Ego: Familiar Words in Unfamiliar Ways
When attempting to discuss this possibility of gnosis it is wise to bear in mind that we often use familiar words in unfamiliar ways. Ego is one such example. We use it to describe barriers to gnosis. The term comes to us from the discipline of psychology and while this informs us profoundly we are not exactly psychologists. This would make us an expert and we understand that we must give up the desire to be a specialist.
The specialist gathers and catalogues knowledge, but this is not the type of knowledge that leads to gnosis. In fact, it is a barrier to gnosis. The specialist has a role to play in the world created by ego. We need to occasionally avail ourselves of their help, but this does not lead to gnosis. That is, unless, we use it simply to “dehusk” our selves as it were. The specialists of psychology can help us with our problem of inflated ego. Until the sage appears where else are we to turn? We wouldn’t call a CPA to fix a problem with our plumbing, nor would we ask the plumber to file our tax return.
For now we will leave it at this: the Gnostic has dual meaning for the word ego. What we really describe is two basic states; ego expansion and ego inflation. The inflation of the ego is generally what is being referred to when we speak of ego in a negative light. The other term, ego expansion, is how we describe a healthy ego - that is an ego in service to our true nature. We might refer to this as superego, but the tendency to think exclusively in Freudian terms makes this undesirable. So it is best to avoid it and state that a healthy ego is nothing more than a vehicle for the psyche moving toward enlightenment. It is a tool that allows us to touch the transpersonal and to incorporate it into our lives, by degree. If a person suffering from an inflated ego attempted this they would become overwhelmed and ultimately go insane. They would be seduced by the Pleroma, but being childish would not be capable of becoming its lover.
In order to address this issue of inflated ego we must be willing to accept the diagnosis for ourselves. This is a challenge as the ego prefers to focus on other egos rather than it. But, the demands of gnosis require that we admit to the problem much like an alcoholic does with the first step in an Alcoholics Anonymous program. Until the patient is willing to recognize that he or she is sick they will never be able to accept the treatment. Many have trouble seeing their problems with an inflated ego because they do not recognize in themselves the bombastic quality we most often associate with egotistical individuals.
This is where we need to recall that we may be using a familiar word in an unfamiliar way. Egoism is a problem we are all afflicted with even those who we might consider to be uncommonly humble. The ego cannot be humbled. This is seen as a threat to it. The first step in recognizing the face of ego is to understand the content of our minds. Your mind is cluttered and until you have developed clarity and understand what “thoughts” are that you are thinking you will stay firmly seduced by the power of ego. While we have mortal bodies we will always be thinking. We cannot shut the process off, indeed, it would not be advisable. We are not nihilists seeking oblivion; we are spiritual beings seeking life. We are seeking our true natures.