The ego and our true self. A different perspective

Teachers in Buddhism, Hinduism and modern spirituality are pointing to the ego as an unwanted illusion. As a bad thing in fact. The ego has to be uprooted and diminished for a person to reach nirvana. The final goal of life is to reach enlightenment and become one with the consciousness, your Buddha nature or the Awareness. rnIllusionrnFrom the perspective of Who we really are, the ego is an illusion. It is a identity created by our mind. It cannot exist in the Here and Now. It only exists in past and future. That is why it is creating past an future, for example by worrying about the future and feeling guilty about the past. (Now you know that is just your ego doing that, you never have to worry or feel regrets again.) From the perspective of Who we really are there is no past nor future, there is no time or space at all! There is only the Here and Now where everything that ever was and everything that ever will be just IS. Where everything is One, where everything is Love. rnWho we really arernWho are we really? In reality we are part of the huge consciousness, some call it creation, some call it our Buddha nature or Spirit, others call it the universe or the field of potential. We will call it Awareness in this article. From this perspective the Awareness is a huge, intelligent energy field that is in a constant state of evolution. Everything in it is moving all the time and is either expanding or disintegrating. The Awareness is everything and everything is the Awareness. This means that all people, all matter and non- matter in the universe is the Awareness. We are parts of the Awareness. Our part of the Awareness we call our “Higher self”, “True self” or “Soul”. A small part of that is our ego-with-body, the personality believe we are in this life. I like to compare this “Small Self” to being the little finger of our Higher Self. We are in fact energy gates between the Awareness and the world. Through us, the Awareness creates the infinite field of potential into what we know as reality. You can say we are the hands and feet of the Awareness. So in reality our being is huge, an enormous giant. You can experience your true being. There are many ways to connect with who you really are. Meditation, yoga and certain forms of trance are possibilities for direct connection. I can show you how to see and experience your true being in a 30 minutes exercise if you want. rnStill illusionrnAs said, from the perspective of your true being the ego is an illusion. According to every religion, mystic and spiritual path I know, the purpose of every human being is to return to the Awareness or Oneness. We are meant to become enlightened and to be One with everything. The Oneness off course is there already in reality. The only thing that is supposed to be in the way of Oneness is the ego. The illusion of the separated being. rnWisdom of the Kabbalah versus Asian wisdomrnBut the Kabballah, a 5000 years old mystic tradition, originated in Israel, tells us different. The Kabballah states the ego is a great thing. A wonderful mechanism that should be expanded as far as possible. Lived at its full potential. The good side of it, but definitely also the bad side of it. The Kabballah states that all fears, unwholesome states and attachments that come forth of the ego should be explored to their depth. The desires from the ego, according to Kabballah, are needed to move forward in life, to be a part of evolution. In the end with the same goal as all other spiritual paths: “To become one with God or the Awareness” again. Apparently the Asian and modern Western mystics on the one side and Kabballah on the other, say two different things. One side claims you should meditate and uproot the ego to become One with your true self and the other side says you should explore every part of the ego to become One with God. Seems a bit strange doesn’t it? Does this mean one of them is right? Does this mean we have to choose between both points of view? rnDo we have to choose?rnIn my opinion both are right in their own plane. I believe that we are parts of a huge evolving Awareness. Who we really are is a huge being that is connected to all there is. And our ego? As Kabballah states, the ego is the vessel of our real being. The ego is the vessel we use to travel through time and space. Using this vessel, we interact with the world. Using this vessel our true self is able to manifest itself into reality and to fulfill its part of evolution. rnGoals, passion & desiresrnHave you ever thought about why almost all self help books and teachers talk about setting goals? To live a fulfilled life in abundance? Why would that be? What we label as our goals, are in fact deeper desires that come from our true self. If you do your goal setting properly, you find your true passion, the reason you came into this world in the first place. Have a look at the desires and passions that come through the ego disguised as our goals in life. They are not what you want from an ego perspective, but they are what your true self had in mind for you. That is why, when you find your true passion in life, suddenly all talents you need are already in your system. Suddenly the people and events you need to live your passion come on your path. It seems that everything in the universe comes together to help you to reach your goals. Conclusion: The highest desires and passions that are coming trough your ego are in fact the embodiment of your mission in life. They are your contribution to evolution. You are the hands and feet of the Awareness, remember? Kabballah agrees with this point of view. Why do eastern mystics like Buddhism decline desires and goals in life? Because in their perception they are aspects of the ego. The ego that stands between you and enlightenment. Off course they are right on their plane but from the perspective of this article the ego is the precise and necessary vessel of the Buddha nature. rnWhat is the ego?rnThe ego is a concept, created by our mind. The foundation of the ego is conditioning or programming. Programming based on experiences from the past, genetic programming, lessons from parents and teachers and information from books, television, advertisement and other people. It is fully reprogrammable. Existing programs can be deleted and new programs can be installed. You can work with your ego and shape it in any way you want. That is how you create your own reality. That is where affirmations and positive thinking come in. Even Buddhist life is about transforming unwholesome states of the mind into wholesome states. Our reality, Buddhist wisdom states is our perception of reality. You think it is bad? You are right. You think its good? You are right. Everything just is. On a higher plane the ego an energy gate between the Awareness and reality. Reality is created through our conditioning, convictions and perceptions. The key to mastering your ego is not to identify with it and not to identify yourself with your conditioning, convictions or programming. When you are able to see your ego as a vessel your true self can use to travel through time & space , the programming does not matter anymore. You can look at the fears, anger and painful memories and just let them be. You realize you HAVE them but they ARE no part of your true being. Easy said: “You are a Spiritual being, you live in a Body and you have an ego.” (like carrying a bag of groceries…) rnConclusionrnThe desires and passions that come from the depths of your being are sent by your true self. You can use your ego as a vessel to reach them in life. You can make your wildest dreams come true. You are allowed to live your passions to the fullest because that is what you are meant to do. You don’t need to be in a monastery all your life! (But do meditate and do yoga, for they are your direct connections with your true self.) It is all about balance and integration. We are here to learn, our mission is to expand and grow. Good and bad do not exist, everything just IS. rnWhen you live your desires and use your ego as a vessel with a full understanding of who you really are, you have all it takes to live the life you are meant to live. Because your connection to your true self, you stay in the flow of the universe. You realize it is not you who is in control and its not you doing anything. You can surrender to life. Everything happens through you. Spontaneous you will do and say the right things at the right time. There is nothing you have to do. Everything just happens when it is supposed to. If you feel resistance to something or something doesn’t work out, it is just not meant to be. This is probably why we are called human BEINGS not human DOINGS. rnIf you live your life this way, in the end, you will have done your duty in life. That is why they say:”in the end it is not about what you are, it is about who you are.” In the end, is about what you have brought to this world. It is about your contribution to evolution. Thats what you take with you, into your next life. Eventually you will become one with the Awareness, it is inevitable. Don’t worry about that! For more Articles: www.bridgemanreflects.com