies hidden in our unconscious, so that we can remove its power over us.

It means establishing a dialogue between the many archetypes and gods that live inside of us.

Eventually, these become cooperative, and the result is a whole individual, or the Self.

This Self is unique to you, and not just a homogonized localization of the universal mind.

You become, as it were, a part in the whole of God, but fully aware of your "part-ness", and your relation to the whole.

At this point, enlightenment, or the dissolution of the ego, may even occur spontaneously.

posted January 18, 2009 11:41 AM         

If you avoid a temptation you never learn to resist it.

The real trick is to be yourself, and love yourself, without dogmatic attachment.

You must be able to abandon yourself in an instant, but not by despising yourself.

You must love yourself, and love the world, -- and still be able to detach.

posted January 18, 2009 11:31 PM         

Of course it is probably my ego that favors this view...

yeah, now that I reflect on it I realize I like my ego very much.

posted January 19, 2009 08:13 AM         

Heaps of Love,
Dean.

------------------
I realized it for the first time in my life:
there is nothing but mystery in the world,
how it hides behind the fabric of our poor,
browbeat days, shining brightly, and we don't even know it.

Sue Monk Kidd, "The Secret Life of Bees", p79

posted January 19, 2009 11:52 AM         

the ego is the centre of our identity, but also the motivating force in many of our actions - be they positive or negative. for example, i might deeply fear failure and this fear/delusion of failing becomes the 'driving' force behind my identity/ego. because i am functioning from a negative position where i feel the need to assert myself/prove myself then my actions will not come from a self assured, happy 'ego' but from a weak and unhappy 'ego'. if i can sense my own 'weakness'; if i can acknowledge that aspect of myself without being driven by it then, with luck, my feeling of self-worth and subsequent actions will come from a source of love and respect. no one is ever free of an ego, there are simply those who do not let the negative aspects of themselves drive them. they don't seek the good opinion of others but welcome it when it comes.

------------------
Out of clutter find simplicity.

From dischord find harmony.

In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.

posted January 20, 2009 11:43 AM         

So yes , as some one said here we must get rid of our egos. But ego is not an object. Tell me where is its location in your body or mind? You will not find it. if you were to find it it was easy to eliminate it. Only understanding frees us from ego. Be aware of your actions and know where it comes from.

Ego and mind were useful as it made man intelligent and protect it self from animals. But now we must not overlean on it or be too much dependent on it. Infact tell it "ok , now I will take over . you relax"

Woman, I feel are more surrendered to existence and therefore less egoistic comapared to men who are agressive and less surrendered to existence. Same teachings cannot be applied to both types and hence we have a variety of paths. for example yoga is good for egoistic people. And tantra/tao for people who are very surrendered to existence and are not goal oriented. Like woman who are so fulfilled when they become mother. It is men who creates religion by writing books and makes ego even fatter. We must never reconcile what we learn with each other because that creates more contradiction. It is bound to. Remember everyone is different and unique. Existence is not mechanical that it creates duplicates. Every morning you may be eating cereals made on mechanical machines that look identical, but people are not
Existence is not happy with one Jesus, it needs you too to be like him or any of your masters. Sorry for bringing Jesus up time again because many here are christians or inherited that. Jesus and buddha and others, they all fall under their own single category quite different from us. By that I am not trying to build higher ideals because even that is bad to do so. Perhaps by bringing them up, it will accelerate our own development. Thats my only goodintention.