Help me understand the ego?

[markings]

All the spirituality paths I know of that are worth their salt have one factor in common and that is they are based on subtraction.
To need less and less, do less and less, be less and less. To do only what is necessary to ensure survival of one's own and other people's physical existence.

Less wastage of resource
Lesser consideration of other people's gossip opinions
Less work
Less thought
Less self-identity, less ego

What does one's ego protect us from? Does it protect from physical assault? Clearly not. It is portrayed as protection against verbal threats, opinions, rumors, gossip. None of this is a real assault which could threaten one's life in a direct and immediate way. And there is plenty of at least anecdotal evidence that the masters ignored these fake threats and encouraged us to do the same.

Less and less ego, until there is nothing left of it. Any path which urges the opposite direction, more ego, including preserving the go, is a false path.

[peteyzen]

Originally Posted by markings

All the spirituality paths I know of that are worth their salt have one factor in common and that is they are based on subtraction.
To need less and less, do less and less, be less and less. To do only what is necessary to ensure survival of one's own and other people's physical existence.

Less wastage of resource
Lesser consideration of other people's gossip opinions
Less work
Less thought
Less self-identity, less ego

What does one's ego protect us from? Does it protect from physical assault? Clearly not. It is portrayed as protection against verbal threats, opinions, rumors, gossip. None of this is a real assault which could threaten one's life in a direct and immediate way. And there is plenty of at least anecdotal evidence that the masters ignored these fake threats and encouraged us to do the same.

Less and less ego, until there is nothing left of it. Any path which urges the opposite direction, more ego, including preserving the go, is a false path.

from my ego to yours, Well said!

[Rayden_Greywolf]

Originally Posted by markings

Jesus said something about not being able to enter heaven without being reborn. This implies a death of something, namely the old 'I' and the birth of a new 'I'.

The old 'I' is tied up with one's mental identity. It is the sense self, what is mine and what 'I' do. It is esteemed through external factors, many of those we cannot control.
The new 'I' is tied up with one's function and actions, purely as a convenient means to locate actions in space and time. It is esteemed through physical existence, and nothing else. Since physical existence is self-evident, self-esteem is natural and cannot be damaged.

If given a choice which one would you choose? And if getting from one state to the other involves death, are you prepared to go through that?

From what I read here from the ego apologists the answer seems to be no.

Of course I wouldn't choose that. Who would want their existence to be just a matter of, well, existing? Why would we be on this earth if not to actually live within it, faults and all?

Personally, I'd follow a path that enriches life, instead of taking away from it.

[youngnostic]

The MIND is the EGO.
The 'I' presence within the MIND is what can be classified as the 'ego'
"I think THEREFORE I AM" - Descartes
the I AMness is the ego; hence thinking is a function of the 'ego/mind'
the way to overcome the blindspots of the 'ego-mind' is through Compassionate Understanding.
That's why if you pray for anything at all; pray first and last for Understanding; to hunger after anything but that, is never to be filled.

Originally Posted by youngnostic

"I think THEREFORE I AM" - Descartes

"The consciousness that say 'I am' is not the consciousness that thinks"
Jean Paul Sartre

Seeing how you quoted descartes. it reminded me of exactly what you're talking about. Eckhart used that quote and stated that Jean Paul came up with his quote from reading Descartes.

hope it helps, he goes on into detail explaining what you're touching on here in the "new earth"

The Power of Now and New Earth are very good reading material for learning about the EGO "collective" and "singular".

[LiberatedLotus]

The ego is everything your being identifies with as self.

Your body, heart, mind, and even the soul.
Your thoughts, feelings/emotions, perceptions, life experiences, and
everything in the external world that
reinforces the illusion & dream like state.
(Which in reality is raw data that we merely
interpret then distort to fit our deluded realities of ourselves
& the narrative we've spent our lifetime creating.)
Concidentally, everything that can & will be
taken from you is what 99.9% of people
identify with as to who & what they are.

It is not to say that we do.not acknowledge
these faculties, but to understand their
functions.

[markings]

Originally Posted by Rayden_Greywolf

Of course I wouldn't choose that. Who would want their existence to be just a matter of, well, existing? Why would we be on this earth if not to actually live within it, faults and all?

Personally, I'd follow a path that enriches life, instead of taking away from it.

It seems that this is the thinking of most people. But how does the ego's fantasy enrich life?

Those who have experienced true reality all reports that there is no comparison between that and ordinary life. That experience feels more real, highly intense, with all senses heightened.

The reason why that is was posted near the beginning of this thread. The ego protects one from that. IOW the ego 'protects' us from experiencing our life fully.