As my friend and I were rolling down the road on a beautiful summer morning in deep conversation the “ego” jumped in tarred and feathered with scraps of dirty toilet paper fluttering all over screaming for redemption. It did not help that earlier today scrolling down on my FB page I came across a joke maligning the ego once again. And yes, I do get a bit irritated when people take a concept and turn it into a weapon, not even knowing that eventually after they confused the living crap out of everyone it is their own selves they end up hurting.
Yes, we are a big huge heard of bipeds and to some extent being agreeable is necessary for a society to function harmoniously. After all we do not really want to drive the opposite direction on a one way street. But how many people have the presence of mind, courage, and the skill to address a potentially abusive situation, stand up for justice when their well-being or belief system are threatened. As we keep scrolling down the electronic media of our choice which is slowly replacing our biological parameters and we see the problems of the world unfolding before our eyes click by click like a disjointed horror movie torn by blind greed, perverted by cruelty and poised on destruction we do what all good people do and seek to assign blame to something outside of our selves. And hence the ego took residence in our left field as the object of our scorn and the villain of the day.
But really folks, who are you? Do you know? What is holding you together in this multidimensional world? Do you know? Every day brings new discoveries about the complexity of our reality slowly trying to replace our semi-fossilized belief systems. So what allows us to incorporate this new information into every level of our being? What is the internal compass that keeps us balanced and functional? What is the central core that filters all the incoming information and helps us recognize what is beneficial to us and discard what is not? What is the internal light house that protects us from the relentless flux of beliefs, opinions, mandates and helps us reorient towards our own light and our own truth? In psychological terms it is our ego my friends. It is us, our backbone, it is what keeps us healthy and pliable. It is what drives us to heal when we are injured. It is the internal shepherd that is on a mission to bring back the fragmented parts or our soul and psyche to heal the injuries of our existence in this corporeal manifestation of our selves.
We are here on earth to learn, and pain is one of the biggest motivators for change and learning. Unfortunately, pain and injury also have the tendency to fragment the soul and the psyche. An injured psyche develops defense mechanisms and false belief systems to do just that, make sure that the injury will not reoccur. If you have the curiosity to look up “defense mechanisms” in Wikipedia or grab a basic psychology book, you may realize that what you are mostly attributing to the demonized “ego” is truly maladaptive behaviors exhibited by people whose “egos” are not functioning in a healthy manner. Where and how that injury occurred? Who is to say. It certainly does not seem that we are born into this world with the same blank slate, which opens up the topic to a whole new topic of conversation. But it is safe to say that the stereotypical narcissistic personality is not so obnoxious because of the “ego” but because of all the mental contouring that define the personality into the being which is able to cope with the world in whatever way they can to get through the day by trying to contour the world around them. Probably they are masking a deep debilitating depression and lack of self worth, constantly trying to measure up to an external idea of what they should be like and subjugate the external world to fit those parameters so they can come out the “winners”. Yes, it is twisted and seems kind of sick. Yes, their behavior is not excusable. But does that warrant everyone’s ego to receive the villain award? I guess you can draw your own conclusion. Point is, if we kick out an essential part of ourselves and malign it to no end, what are we replacing it with? False humility? A spiritual bubble with pink sun shades? Passive aggression?
So let us take the time to understand the terms we are using and weaponizing, as so often happens they may eventually sneak up and turn against our selves in ways that we may just find a bit difficult to comprehend in our dualistic simplifications ultimately leaving us wondering if anyone can rescue us from our own selves. Our ego has “left the house” and is out there gathering thorns and shards. Just don’t forget, one day you may just have to reunite…
Thanks Duncan my friend and teacher for expanding my understanding.
Yes, we are a big huge heard of bipeds and to some extent being agreeable is necessary for a society to function harmoniously. After all we do not really want to drive the opposite direction on a one way street. But how many people have the presence of mind, courage, and the skill to address a potentially abusive situation, stand up for justice when their well-being or belief system are threatened. As we keep scrolling down the electronic media of our choice which is slowly replacing our biological parameters and we see the problems of the world unfolding before our eyes click by click like a disjointed horror movie torn by blind greed, perverted by cruelty and poised on destruction we do what all good people do and seek to assign blame to something outside of our selves. And hence the ego took residence in our left field as the object of our scorn and the villain of the day.
But really folks, who are you? Do you know? What is holding you together in this multidimensional world? Do you know? Every day brings new discoveries about the complexity of our reality slowly trying to replace our semi-fossilized belief systems. So what allows us to incorporate this new information into every level of our being? What is the internal compass that keeps us balanced and functional? What is the central core that filters all the incoming information and helps us recognize what is beneficial to us and discard what is not? What is the internal light house that protects us from the relentless flux of beliefs, opinions, mandates and helps us reorient towards our own light and our own truth? In psychological terms it is our ego my friends. It is us, our backbone, it is what keeps us healthy and pliable. It is what drives us to heal when we are injured. It is the internal shepherd that is on a mission to bring back the fragmented parts or our soul and psyche to heal the injuries of our existence in this corporeal manifestation of our selves.
We are here on earth to learn, and pain is one of the biggest motivators for change and learning. Unfortunately, pain and injury also have the tendency to fragment the soul and the psyche. An injured psyche develops defense mechanisms and false belief systems to do just that, make sure that the injury will not reoccur. If you have the curiosity to look up “defense mechanisms” in Wikipedia or grab a basic psychology book, you may realize that what you are mostly attributing to the demonized “ego” is truly maladaptive behaviors exhibited by people whose “egos” are not functioning in a healthy manner. Where and how that injury occurred? Who is to say. It certainly does not seem that we are born into this world with the same blank slate, which opens up the topic to a whole new topic of conversation. But it is safe to say that the stereotypical narcissistic personality is not so obnoxious because of the “ego” but because of all the mental contouring that define the personality into the being which is able to cope with the world in whatever way they can to get through the day by trying to contour the world around them. Probably they are masking a deep debilitating depression and lack of self worth, constantly trying to measure up to an external idea of what they should be like and subjugate the external world to fit those parameters so they can come out the “winners”. Yes, it is twisted and seems kind of sick. Yes, their behavior is not excusable. But does that warrant everyone’s ego to receive the villain award? I guess you can draw your own conclusion. Point is, if we kick out an essential part of ourselves and malign it to no end, what are we replacing it with? False humility? A spiritual bubble with pink sun shades? Passive aggression?
So let us take the time to understand the terms we are using and weaponizing, as so often happens they may eventually sneak up and turn against our selves in ways that we may just find a bit difficult to comprehend in our dualistic simplifications ultimately leaving us wondering if anyone can rescue us from our own selves. Our ego has “left the house” and is out there gathering thorns and shards. Just don’t forget, one day you may just have to reunite…
Thanks Duncan my friend and teacher for expanding my understanding.
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