The ego is the idea of “I”, who you believe yourself to be. It’s the sum of all the beliefs you carry about who you are – your personality, your worth, your abilities. A part within each of us has enjoyed quite a nice long reign over our decisions, actions, thoughts, and general philosophy of life. Understanding the spiritual ego, embracing it, and moving on from it can be one of the most powerful steps you take on your transformational journey.
What is the Ego?
The ego carries the idea of who you are, but it IS not you. It’s the filter, the film that the light of your consciousness is being projected through. It is the false self-created unconscious identification with the mind. When we identify too much with the ego, it can actually lead to some serious problems. We may find ourselves struggling with limiting beliefs and thought patterns that negatively affect our thoughts, decisions, and views about ourselves and the world around us. By associating ourselves with words and concepts that distort who we actually are, we open the door for the ego to infiltrate our minds, and effectively, control not only our identity, but also our entire lives. The ego is complex and it’s made up of a series of beliefs that we hold about ourselves and who we are, many of which are shaped by outside forces as we develop as children. The ego is the totality of our conscious self. It is how we see ourselves. To the ego the present moment hardly exists. It’s always concerned with keeping the past alive because without it – Who are you?
The Purpose of the Ego
Our ego has a radical plan of it’s own, our ego has a purpose, just like you can’t have the light without the dark, you can’t have your higher self without your ego. It loves to tip us off balance. It is the voice within us that starts to write a plan for success and a plan for failure at the same time. The purpose of this is to give us the opportunity to be drawn in by fear or motivated by love. The ego in itself is not the villain. Once self-realization occurs, the ego’s misappropriation of identity dissolves and its simple function of providing individuality. So what must happen is work our way through the false inner and outer personas to reach the true self, and in that process we begin to reshape the ego into something that is more closely aligned to our true self. This is what we mean when we talk about alignment.
✨A few inspirational words for the Ego✨
The ego is not inherently good or bad. In essence, the purpose of the human ego is to protect us from harm, ensure our survival, and lead us towards a ‘spiritual awakening’ or self-actualization. When an ego is healthy, it is strong in that it has the ability to regulate the other parts of the self, and it is neither inflated, nor deflated. It’s balanced, exhibiting healthy amounts of self-respect and self-worth, which are equal to the amounts of respect it gives out. 💛🌻✨