The Evil Ego
"We are on a journey of becoming that which we already are. That is the impossible paradox of our lives."
-- Leonard Jacobson, "Journey Into Now"
"In religion, the ego manifests as the Devil, and of course no one realizes how smart the ego is, because it created the Devil so you can blame someone else. ... There is no such thing as an external enemy, no matter what that voice in your head is telling you. All perception of an enemy is a projection of the ego as the enemy."
-- Dr. Deepak Chopra
"Your greatest enemy is your own inner-perception, is your own ignorance, is your own ego."
-- Dr. Obadiah S. Harris
I was watching the movie "Revolver" starring Jason Statham. It's a gangster flick but with a serious philosophical/spiritual twist. I was a little fascinated by one of the quotations - "The only real enemy to have ever existed is an eternal one" - but more with the supposed source of the quote, which was "The Road to Suicide". I plugged that title into Amazon, but no such book came up. My search did cough up another title that was kind of on point, "Take Me to Truth: Undoing the Ego" by Nouk Sanchez. In reading the reviews, I learned that it is an offshoot from "A Course in Miracles". I had not heard of it before, but I seemed to have fallen into a soup of New Ageism that knew its high tide in the 1970s. I am a little curious and have put Sanchez's book on my wish list, if ever time and appetite should come together just right. I am more interested in other things now.
The quotation I want to keep from all this anti-ego spiritual questing comes from a Yahoo forum.
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Nobody desires problems, difficulties or obstacles, but yet, though it might seem strange, people prefer them to inner peace. There is desire for peace and freedom from everyday problems, yet, there is fear that inner peace might take away the feeling of being alive and active, and make you an indifferent person with boring life. Most people prefer to stick with the familiar, even though they know it is not in their best interest. How strange it is!
The ego, which is composed of one’s mind, thoughts and habits, is afraid of inner peace and inner silence, because it fears it might cease to exist in such a condition. If there is inner peace and silence, it means there are no thoughts, so where will the ego be? If the mind is silent there is no ego, and the ego objects this state of affairs.
Inner peace and silence often cause the ego to cease existing temporarily or permanently. Does this mean that you cease to exist? Are you the ego, or something higher than the ego, which is your tool of communication with the external world?
You, the real you, are not the ego. You are not your mind and thoughts. Thoughts pass through your mind, and you express them through words, which are the children of thoughts. The mind keeps bringing up thoughts, which constantly come and go, but these thoughts are not really you, but only tools that you use. Thoughts and habits change, but, you, the real you, do not change.
The spirit, the real you, expresses itself through this ego, and this often leads to the erroneous belief that you are actually the ego. If the ego is in a state of inactivity, such as when there is inner peace and silence, you wrongly assume that you cease to exist, but experience shows otherwise.
In a state of inner peace and silence you do not cease to exist. Actually, you feel much more alive. In such a state there is a sense of happiness, which is not dependent on external circumstances. And though it might seem strange to you, the mind is more focused, the senses are sharper, intuition is heightened, and you perceive and comprehend everything faster. This is because your mental energies become focused and not dissipated.
In a state of inner peace and inner silence, the mind is calm, and therefore ego loses it power over you, which means that you become free from futile thinking, worries and restless thinking. At such times, the spirit within, the real you, is not hindered by the mind, thoughts and desires. Consciousness becomes clear, and you are aware of your real essence, which is beyond petty thoughts, problems, ego and personality.
Problems and obstacles might continue, but they will not overpower you. You will be able to deal with them calmly, without letting them affect your mind and thinking.
-- Yahoo member
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-- Leonard Jacobson, "Journey Into Now"
"In religion, the ego manifests as the Devil, and of course no one realizes how smart the ego is, because it created the Devil so you can blame someone else. ... There is no such thing as an external enemy, no matter what that voice in your head is telling you. All perception of an enemy is a projection of the ego as the enemy."
-- Dr. Deepak Chopra
"Your greatest enemy is your own inner-perception, is your own ignorance, is your own ego."
-- Dr. Obadiah S. Harris
I was watching the movie "Revolver" starring Jason Statham. It's a gangster flick but with a serious philosophical/spiritual twist. I was a little fascinated by one of the quotations - "The only real enemy to have ever existed is an eternal one" - but more with the supposed source of the quote, which was "The Road to Suicide". I plugged that title into Amazon, but no such book came up. My search did cough up another title that was kind of on point, "Take Me to Truth: Undoing the Ego" by Nouk Sanchez. In reading the reviews, I learned that it is an offshoot from "A Course in Miracles". I had not heard of it before, but I seemed to have fallen into a soup of New Ageism that knew its high tide in the 1970s. I am a little curious and have put Sanchez's book on my wish list, if ever time and appetite should come together just right. I am more interested in other things now.
The quotation I want to keep from all this anti-ego spiritual questing comes from a Yahoo forum.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Nobody desires problems, difficulties or obstacles, but yet, though it might seem strange, people prefer them to inner peace. There is desire for peace and freedom from everyday problems, yet, there is fear that inner peace might take away the feeling of being alive and active, and make you an indifferent person with boring life. Most people prefer to stick with the familiar, even though they know it is not in their best interest. How strange it is!
The ego, which is composed of one’s mind, thoughts and habits, is afraid of inner peace and inner silence, because it fears it might cease to exist in such a condition. If there is inner peace and silence, it means there are no thoughts, so where will the ego be? If the mind is silent there is no ego, and the ego objects this state of affairs.
Inner peace and silence often cause the ego to cease existing temporarily or permanently. Does this mean that you cease to exist? Are you the ego, or something higher than the ego, which is your tool of communication with the external world?
You, the real you, are not the ego. You are not your mind and thoughts. Thoughts pass through your mind, and you express them through words, which are the children of thoughts. The mind keeps bringing up thoughts, which constantly come and go, but these thoughts are not really you, but only tools that you use. Thoughts and habits change, but, you, the real you, do not change.
The spirit, the real you, expresses itself through this ego, and this often leads to the erroneous belief that you are actually the ego. If the ego is in a state of inactivity, such as when there is inner peace and silence, you wrongly assume that you cease to exist, but experience shows otherwise.
In a state of inner peace and silence you do not cease to exist. Actually, you feel much more alive. In such a state there is a sense of happiness, which is not dependent on external circumstances. And though it might seem strange to you, the mind is more focused, the senses are sharper, intuition is heightened, and you perceive and comprehend everything faster. This is because your mental energies become focused and not dissipated.
In a state of inner peace and inner silence, the mind is calm, and therefore ego loses it power over you, which means that you become free from futile thinking, worries and restless thinking. At such times, the spirit within, the real you, is not hindered by the mind, thoughts and desires. Consciousness becomes clear, and you are aware of your real essence, which is beyond petty thoughts, problems, ego and personality.
Problems and obstacles might continue, but they will not overpower you. You will be able to deal with them calmly, without letting them affect your mind and thinking.
-- Yahoo member
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>