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Originally Posted by Yamah
What is Ego? Ego is the Self. To be lost in ego thus means to be lost in one's self; building up the self's esteem, the self's worth, the self's righteousness, etc. While on a lone path it is very easy to fall into Ego because you have only your self for company. If you do not connect to anything outside of yourself then you are only exploring your own mind. This is why connecting to a group, tradition, teacher, spirit, God or whatever is so important - so that you aren't just lost in your own ego but instead are engaging something else... thus quieting the ego to an extent. If what you are engaging happens to be something true then it is that much more worth while.
Gnostics, Eclectics and other solitaries claim that they are not exploring their own egos but rather the depths of their spirits, their spirit guides, the spiritual world to which they are connected or other realms accessed through meditative or spiritual means. Some of these people may be right but in my experience the vast majority are lost in their own imaginations. Those that ARE accessing some kind of spiritual realm aren't experiencing it purely but are experiencing it through the cloudy lens of their own egos, confirming things that are imagined and intuiting the unconfirmable.
I personally used to be an eclectic until I realized how far into my own ego I had wandered. My desire to find truth, clarity and morality led me down the path I'm currently on. I've met many people, before and after my 'switch' from all kinds of paths. I still have plenty of ego left and I'm aware of it but at least now I know how to identify it.
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Don't forget that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the supposed author of the Zohar, lived in solitude for 13 years with his son and had many spiritual revelations during that time.
According to the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai criticized the Roman government and was forced to go into hiding with his son for thirteen years. They sheltered in a cave (which local tradition places in Peki'in). Next to the mouth of the cave a carob tree sprang up and a spring of fresh water gushed forth. Provided against hunger and thirst they cast off their clothing except during prayers and sabbath to keep them from wearing out, embedded themselves in the sand up to their necks, and studied the Torah all day long. He and his son left the cave when they received a bat qol (divine revelation) saying that the Roman emperor had died and consequently all his decrees were abolished...
Although his circumstances were extraordinary, it is still a good example of how solitude can grow spirituality without being clouded by the ego