Understanding The Ego
Our ego plays a large role in how we react and respond to the situations around us. The ego has a way of getting in the way when we desire to live a life of joy and happiness. Since the role of the ego is to ‘protect’ us then it will do whatever it can to remain in charge - and continueously feed our fears and insecurities.
To reach a level of enlightenment, or to reach a connection with our Universal Source, we have to learn how to separate the ego. The ego tries to fool us into thinking we are a separate unit from the things around us, when in actuality we are all connected. When situations arise that we don’t like, it is our ego that is responding to the situation - essentially moving us away from the situation so that the situation is the ‘problem’. We must release the reactions of the ego and begin to understand that our responses are simply our ego trying to control our environment.
Dr Wayne Dyer explains the ego like this:
The ego has six components: It is a belief that we carry around that says first of all, I am what I have. So I measure my worth on the basis of my stuff. I am what I do, that is all of my achievements, that’s the second. The third is, I am my reputation. I am what everybody else thinks of me. So those are three really high motivating factors of the ego: Get more stuff, do more, and get people to like you. The fourth is the ego says that who I am is separate from everybody else instead of connected through this universal source that we all emanate from. Fifth, the ego says that who I am is separate from what is missing in my life. And that means that we don’t understand that we’re already connected to everything so that in some spiritual sense, everything that we feel is missing from our life we’re already connected to. And finally it says that who I am is separate from God. God is something outside of me. Instead of seeing myself as a piece of God, I see myself as an ego who I separate from God.
When St. Francis was feeling that he didn’t have any peace in this life, he didn’t say to God, “I need some peace. Please just bring me peace.” What he asks is “Make me an instrument of your peace. Let me be like you.” That’s what called God realization. And that’s something that we can all do at any moment in our life.
The ego will look outside of ourself to place blame instead of looking inside realising that we are the one that is reacting. The ego always looks to the past to place blame or to create separation from what is going on now. We react to something that someone else is doing because we want them to to it differently - so that we can feel better..
When you let others dictate how you feel that is when you become separated and when the ego takes over. Instead, in every moment stay focused on what is going on now and focus your energy on positive thought. Only you have the power to determine how a situation makes you feel - you CAN choose not to feel bad or upset. I know it sounds simple, but it really is that simple. It takes practice, but it is that simple.
So the question is “how do we separate our ego?” Well the first step is, of course, to recognize the times when your ego is present and how it is attempting to separate you from everybody else. You recognise how you are feeling in any given moment and determine if it is the ego trying to control the situation around you.
You are then free to choose how you feel, regardless of what is happening around you. You consciously make the decision on how you will feel, and you are on your way to being a deliberate creator.
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