Ego.

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by Goldcup7

I'd say take a look and see if there really is an ego? Where is the ego? Who sees the ego?

The word "ego" means so many different things to people. Just yesterday I looked around and found the word "ego" being defined as aware consciousness itself. Others posted the same ideas. People have different concepts of what the ego is and what it does etc. I've seen ego defined as "that which reasons." That's a lot different from my definition which is "ego" is a word that describes an action, a consciousness identifying with conditioning.

Like if I am walking and start thinking about some horrible thing my mother did to me in the past, and I start feeling angry and all of that, to me that is me manifesting "ego" experiencing ego, as a result of identifying with my thought stream. With my definition, I can look and see there is really an ego. As I have experienced I can take my attention off thoughts like this and immediately the anger vanishes. The thought only had the power to create an experience because I (conscious awareness) chose to become entangled with it.

Some definitions of ego I don't think exist or ego is being used for other concepts like mind, reason, personality etc. Where is it? In my definition it is nowhere as it is not something we have, to me it is something I create or project. So to me it is in experience and action if such things are coming from my conditioning. Who sees the ego? To me, I do. Awareness. I see and experience the results of identifying with habitual conditioned thought.

[Redchic12]

Maisy #60

Well if I found a wallet with two hundred dollars in it and I was poor and wondering how I was gonna feed my kids, Ide thank God for putting this on my path and head straight to the shops! Lol

[sky]

Originally Posted by Goldcup7

I'd say take a look and see if there really is an ego? Where is the ego?
Who sees the ego?

It's all in the mind

[sky]

Originally Posted by Redchic12

Maisy #60

Well if I found a wallet with two hundred dollars in it and I was poor and wondering how I was gonna feed my kids, Ide thank God for putting this on my path and head straight to the shops! Lol

That's a difficult one Red, I think we'd have to be in that situation (poor) to be able to decide what to do.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Maisy

I used the apple as a metaphor as one could just observe themselves and see if an ego is beneficial or not.
That was my idea anyway. I have found my ego to be the opposite of beneficial.

Like all 'Tools' how you use them determines there worth....

[Redchic12]

Yep that’s true Sky. But I was thinking of being so poor and you had a couple of kids and absolutely no food in the house scenario of course you would take the money. And maybe the angels put it there to help us and maybe the guy who lost it was well off and wouldn’t miss it. So many variables.

As things are for me today, I would send it back. But I was looking at it from another perspective.

Most of us wouldn’t dream of killing another human being but if our child was threatened then most of us certainly would.

Obviously nothing is black and white when it comes to human beings.

[Joe Mc]

Wasn't the use of the term Ego made popular by Sigmund Freud ? It is a term I associate with the middle classes and also the socially privileged and very privileged as I don't think there were that many child chimney sweepers or tradesmen even, availing of Sigmund Freud's Chaise Longue but correct me if I am wrong. In that respect I always associate the term with bored quite well off people overthinking things.
I much prefer Abraham's Maslow's, Hierarchy of Needs. It is a much more useful psychological idea to begin to explore our place in the world and human nature. The term Ego is quiet narrow and although its useful perhaps in a spiritual sense to designate what is called the 'I' and its so called antics, it's such a small and pretentious word IMHO. Perhaps my post is somewhat Egotistical, would you say so ? lol.

PS. A couple of after thoughts. Doesn't everybody seem to think that they know what the word Ego means ? And if they don't know what it means they feel stupid ? And also, don't people feel like they are under attack when the word is used ? Could be me lol. Anyway just a couple of my own thoughts and opinions. :)

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[Gem]

Originally Posted by Joe Mc

Wasn't the use of the term Ego made popular by Sigmund Freud ?
I much prefer Abraham's Maslow's, ____________________________________________

Yes Freud popularised 'ego', and mainstreamed psychoanalysis as a whole, so if I was coming from a psycholanalytical perspective I'd say a completely different thing about id, ego, superego etc, but I was using a non-dual definition, like Tolle uses, so it's 'ego' in that context.

Since it's a Buddhist thread, I switched gears and was like, there's no self inherent to the aggregates, and from the dependent origins, the aggregates themselves have no underlying or enduring substance.

It's still overthinking things, but 3 times worse, since it overthinks things in 3 different ways

I don't mind Maslow.

[Gem]

BTW, I will return property no matter what, but I also understand that ethics aren't exactly black and white. We know it is right morally to return the wallet, but doing the wrong thing can be understandable in some circumstances. Say your baby was unfed for two days and you found a wallet with a hundred bucks cash. Probably take that and buy some formula is understandable, because morals exist in an ultimate sense, but ethics only exist in gray areas.

[Fatemahx]

Absolutely right, That is what we call projection in psychology. It is to hate in others because you have this in yourself but you have not accepted it in you. Ego hates what is it has not accepted yet. the solution is to accept first anything you dislike in others. acceptance is the key. The ego depletes when something you dislike comes into your awareness.