Ego & The Path to Enlightenment

The Path of Liberation
The stories we tell ourselves play a big part on how we live our lives. Our stories can be those of success or of failure, of love or of hate, greed and envy. The stories we tell ourselves define our reputation, they define our perspective and they define how we interact with other people and how we go about our daily lives. The stories we tell ourselves whether deliberate or not are reflected back to us by our subconscious mind.
Whether these stories finish happily ever after or not is forecasted by the narrator. The narrator, oblivious to the force his story imposes draws himself into constant conflict until able to tame the egoic self. Until we begin to live purposefully and for the greater good we will continuously fall into the ego trap.
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Understanding The Ego
The ego is the starting point of the self; it’s consciousness that ensures security and survival. The ego is the part of self that ensures your individualistic needs are met. Growing up we quickly came to realize which behaviour resulted in getting what we wanted. This is where the ego is devised from.
When needs aren’t met for an individual they subconsciously slip into the egoic state(old behavioural patterns) in order to manipulate their way to get whats desired.

Living with the Egoic Self
Sometimes we feel hopeless like nothing we can do will help us out of our situation we think to ourselves “why try? I’ll lose anyways”, “it’s only going to make the pain worse in the end”, “it won’t make a difference”.
A lot of us live contently with our self-harming behaviour and don’t see it any other way. We begin to feel lost in self-doubt and analyzing ourselves based on our past attempts. We think, “well I tried to quit 100 times before in the past, whats the point trying again?”
Its sad but this is the truth about where most of us are at in our lives. We’ve decided we’d be happier to live with our struggles rather than face up and acknowledge our destructive habits. We’ve decided “I’ll wait till the time is right, there’s no reason to change right now”. Waiting for a sign from God to help make the life-changing decision.
Lets be honest if you’re waiting for a sign from God to make you start acknowledging your finances and health you’ve got it all wrong. All you’re going to get is a big reality check. The sign you’re going to get is that you neglected control of your life for to long. The lesson of the ego is humility and it’s only a matter of time before you learn.

The Purpose of the Ego
The ego is an illusion, a state of mind some live in yet are completely unaware. The ego is a plane of consciousness, its a way of thinking. The ego is “I”; “I this..”,”I that..”, it’s a focus putting all attention on ourselves. Living through the ego we are less informed and more self-privileged. We think only in terms of our own survival.
Living through the ego we become blinded with clouded judgement, unintentionally leading ourselves to our own demise. More often then not we must embrace the path of the ego before we can reach the path of liberation. We must become self-aware of the ego to rid the curse of distorted vision.


Frequencies of Being
3 Planes of Consciousness
The Egoic Self – plane of consciousness based on personal history and the stories we tell ourselves. Fueled by material desires and self-sabotaging habits. Oblivious and ignorant to the consequences we continue to live in suffering of the past or demand for the future.
Liberated self – plane of consciousness free from attachment, living amongst abundant resources. Lives in the current moment with a calm quiet mind and natural flow. Accepts what is, lives with love in heart and compassion for others.
Duality – a plane of consciousness where an individual has liberated values but partakes in self-sabotaging behavior. Duality is the middle ground of the enlightened and egoic self. An individual will have illusions of enlightenment yet will confuse behavior because true values have still yet to be established.
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Transformations in becoming the enlightened self.

Learning Acceptance.
The enlightened self learns to release suffering and accept what is. It is what is is, I am what I am. The first transition step to becoming the enlightened self is realizing the things you can change and understanding the things you can’t.

Building self-confidence & self-esteem.
Releasing of suffering means release from its destructive counterparts. Learning to detach from our material desires we learn to build our self-confidence rather than destroy it. We must learn to let go of hate, jealousy, envy and regret; competition should be healthy inspire us not hinder our ability.

“Jealousy lives upon doubts. It becomes madness or ceases entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty.” – Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Living through love, submission, awe, optimism.
How you treat others is a reflection of how you feel about your self. Once we learn to accept ourselves we can then begin to live in a new light.

From escaping earth to creating heaven on earth.
Learning to love ourselves and others we begin to live with a more honorable & graceful presence. We begin to live in a way that’s true to ourselves and our values rather than hiding from fear of rejection.

Concern for others.
Once we begin to forgive ourselves for our past(s) and relieve ourselves of the burden of the future we can then begin to understand where true happiness comes from. Being content and happy with ourselves we can begin to put forth our effort outwards in a more constructive way. Less fixated on status we are more inclined to help those less fortunate.

Thinking collectively & objectively.
Once removed from our isolated ways of thinking are able to grasp new ideas allowing us to think with a more logical and objective approach. We begin to analyze from different perspectives rather than having only one way of seeing. We become more in tuned with our emotional intelligence and more skillful engaging with others.

Focusing on inner change.
Thinking collectively we come to grips with the idea that the earth is in chaos and we need to do our part to bring back order. On the path to enlightenment we must become more self-aware of ourselves and of the damage we are inflicting to the earth. We need to begin to take a more mindful approach to living.

Focusing on happiness and fufillment.
Once we move away from our subjective universe of thought we begin to understand our feelings more clearly. We begin to understand the importance of having fun and how critical it is when stress. Fun is a key component to happiness and without it life quickly becomes dull. What better way to help the world, helping the world to appreciate fun, always be in a good mood and enjoy life wherever you are.

Thinking logically.
Thinking logically we better understand our own feelings and are better able move past our own limiting beliefs. No longer controlled by forces of anger we are better able to set emotions aside or utilize them whenever necessary to capitalize on opportunity. Fear can be paralyzing if you let it, think to yourself “what do you have to lose?” and strive to take the right approach.

Becoming mindful and alert of our unconscious patterns.
As we become more grounded and self-aware we are better able to analyze our behaviour and to deem what may be beneficial or consequential in the long run. Uncovering unconscious patterns we allow ourselves to better understand the choices we make and how they affect us mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Building willpower and delaying gratification.
Uncovering unconscious patterns we become more adapt and able to reconfigure the triggers that cause them. We become more conscious of the negative influences and can begin to monitor behaviour. Living consciously we can begin to treat ourselves to these desires moderately as a means of rewards for accomplishing goals

Striving to live free from attachment.
Becoming more conscious and aware of our influences and attachment we can encourage a healthy structure through moderation and balance. Stuck in a realm of burden we must free ourselves of addictive behaviour which depletes all our resources and diminishes our life force. We live in a era plagued by temptation and it’s not easy to fight the current but without doing so we remain stuck in our patterns of resentment analyzing the opportunity lost. Remember, balance.

Living in the current moment.
Free from attachment we are able to move past our own flawed thinking patterns. Caught up in loops we are constantly dwelling on the opportunity we’ve forgone and we constantly resent ourselves. Free from attachment we are better able to address the concerns of the present moment. We become less distracted and better able to focus on actions that improve our overall quality of living.

Maturity and Growth.
Free from the grips of attachment we are less distracted by toys and material possessions. In our child-like state we are narcissistic sociopaths manipulating others to get what it is we want. In our child-like state we are only focused on feeding the senses. We are focused on what “feels good” without thought into the consequences. Once we begin to understand every action has a consequence we can better improve our decision making and critical thinking skills. Relieved from distractions we are able to focus on the journey of personal growth.

Grounded with reality.
Free from attachment the past, future and material possessions we begin to see what really matters; the now. Gathering facts living through universal truth we are able to break free from the chains of illusion and live in a more natural way. We begin to understand our anger, the destruction it causes and the pain it brings. We begin to understand and become one with human nature, forgiving others and not faulting them for their mistakes.

Finding inner peace.
From Jekyll and Hyde to the modern Ghandi, duality is the battle of personalities and motives. Relieving the wickedness we begin to find calmness in ones self. Living with duality we can strive to do well for so long before the ego diminishes any progress that’s been made. Living free of burden and attachment – letting go of pain – we can then choose to begin the healing process finding a structure that supports our underlying needs.

A supportive inner voice.
When the going gets tough the tough get going, your inner voice should be one of support; your biggest cheerleader. Choose to fight through your pain and embrace the healing process. Manage your thoughts, feelings and emotions in a way thats conducive to getting things done. If you begin to beat yourself up and doubt yourself step back and remember your reasoning behind pursuing the action. Think logically, law of averages we will only get better with practice, if you’re to frustrated at the moment take a break and begin again with a calm mind.

Begin building power for yourself.
From constant nagging and emphasizing the negative in everything to accepting challenges and rising up to the occasion. Rather than having low-self esteem dwelling on everything that isn’t begin to take action and improve your current situation. Hard work pays off mentally and physically when your applying yourself constructively. Small accomplishments become huge feats with a little bit of patience and perseverance. Have faith in yourself, have confidence but be honest with yourself and how much effort you’re willing to put in.

A strong sense of willpower.
Learning to love ourselves again we must begin to abide by our word. Our word to ourselves and our word to others, our word is our reputation. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, follow through on everything you said you do. Breaking the pattern of self-sabotaging behaviour is difficult. Just like building muscle, your will is developed through action, practice and training. You’ll have your mind on your side before you know it.

Living in a tranquil state.
From never being able to enjoy yourself to seeing the beauty in anything that comes along. Understand you can only take action when the opportunity presents itself. If you have lingering thoughts of what you need to get done write them down. Don’t let thoughts linger longer than they have to. Be honest with yourself in regards to how much effort you’re going to put in. Schedule blocks of time to work hard and to relax; realize one is not as great without the other but together they can become self-mastery.
Releasing negative thoughts.
Getting into the process of writing things down frees us and allows quietness from overbearing thoughts. Understand you are not your thoughts, you are the observer of your thoughts, nothing else. If an unnecessary thought persists choose to release it and allow other thoughts to flow. You can only take action when the opportunity presents itself, jot down your thoughts and focus on the opportunities of the present moment.

Open & willing to accept posibilities.
Unwilling to accept help we become malicious and vengeful, willing to accept feedback we can better reflect, analyze and grow. Forget about fear of failure, accept humility. Try your best and don’t get down on yourself when you make mistakes. Mistakes are experience and through experience we gather wisdom. Choose to look at life with a beginner’s mind, when the students ready the teacher will appear. Be ready for the lesson.

Being humble & able to accept humility.
At peace with humility we come to terms that we don’t know everything. The more we know, the more we know we don’t. Don’t be ignorant or narrow-minded, be honest with yourself and others with what you know and what you don’t.

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” – Saint Augustine

Being compassionate & understanding.
Able to accept humility we grow to understand rather than reacting to circumstances. We understand we can’t be the best at everything but if we are willing to put the time and effort we can always improve. The practice of self-mastery may consume you but the hard work and patience helps us to build a strong character. We’re all in pain and struggle with hardships, some people are just better at adapting and coping.

Minding manners and a graceful presence.
With insight into pain and struggle we develop our emotional intelligence and become more aware of other’s difficulties. We become more mindful of the burdens we impose on others and realize that we can reduce stress by acting with a calm graceful demeanor. No longer blaming others for their faults we become more patient and analyze less.

Remember we live in a mad world and everyone has to find a way to be happy with themselves whether you understand it or not, let it be. Inform and help others but remember we all value things differently, don’t get attached to an outcome. Don’t pour your beliefs down other’s throats, accept we’re all unique.

“Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.” – Laurence Sterne

Becoming minimalistic.
Having a more grounded view of reality and a better understanding of human nature we can better address our needs. Being able to move past the ego, on a much more elevated state of awareness we become more concerned with the legacy we leave rather than our overall consumption. With the focus on the true self rather than the ego we can nurture ourselves mentally and emotionally without excessive spending. We begin to see the value in less and gain an appreciation for anything more.

Balance and moderation in all things.
From torpedoing behaviour that’s extremely self-destructive to accepting everything as it comes and allowing the universe to flow naturally. Living within a healthy structured environment we are more adapt to choose balance over extremist self-harming behaviour. We begin to understand lasting change doesn’t happen overnight and in learning so, we embrace the virtue of patience.

Living constructively.
Understanding transformation change doesn’t happen overnight we are more stable working towards the long term results. You reap what you sough; hard work pays off even if you don’t see the benefits immediately. There’s a season for sowing and a season for reaping but never are the two done in the same season. Be patient in waiting for the picture to develop, just know you’ll get there eventually if you just stick to the plan set forth.

Reflective pauses & meditation.
Understanding our consuming/overstimulating behaviour we must be deliberate in finding quiet time away from distractions. Pauses allow our progress to catch up with us, it allows us to internalize our experiences. Finding time to meditate alone or with others can go long ways helping us to acquire wisdom and better understand ourselves.

“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.” – Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Feeling hopeful & one with faith.
Living through the ego we begin to feel overwhelmed by the repetitive patterns and cycles and feel as if we we’ve been recklessly abandoned with no hope of releiving the suffering. Through enlightenment and learning to accept one’s circumstances we can grow by making the unconscious conscious. Understanding our own behaviour and emotions we begin to come to terms that noone can influence change in your life other than ourselves. Real change starts from the heart. Living in a more peaceful way we begin to see the beauty that is, we begin to reflect our inner peace on the external world and in doing so opening a world of possibility.

Open to reflection & understanding.
Human consciousness can only explain so much, noone has all the answers. Just be one with yourself and come to terms with your being. Remember we all build our understandings differently but wisdom is something that never changes. Be open to other’s ways of living even if you don’t fully understand. Don’t become attached to a piece of information, be willing to understand the facts and put in the due dillegence.

Practices of self-mastery.
As we move to the enlightened self we begin to understand life isn’t about being the best or being right. We begin to understand life is a soulful journey and happiness comes from fully embracing it’s challenges. Life doesn’t get easier we just get wiser and better at managing it. Focus your energy where it counts and on things that will truly matter in the overall scheme of things.

Seeing the bigger picture.
Once self-aware and able to understand our emotions and pains we can begin to live in good practice. Understanding the environment’s threats and opportunities we can become more deliberate in fashioning our future. Understanding both the environment and self we can begin living purposefully, whole and with the best intentions in mind with little hindrance from the ego.

Gradually we learn to stop our emotional reactions and begin to act logically. We must begin to find our flow taking actions that attract opportunities and likeminded individuals. We need to begin handling challenges as the observer focused living in the moment surrendering to the flow of life with unconditional love and acceptance for ourselves and others. Live with love in your heart, take control of your vibration and begin moving through states of being you want to experience.

Amen :noangel:

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Originally Posted by Catherine S

Amen :noangel:

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Hope you haven't turned all orange robes and scenty thingies, Insp C? :lac:

Amen Status: De-robed


PS - Interesting post...

Well ive always had the scenty thingies KK, but robes would be stretching it. However I found this post to be very interesting and enlightening :)

Excellent post.


“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.” – Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Great quote as well.

I feel as though enlightenment is a state of being that we can enter and exit at any time.

We can be enlightened at one moment and then at the next moment, we may loose it.

Enlightenment is simply awareness.

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Originally Posted by beingheretherapy

Excellent post.


“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.” – Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Great quote as well.

I feel as though enlightenment is a state of being that we can enter and exit at any time.

We can be enlightened at one moment and then at the next moment, we may loose it.

Enlightenment is simply awareness.

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Agree with you beingheretherapy Excellent post

I like your quotes aswell, especially the 2nd one.

Great post, lots of insight into our condition and full of truth that you can't see when you're in the midst of Anxiety, however as you recover you start realising what's true and what isn't.

I'm only just coming to the realisation that my Anxiety and low mood is a result of my life-long feelings of not being good enough.

Now that my Anxiety and Depression is lifting I can start working on my self-esteem - I think that's the root of everything.

Btw, can you imagine if there was only one law in the whole world and that law was: "Be Kind".

Excellent post. I came here today (just registered) and this is exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you!