What is the EGO?

[Green.Heals]

Can you tell me what the Ego is?

Is it, "I" - What I want - What I need - Power -Greed - is this what it is -

If we live through "source" - "divine" are we, Ego? Those that consider the "Ego" bad, are they constantly fighting themselves? Or does it mean something else entirely?

I just read that someone see's "Self Love" as Ego. What does that mean?

Is Ego things you want, and strive for? Is that so bad, to want?

Please enlighten me.

I always thought to be humble, with no attachments,no labels, and an openness to all walks of life is not egocentric.

I guess I don't really know. I have seen other people's "egos' that I found to be negative when they projected them onto another. I saw Ego as "negative" - I've not seen ego in any other way than that, up until now.

For instance, when I walk into a crystal shop, I don't let the Ego intervene, I don't choose a rock based on the colors I like, shape, size, or what someone else's experiences have been, ect ect - I do my best to let go, and know that the right stone at the given time will pick me.


What are the other forms of Ego?

Thank You

Now days people have labeled anyting that disagrees with them personality wise as EGO which is not the original meaning of ego because the original meaning of ego is your persona and other words your personality and as Alan Watts quotes a no one can rid themselves of their ego because the desire to rid yourself of one's ego is in fact the ego wanting to pretend to get rid of itself just like when you see a Sade or Guru that is just a person whose ego has taking on the role of ego-free LOL.
If you had no ego you would be less then a monkey because you be a robot in a since.
However in this New Age movement anybody that display signs of stubborn or prideful or strong-willed or has an opinion or disagrees with some ancient writing or disagrees with the person in general is considered to have ego issues when the reality is we all have our egos it's just that they've been highlighted due to certain belief systems and religions and in my opinion it's something that doesn't need to be highlighted because it's kind of a worthless thing for anybody to be fixated on

[Unseeking Seeker]

***

Interpretations of definitions depending upon perceptions!

Ego is the mistaken belief that we are only the mind-body construct and not as in reality a soul encasing this form.

If the fulcrum of our consciousness is as the eternal witnessing presence then we are in but not of the world ... or we may say devoid of ego.

Life is not black & white however. Our attention tends to oscillate between reality & delusion, even if we realise the truth during meditation or by intuitive insight.

We may say that whenever we experience consciousness contraction owing to reaction, it is the ego at play. Conversely, during that continuum of time when we are joyous & blissful, we are connected with the source. Within.

***

I can relate to ego in two ways.

First there's the Freudian model. There's the Id which is the primitive, the reptilian part of the brain. It's the instinctive survival part of the brain. Then there's the Superego which is a function of the higher brain and is the moral part. Then there's the Ego which mediates between the two depending on demands of the reality of the world, society and culture.

To me and in the context it's used here ego is an out of balance condition where either Id or Superego has far too much control.

In simpler terms it's the cartoonish version of an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, both whispering into opposite ears trying to get their own way. To some degree we do need both elements in order to survive and function but when one or the other gains too much influence and pushes us to extremes and we listen and act out then it's ego manifested.

As far as needs vs. wants there's Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Psychology is very clear on the fact after basic deficiency needs are met (material - physiological & safety; psychological - love/belonging, self-esteem) the returns on happiness for more gains diminishes and fast.

One aspect of ego wanting beyond basic material needs is greed for wealth and the fact is that never truly satisfies the quest for happiness. The same can be said for being overly demanding on the psychological side, demanding far more love, respect, fame or power and the same fact it is not going to bring increased happiness. It's like the greyhound chasing the mechanical rabbit at the track. It's never, ever going to catch it.

After a certain point the real growth is beyond the demands of ego and into the realm of self-actualization.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

[lomax]

Originally Posted by MAYA EL

Now days people have labeled anyting that disagrees with them personality wise as EGO which is not the original meaning of ego because the original meaning of ego is your persona and other words your personality and as Alan Watts quotes a no one can rid themselves of their ego because the desire to rid yourself of one's ego is in fact the ego wanting to pretend to get rid of itself just like when you see a Sade or Guru that is just a person whose ego has taking on the role of ego-free LOL.
If you had no ego you would be less then a monkey because you be a robot in a since.
However in this New Age movement anybody that display signs of stubborn or prideful or strong-willed or has an opinion or disagrees with some ancient writing or disagrees with the person in general is considered to have ego issues when the reality is we all have our egos it's just that they've been highlighted due to certain belief systems and religions and in my opinion it's something that doesn't need to be highlighted because it's kind of a worthless thing for anybody to be fixated on

Well explained.

I find it helpful to go to source material in the appropriate field of discussion for understanding.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

https://frithluton.com/articles/ego/

https://www.verywellmind.com/persona...hology-4157179

http://www.psychologydiscussion.net/...ndividual/2593

[kundalinikid]

It can be a lot of things really....

I see one part of it as the personality representation of yourself. People are shaped by their environment to say I am this way or I am that way. The ego wants to divide, separate, classify, categorize, analyze...etc. The real you just knows. You can't really rid yourself of it. You can quiet it though and just be more.

In Christianity the ego would be denoted as chasing things of the flesh or the world.

[NoOne]

Hi Green.Heals,

Ego is the illusion that separates us from Source.

When we let go of our Ego, we return to our original, infinite state, which includes all forms and all potentiality.

This is the hardest thing to do, because, we imagine it would mean dissolution into a nameless, faceless mass of nothingness, when in fact it is the exact opposite. Without EGO we cease to be small and limited, we become infinite potential and possibility, without losing our own individual consciousness in the process. In fact, our consciousness is empowered, whilst our individuality is enhanced by the power of the whole.

[Jyotir]

We are all differentiated aspects of the One Being, One Self, infinite and eternal.

But ego so-called is the false separative cognition that sees our individual differentiation as a real SEPARATION - divided from the One, from each other, and from every other apparently differentiated identity, including the division of time - all as false perception.

It is a limited and limiting cognition because the very means employed as instrumental of experience is faulty, limited, finite, partial, distorted as such. Ego sees reality in an ignorant way because the way it sees and "knows" is inherently ignorant and limited. It is what it does and vice-versa.

We, our reality, is the consciousness we identify with.
As long as we identify with that falsehood of ego cognition and objective separation, we are limited as beings, and trapped in that limitation; a virtual enslavement.

However, just because we are differentiated does not mean that ego is the entirety of that differentiation.

We are a microcosm of the ALL, an amalgam of many different types of consciousness and cognition - a vast range - all available. Ego, ego-mind, desire-mind, kama-manas, etc., is but one aspect - but for human beings it is dominant, and it is persistent.

That is… unless and until we begin to displace, detach from, ignore, supersede the ego modality and begin to practice and focus on other means, other consciousness that are present within that are gnostic, illumined, more inclusive, unitary, subjective, which are also present in our being as part and parcel of our differentiation. That aspect of being is the soul, jivatman, etc., which is fully aware of the truth of existence.

Spirituality is the conscious deliberate practice of relinquishing the ego and increasingly surrendering to that which is divine within us. What is usually called awakening in the current popular sense, is the first or beginning recognition of this as possible within life; the first suggestion that ego is not exclusive as a way of being.

[Green.Heals]

Thank you so much Jyotir.

I would not have been able to articulate it as such, but it is something that I find within, and try to be consciously aware of in my life. It has been some of the best connections with others I have found. It really helps to see it as you, and Noone have pointed out with my current stop in my life. I kinda shut it down.

Something I found, and dropped some time ago.

Thank you for your insight, Kundalinikid.