Overcoming Your Egos Obstacles to Success
As human beings we all have scotomas or blind spots that we don’t really want to see, because seeing them may mean we will need to change. Your ego, the part of you that wants to maintain the status quo and not change says no, I am fine. You don’t have to change. The egos greatest fear is change, which is a form of death and always wants to be in control and maintain its stability which creates the sense of separation from our oneness
Your ego will blame others, make you right, criticize or judge, to prove its point. Unfortunately, you don’t realize that it’s your ego that is now running the show and probably getting you what you don’t want. This constant battle between conflicting forces holds us back from feeling peaceful, successful and trusting in the process of life Entwined with the ego are real emotions which cloud the situation even more. Your emotions are connected to your survival response which makes you want to fight or flee when in conflict.
The ego is like a thin patch of cloud that prevents the sun from being seen. If, by the guru's grace, it disperses, then one can see God. -Ramakrishna
So, how can we bring harmony and success to this discord? The key is to increase your desire to be free of your egos control, by observing your ego, not feeding it, and by staying centered, Meditation helps. Have the intention to grow and be accountable for your reality, These are great places to start, which will help you release old patterns Another important aspect of creating harmony between the ego and the objective observer part of yourself, is to become allies Become the leader and make the ego the follower. The ego is only a part of you. It usually focuses on negativity is involved in your suffering. Pain is inevitable; suffering is a choice of the ego
The term "ego" is Latin and translates as "I." Your ego is the identity you've created for how you see yourself. Your ego is consists of the beliefs, experiences, ideas and concepts that make you. The purpose of the ego is to help you to survive and strive on this physical plane of everyday life. It does a great job in helping you set and achieve goals take care of yourself and others, and keep you out of dangerous situations.
The egos nature is to relate to the world from the I or mine perspective. This is my house, my car and I am Joe. Joe by the way is just a collection of experiences and beliefs that he has made about himself and life. It is this ego that creates a sense of separateness in you. Whenever you experience emotional pain, worry anger, jealousy, it is always the result of feeling alone and separate from everything else. Feelings of anxiety, anger, and negative thinking are the result of an undisciplined ego. Judgment and criticism are its communication. "I must be a failure if I am not married, rich, thin or successful.”
Most people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions. -Charles Brower
In the world, the ego will identify with specific situations, events, people, products, places which creates a sense of individuality. When this I=ness, self interest interferes with and overshadows the centered or objective self, there is a loss of connection to the moment, creativity, truth and compassion. In times of misery, you always experience yourself as being all alone. During times of joy, you feel connected with everyone and everything around you. When you are, happy and having fun the ego is at its weakest and least controlling unfortunately, it is these controlling programs that often lead us through life!
The egos' focus can either be directed toward the world or toward our spiritual nature. The more the ego is directed toward the world the less chance one has of attaining peace of mind and freedom. Because the world pulls us in to its chaos Yet the ego is an important aspect of the mind which keeps us active and tied into our duties and responsibilities of daily life. Without the ego we would not have the drive to achieve. As long as the ego is in charge we cannot be free to experience spiritual growth. It doesn’t want to let go. Our job is to train it to do what we want for success
The energy or movement of the ego cannot be stopped, only redirected and hopefully focused in a positive direction. The process of observing your thoughts and being aware of when the ego is controlling you is the first step toward positive change and your ultimate success.
The ego is nothing but your sense of self, the collection of ideas and concepts that you have about yourself . At birth, it separates you from your mother. Until the moment of birth there is no ego, no boundary. The baby is simply part of the mother. At the very moment of birth, when the umbilical cord is cut, the baby senses its own boundary for the first time. In the very first year after birth, the ego builds your picture of yourself and the world. The ego is responsible for your sense of >me= and >mine=. Throughout your life, the ego puts you into the position of >me versus them=. It separates you from your parents, from friends and strangers, from nature, from all of Existence. Whenever you utter the word >I=, you are breaking away fromExistence. You cannot really break away, because you are an intrinsic part of all Existence B but in your mind you break away. You create for yourself a world in which you are separate from all. This world exists only in your mind B it is just a mental concept - but we allow this concept to rule all our actions. You have always heard people say, The ego is the root cause of all our misery. Why? Because the ego thrives on hostility, on conflict. Any environment which creates a sense of isolation is the survival ground for the ego. The ego may be a product of your own imagination, but it is a cunning animal! Even the most sagacious of teachers and uber of gurus has an ego...And to think or propagate otherwise is illusion. To work toward "egoless living" is actually an ego/identity. To be a "non-materialist" is an ego/identity. To be "non-attached" and a spiritual person is (you guessed it) an ego/identity.
The fact of the matter is you cannot even exist without some semblance of an ego/identity. Therefore, I submit that your ego is not too big as you've often been told...I suggest your ego is not big enough!
When you identify yourself with your activities, your possessions, your position or any other of these items of the physical world, your identity is centered as a finite physical being. Truth be understood, you should be identifying yourself with infinity or God.
In my new book Harmonic Wealth, The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want, I discuss that true wealth is a state of harmony and well-being in the five key areas (I call them the five pillars) of life: Financial, Relational, Mental, Physical and Spiritual. Only when these five pillars are in harmony in your life are you truly wealthy and fulfilled. The solution to this ego issue resides in the Relational Pillar.
Now when I speak of relationships, the majority of people automatically think "romance!" While romance is an important part of our relational experience, it pales by comparison to the grander issue: how you relate to the entire world.
Refer to the section in Harmonic Wealth titled "The Hierarchy of Personal Identity." In it, I discuss the 7 different levels of existence in which we play the game of life. If ego is the identity you hold (which it is), then it's important to explore where your sense of self resides.
While I won't go into an in-depth explanation of all seven levels here, I'll briefly explore the extremes or both poles of the hierarchy. Exploring this model, we truly find the key to creating a new earth for ourselves, for others and for the entire planet...
At the bottom of the hierarchy (or "at the beginning stages of awareness"), you define your identity as an Individual Being. When holding your ego/identity at the Individual level, your entire world centers around you, the things you want, the things you do, what happens to you and the things you have. This is the level of lowest awareness in the hierarchy.
At this Individual level, you're separate from other beings, from nature and from the world and universe at large. As a result, we traditionally have little care or deep concern for the needs of others, and most often care little for the well-being of animals, plants or the natural world... And certainly not as a primary focus. This is the level of awareness most likely labeled by spiritual traditions as the ego/identity that must be overcome or transcended... And it's true that you must grow beyond this in the evolution of consciousness... but that's only half the story.