Start Living A Spiritual and Sane Life

Chapter 4: The Ego

Then, there is the human ego. Most of us still have our egos intact...unfortunately.

Just like our mind, our ego has the tendency - even a strong need - to do what it does best. And, like the mind, it has had a lot of practice and training, from a very early age.

The ego wants to protect itself. It wants to feel secure and safe. It wants to feel smart and strong. It wants to be good-looking, and it wants to be liked.


And of course, it wants to be and feel successful. That means, it needs "stuff."

It needs good stuff, new stuff, the best stuff. It needs better education, and a better job or career. It needs a bigger car, a bigger house... and for all of that, it needs a bigger bank account, i.e. more money.


But, there's a problem... because it can't be better and have better stuff, unless it has something or someone to compare everything to. So, it can start by comparing to it's current self...and it can also compare itself to other people.
I mean, how can the ego know that it needs a better phone, bigger house, or better job unless it has an older one to compare to?
Does all of this wanting and comparing sound like anyone you know? 🙂


But, all of the above stuff still isn't the picture of "complete" success. Not just yet. The ego needs a husband or a wife. Not just any husband/wife though... but a beautiful one... and, a smart, strong, funny, likable, and success one. You get the idea.
And, how will it know that it has found such a husband or wife? Well, it can always compare them to its previous husband, wife, or partner. And, of course, it can always compare them to other people's spouses.


Is that it? Does that define success? Hmm... not just yet.
It also needs children! It needs smart children, strong children, beautiful children, children who are good at sports and social activities.
Frankly, it needs children that are better than everybody else's children - in every way!

What's next? Is that the end?

Is there ever an end? Will there ever not be a better phone, car, house, job, or career? And what about money? Will there ever be enough of that?


Oh, and what about the husband or wife? What about their phone, car, job, etc. But, wait, don't forget the kids! They to need better stuff. And, then they need better colleges than other kids!


Eventually, just as we do with the mind, we start believing that we are our egos... that we and the ego are not separate but one.
And, that only adds to the problem by making us believe that all of this wanting, needing, and desiring for the next best thing is actually a good thing. We continue to chase after it all in the name of "success."


Hence, we never realize who we really are. We are too busy trying to "find" ourselves by comparing ourselves and our possessions to others, in the hopes that doing so will define us and give us a better idea of who we are.


But, none of those things will ever tell us who we are. Because, we will never stop wanting more. We will always be comparing ourselves to someone better.


So, as long as there's something better out there, this vicious cycle will never end.

Your ego will always want the next best thing. Because it's never enough. And, it never will be.

And, as long as your ego is in control of your life, spirituality will be difficult to attain.


The Collective Ego

Yes, it still gets worse...

We then get to the collective ego. And, the collective ego can be much, much worse than the individual ego.

When your ego finds other similar egos, it can then form a "group" because there's comfort and safety in numbers.
But, that's not all. This new group can now compare itself to other groups...whether it is social groups (clicks), other ethnicities, other cities, states, and countries.


And, since our group is always "better" and more "special" than their group (or race, religion, or country,) we can even start to look down upon the other groups.

We can start by disagreeing with the other groups, then disliking them, even hating them, and eventually going to war with them...easily and willingly.

So, what started out as a simple and "harmless" comparison can eventually turn into killing and bloodshed.


Just so our egos can feel better, smarter, stronger, and superior to other egos.

Truth is, the ego actually loves to be in conflict with situations and with other people. Because being in conflict can once again help the ego define itself more clearly.

The ego can only ever know itself by comparing, conflicting and being at odds with others, i.e. other people, other ethnicities, other states, and especially other countries.

And, as long as this is going on, attaining spirituality will be a distant dream.

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Chapter 3: The Mind (Prev Lesson)
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