I have had some interesting conversations with friends about ego lately. After reflection, in a matter of minutes, this flew out on paper, so here it i
What is Ego?
Ego is nothing more than a self-manifested sense of spirituality. In that, I mean it is our human belief system about the world and how we affect it and what we WANT from it.
The difference between ego and spirituality is simply, "the self"
In an ego driven spiritual conquest, we look for satisfaction or happiness by being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Yet, we only desire to be a part of this, because it makes us, "feel" good. It makes us "feel" complete. We do things we "feel" are right or wrong. We base our concept of right and wrong on the way those decisions make us, "feel". Don't misunderstand me, feelings are not the enemy, per say, but it is a tool of the ego, that must be understood in order to keep it in its rightful place.
Our ego is there to protect us from others who might hurt us and situations which are not healthy to our physical well being. It’s our internal alarm system if you will. Is it necessary? By all means, yes, it is very necessary. However, because we all know its value in that context, it is so easy for us to mistake the emotions or feelings about a situation as being right or wrong spiritually, based on how they make us, “feel”, when in fact the situation, as we see it, may be ego driven and not spiritual at all. Just because a situation “feels” good does not always mean it is, right, spiritually.
Wait, but doesn't being spiritual make you feel good? Sometimes. Sometimes you are on top of the world, you have had an, "AHA" moment and the fog of emotions has just cleared from your ego and you have clarity that makes you, "feel" good. But, that is when the, “AHA” moment is divine driven, when the answers have been searched for with in the spiritual realm of your soul and not your ego. It is not a feeling of, “good” it is a feeling of complete contentment, a feeling of fresh breath, deep within your soul.
But sometimes that, "AHA" moment is an answer in which our ego feels threatened, because it isn't what we wanted to hear at all. It is in those moments when we are tested. We decide to either give into the ego or look within the other realm of our souls for guidance and comfort to a greater understanding of right and wrong. It is in these moments, when we decide, ego or Divine. Keep in mind the divine path, although it is the right path and will truly give you that complete contentment, and that same feeling of fresh breath, deep within your soul. It is not always the easiest. It may be painful and it may hurt, on an emotional egotistical level, but at the end of the path is the growth and wisdom gained from journeying a path built just for you and your spiritual growth and transformation. Is it easy? No. But, if to journey down the road less traveled increases your spiritual awareness, then it becomes a road that is necessary to travel. It is necessary to learn to die to our ego driven emotions and in doing so we can understand the Divines intentions for our lives. We can learn to find the comfort and the peace through our spiritual being and not through our ego, to find the truth in right and wrong, and the wisdom contained within the path less traveled.
Ego, with its feelings, can protect us but it can also hinder our spiritual growth. We have to learn to not give ego precedence over the Divine guidance of right and wrong in our lives. We have to learn to appreciate the Ego and its Feelings for what they offer us in our human existence, but understand it is not there as a spiritual compass. That our spiritual growth must come from a place with in our souls and the realm in which it is the most comfortable. Our souls cannot gain wisdom from the Divine if we allow our choices to be guided by our emotions and cluttered by our egos.
I would like to encourage all of you to search within yourselves about choices you may not be seeing clearly through the Divines eyes. I encourage you to look for truth and guidance from the Divine and not your ego. Look for areas in which you may want a specific, “thing” and you have justified it with your own ego and not true Divine guidance.
Love and Blessings to you all.
Understanding the ego is the one thing in this reality that every single one of us will have a hard time understanding off and on throughout our whole lives! Even down to the structured religions on this planet! The rights and wrongs of religions are also based on an ego out of balance. The want and need for control, power, and monetary gain for social acceptance and a seat in Heaven. Reflect on this for a moment and think how this as well is completely ego driven! Where is the sense of self discovery, and knowledge from within? The knowledge seems to be coming from outside sources, the ego is satisfied only through external gratification. And as Nicole said, can be completely emotional based, allowing the ego to cover up the true divine knowledge of what we are seeking. I have often times allowed the emotions of my own ego to tell me how I feel about a relationship, long before I give into the divine and see the truth of the situation! It has caused me to sacrifice who I am as a person to make a relationship work, just to have the false sense of security, comfort and love. I can remember plenty of times throughout my life where I swore I was in LOVE, and HE WAS THE ONE! I've held on to the emotions of how I felt, rather than seek internally for the true emotions and reality of the situation! Sometimes the truth can take months to truly understand! But it is in that AHA moment when you realize what is truth and divine guidance vs. what it emotional ego driven feelings. By being aware of this, is the first step to finding balance between true self, and a very important part of who we are, THE EGO!
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