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How to Use Your Ego to Transcend Limitations
Ego: Your Most Underrated Spiritual Tool
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Are you struggling with your Ego? Many dynamic people like you struggle with understanding and leveraging the power of the Ego. There is no reason to be ashamed or fear the Ego. The Ego gets such a bad rap from society, our friends and family, and especially the spiritual community. However, these thoughts and messages come from a place of misunderstanding and fear. Know that if you develop hate or negative thoughts or feeling for any part of you, it’s the same as hating all of you. When you resist the Ego, you are resisting yourself.
To truly harness the power of the Ego to transcend limitations, you must also sever the negative attachment to the Ego. You have to honor the Ego’s purpose and role in your life to create new roles and meaning in your life. Yes, this means you must arrive at a state of wild acceptance. Transcending anything can take as long or as short or a time as you allow it. This approach isn’t for the trendy “woke ones” but for the genuine spirits. Ego death, as some like to refer to it, can take a lifetime or two. So lets’s start with the begining.
What is the EGO?
Most of us tend to think of arrogance and vanity when we think of ego, however, the ego has a far more vast description than a hyperbolic sense of self. Etymologically speaking the “ego” is a word that comes from Latin and means “I”. In psychology, the ego is a psychic instance through which a person recognizes himself as “I” and begins to be aware of his own identity. To break this down this means that the “ego” is, the significant part of the human consciousness in charge of giving you your sense of “self”.
Let’s talk about the ego in the form of human transformation. When the ego manifests itself in a constant, persistent way, it is reflected that the ego is exacerbated. The ego crosses the limits of what is logical and acceptable to live as social beings. The ego manifests from in actions, attitudes and behaviors the thoughts, perceptions, memories, ideas, conscious feelings.
Most people’s understanding of the concept Ego is attributed when a person manifests a mixture of excessive focus on himself exclusively, loss of recognition and notion of the other, arrogance and deterministic attitudes that damage relationships and make coexistence in any field, practically an impossible mission. This is likely the because the person has difficulty connecting with others, assuming that they are always right and that everyone else is wrong; or that he holds a position above the rest. We’ve all seen the level of conflict generated when the ego manifest in everyday life.
For Freudian psychoanalysis, it is necessary to consider the ego, superego, and the id.
The ID is made up of desires and drives. The subconscious “Id” is the most deeply rooted aspect of the human psyche. It’s our animal instinct. What Freud called the ID, the disorganized and unconscious part of the personality structure contains the basic and instinctive drives of the human being. The ID is the only component of the personality present from birth. It expresses the needs, desires and bodily urges of a person, particularly his sexual and aggressive urges. The id acts in accordance to the “pleasure principle,” that force that motivates us to avoid pain and seek immediate gratification from any impulse. We all have instincts and impulses, some act immediately, others delay them to later satisfy them.
The superego (superego), on the other hand, is formed by morality and the rules that subject respect in society. The superego is governed by social conditioning. In Freud’s opinion, we can delay gratification through the functioning of the superego, which reflects morality and the internalization of cultural rules, taught mainly by parents, teachers or mentors, applying their guidance and influence. It helps us fit into society by making us act in a socially acceptable way. Of course, the demands of the superego are often opposed to those of the id, so the ego sometimes has a hard time reconciling the two.
Finally, the I (ego) is the balance that allows man to satisfy his needs within social parameters. How is a person’s ego formed? For psychology, it is usually constituted from the perception that an individual has about themselves. . According to the main theories of Freud, adopted by many, the ego is the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind, which has these two opposite aspects. Your conscious mind is the awareness of your thoughts, images, feelings, attitudes, beliefs and sensations, compared only to the tip of the iceberg as it represents a small fraction of the total capacity of your mind. It is responsible for the analysis of reality and the sense of personal identity. The ego deepens, determining how we present ourselves, how we see ourselves, what we think of others and what happens in the world. It is the great vacuum cleaner, which absorbs all the data and tries to make sense of it, just for us, so that we can adapt or change the reality that surrounds us.
So the ego is the tightrope walker between two high and far points. Only the cable is in constant motion and is never level, never straight, very thin, and extremely difficult to cross. An engaged and consistent effort to be mindful is required on the part of the tightrope walker to progress and anticipate the next rope movement for accurate foot placement. The same goes for choosing a spiritual path.
The ego is capable of invading your spirituality. The character that you have built since your childhood to protect yourself, resists, and does not want to give up the reins with which it manages your thoughts, emotions, and actions. A balanced and healthy combination of the above qualities is not in itself “bad”, except perhaps for selfishness. They are fundamental to occupying a place in a world full of human beings who tend to get along or not, depending on the degree of ego they feel and demonstrate. The ego is the mind in hyperarousal, always aware, always ready to react. You can improve this awareness using mindfulness techniques or dissociating from it the stories you’ve repeated that validate its importance In your life.
Signs that you are being controlled by your Ego:
- Don’t take risk because you fear failure.
- Unable to step out of your comfort zone because the unknown haunts them.
- Have a desire to acquire possessions to show off,
- Feel compelled to win.
- Suffer with low self-esteem; wanting others to see you how you would like to see themselves.
- Get frustrated when they are not highlighted recognized or complimented.
- Often ask questions like “do you like what I did?”
- Dramatic in your approaches to be noticed or appreciated.
- React with anger when you feel that you are being attacked for not being right.
- Easily offended, as any attitude or comment you take is a personally.
Take the Which Ego Controls You Quiz
How The Ego Affects Your Spirituality
The ego is any perception you have of yourself that gives you a sense of identity and often shows up in feelings of inferiority or superiority. It gets its identification from the stuff you tell yourself, and the things other people have been saying about you that you’ve chosen to accept as truth. One metaphor for the ego is a protective shell, like the one you’d find on an armadillo or a turtle. This shell is essentially a barrier that cuts you off from people and the universe. In other words, the ego, “shell” is genuinely creating a sense of separation. Here’s me, and there’s the rest of the universe and other people. When you faithfully emphasize the “otherness” of others, you give the ego it’s power.
For those of us who are new in our practices and understanding of spirituality. It is very easy to be guilty of assuming one has found the only correct path even after practicing for few months.
Often a person who is just starting to read spiritual books, practice meditation, attend retreats or group practices, watch spiritual videos, or participate in online classes feels the urge to convince or convert others of your path and change them so that they can see the world as you see it. It is fine to want others to feel or experience the freedom you have uncovered in your journey back to yourself. However, taking a righteous or an authoritarian approach will likely push people further away from finding spirituality for themselves.
The best approach to change is living spirituality, living as connected as possible to your essence, to your true self. Remember your journey and your path is your own. The more you connect to yourself the more others will see the changes you’ve made. Try implementing more observers mind or child’s mind practices to experience the silence within you, where you confront yourself, without the mask of the ego. As the beautiful spiritual being you are, you can fall into the spiritual ego trap leaving the worldly ego for the spiritual ego. The spiritual ego is when you believe you are superior to others, more spiritual than others and with the authority to tell them how they should experience their spirituality. In addition, you can still be in spiritual ego when you think others are more spiritual than you and you cannot live up to their example. Each of these identities are detrimental to your health and spiritual growth. The goal of spirituality is to let go of what serves you not go around collecting more identities.
So maybe when we did the ego quiz you scored incredibly low or high. Let’s now self-assess your spiritual ego. I would argue to say that you’re spiritual ego is way more important the your worldly ego. Your spiritual ego can be the key to relinquishing the identities of your ego and how it manifests.
Signs the Spiritual Ego Controls You
- You’re constantly consuming new literature tools etc. with the fear you’ll be stagnant on your spiritual path.
- You believe that you are special, chosen by God or the Universe.
- You think that your soul is more evolved than that of other people, who are lost or astray because they have not received the “message” that did reach you.
- Belief that you cannot feel emotions such as sadness, anger, rage, fear. This only leads you to repress them and it is worse.
- You see defects in other people, and you attribute them to the fact that their spirit is not evolved, quite the opposite of yours.
- Believe yourself in possession of a message that you cannot share with others who would not understand because they are not at the same spiritual level as yours.
- Defend your spiritual practice as being more authentic than other peoples.
- Show an attitude of superiority in everything you do and concerning others because you believe in a higher spiritual level.
- Think differently of people who do not practice the same rituals as you.
- Stay away from people with low vibes like the plague.
EGO problems
All these signs of spiritual ego represent arrogance and take you away from spirituality. The more you separate from your true nature, the more you slide down the path. Spiritual egoism manifests as anger, hatred, greed, lust, jealousy etc. Often these feelings are so resilient that they can cloud your intellect and render a person incapable of higher forms of thought and feeling. This can make you forget your identity, engaging in acts based on our lower vibration and primal desires. As a human being, you cannot avoid experiencing your emotions, but you can transmute, or channel them in the most positive way possible, and eventually avoid being controlled by them. But first, we must use those moments as guides aND teachers.
It’s all about getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. Sitting with your emotions and observing them –– without judgment. ITuning into the ego, and turning up your self-compassion, self-awareness, and desire to grow, learn, heal, and move forward.
How the EGO is a Spiritual Tool?
So the best way to gain mastery of your Ego is to understand what the Ego is and how it works to be able to decide how to use it to improve or mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. Once you have understood all of the ways it seeks to protect you from real and imaginary danger, you can become aware of it, then that is when you can start using the Ego as your guide to start working on your self-esteem.
Now you may thoughts like- too much self-esteem leads to narcissism. Actually, narcissism is a psychological response to low self-esteem. Narcissists only derive worth from their wins and need constant praise to keep their big, fragile egos from shattering.
Having high self-esteem means you know your worth regardless of what happens.
So to put this in practice
- You no longer fight or completely succumb when the Ego arises.
- Instead, you acknowledge the Ego when it arises in a nonjudgmental way.
- Get curious about how and why the Ego has chosen to show up, this way.
- Allow your higher self to realize or show you, your past experience and conditioning that have taken over the situation.
The key is to be in the observer’s mindset.
Ask yourself, “What is my state of consciousness as I am about to enter this conversation or situation?’
Remember, the Ego should not be confused with self-esteem, because in this, there is an objective assessment of ourselves, unlike the Ego, where the vision of ourselves is exacerbated and distorted.
These things are undoubtedly affecting the quality of your life, because behind the security that the Ego provides, in every role and identity, masks some limiting beliefs about your own self-worth and capacity. Realize the deep connection and identification to the role is not your fault. Your identification with these roles that creates your Ego was formed from your past experiences, both positive and negative, and your internalization of what society deems a good mother, love, friend, etc., versus a bad one.
Often the Ego crosses the limits of what is logical and acceptable to live as social beings. The Ego manifests in actions, attitudes, and behaviors the thoughts, perceptions, memories, ideas, and conscious feelings. We’ve all seen the level of conflict generated when the Ego manifests in everyday life. It is important to detect if your Ego is controlling you because it feeds on your suffering and keeps you sailing in a sea of unhappiness that makes you cowardly, selfish, and distrustful. Also, your Ego makes it nearly impossible to see faults and defects, so you end up adopting a victim position, where you blame others for everything that happens to you. The Ego, of no fault of its own, will do anything to protect you from being wrong, embarrassed, or small. While this may seem protective, in order to grow and expand, you need to know when you’re wrong. Let your walls down and stand tall in your worth. Your worth doesn’t change whether you’re right or wrong. Cultivate an attitude of acceptance for the Ego to transcend, heal, and write new stories. So let’s get comfortable with this temporary uncomfortableness and shatter our own limits.
RESOURCES:
- https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/willpower/whats-the-best-way-to-define-ego/
- Taking the Spiritual Journey to Transcend the Ego …. https://bahaiteachings.org/taking-the-spiritual-journey-to-transcend-the-ego/
- Essay on Sigmund Freud’s Theory Of Psychoanalysis – 885 Words. https://www.studymode.com/essays/Sigmund-Freuds-Theory-Of-Psychoanalysis-85847809.html
- Taking the Spiritual Journey to Transcend the Ego …. https://bahaiteachings.org/taking-the-spiritual-journey-to-transcend-the-ego/
- Essay on Sigmund Freud’s Theory Of Psychoanalysis – 885 Words. https://www.studymode.com/essays/Sigmund-Freuds-Theory-Of-Psychoanalysis-85847809.html
- https://ideapod.com/spiritual-ego/#:~:text=Spiritual%20ego%20is%20based%20on,to%20a%20deeper%20spiritual%20experience.
- https://www.mindthatego.com/defining-spiritual-ego/
- https://www.google.com/search?q=characterisyticas+of+an+ego+centric+person&oq=characterisyticas+of+an+ego+centric+person&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13j0i22i30l2j0i390l2.13542j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#
- https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/common-traits-self-centered-person
