The Ego
So much is written about the ego, the false self, the illusory self, the small self, our mistaken identity. On thing is certain: it plays such a role in our lives, that to deny it is a sure way to retain it. What the ego is and is not, and how to deal with it—if at all—is a vast subject. One might argue that there is no ego to surmount while another claims you can't be without an ego and still be in the world. Well, let's see what enlightened or near-enlightened minds have to say about it. To struggle with or fight against the ego is to give it a reality it doesn't have and can never have. It's only my belief that gives it any seeming existence or power.
“… you cannot escape from the ego by humbling it or controlling it or punishing it.” A Course In Miracles (T-4.VI.3:8)
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“When you lose all sense of self the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish. Lose yourself completely, return to the root of the root of your own soul.” Rumi
"Where there was darkness now we see the light.
What is the ego? What the darkness was. Where is the ego? Where the darkness was. What is it now and where can it be found? Nothing and nowhere. Now the light has come: Its opposite has gone without a trace. Where evil was there now is holiness. What is the ego? What the evil was. Where is the ego? In an evil dream that but seemed real while you were dreaming it." A Course In Miracles |