The Ego

The ego expresses externally while the self turns inward, our inner voice telling us "this does not feel right" or, "stop this behavior;" pretty much the voice of regret (according to the ego). The voice that knows all truth and understanding, but the voice that is rarely heard. The loudness of the ego is what controls our actions and thoughts, and deafens the self.

Silencing the ego is how we see the power within us as law and not as a mere background voice that aims at quenching the ego's freedom.

What happens when the Ego takes over?

The ego is the reason there are wars and disagreements in the world and amongst people. We know that the ego is powerful and grows quickly; whereas the Self takes time and patience to peel back the layers of the ego and the many years of conditioning by society.  The ego is merely that, many years of conditioning from multiple sources- parents, media, friends, that make us believe that what we think is true and valid.

The ego grows larger and ever more powerful as it continues to experience life. Unless we are dead, the ego will continue to grow uncontrollably as time passes. The saying "can't teach an old dog new tricks," applies since the old dog is deeply rooted in the ego. The many years of experience has conditioned the old dog to believe that his thinking is the only truth and all else is wrong. We experience the world through the use of the senses. Under the control of the ego, the senses are being wrongly used for constant pleasure and indulgence. The accumulation of external information through the senses is categorize as our intelligence, what we use to discern and categorize things out in the world.

The ego uses the intelligence to its advantage. To pursue pleasures, indulge in desire and to even defend its image. We defend the ego because we lack confidence in ourselves, (that's the self in the background) as there is always doubt and insecurity (again the self trying to object to the ego's lifestyle). For the common person, the ego and the self will always be at odds. But for the person who has control of the ego and can hear the self loud and clear, that person uses both to advance spiritually.

The goal is to advance spiritually, and we need the ego's passion to do that. The self is passionless since it seeks nothing else other than self- knowledge and surrendering to God. The passion of the ego combined with the inner self-discovery and love for God, is what we need in oder to find spirituality in our conscious state.