Ego vs. Spirituality

Gregory Carter67 said:I get the definitions just fine. I was specifically talking about—egoistic people. And yeah, they're obviously linked to having an—ego.

Frankly, every single person is tied to their ego, barring perhaps those with severe cognitive impairments or small children who haven't yet developed a sense of self or a distinct personality.

Everyone is trying to find a balance, whether they realize it or not. Some people just make things harder on themselves because they have this desperate need to live on the edge, pushing things to the extreme in either direction. Most of them are just trying to destroy their own bodies, and honestly, that’s just a fast track to an early grave.

mistybison said:Do you believe the ego acts as an obstacle to spiritual progress?

Is diminishing the ego a byproduct of spiritual growth, or is reducing the ego a prerequisite for that growth to begin?

Certain teachings focus on the total "dissolution of the ego." Do you think such a feat is actually possible, or perhaps even necessary?

How has your relationship with the ego evolved on your own path? Is it expanding, shrinking, or fading away? Or have you simply shifted your perspective regarding it?

In your view, what is the true definition of the ego from a spiritual standpoint?

It’s a massive hurdle because the ego just loves being right. You see it most clearly with extreme zealots who have zero tolerance for anything outside their bubble and an obsession with forcing their views on everyone else. I don't buy the idea that this comes from a place of pure altruism—like, "I found peace and want you to find it too." To me, it’s just the ego trying to prove it's right and everyone else is wrong.

Justin Baker6 said:Everyone is trying to find a balance, whether they realize it or not. Some people just make things harder on themselves because they have this desperate need to live on the edge, pushing things to the extreme in either direction. Most of them are just trying to destroy their own bodies, and honestly, that’s just a fast track to an early grave.

You talking about people in general, or specifically the spiritual crowd?

Justin Garcia7 said:It’s a massive hurdle because the ego just loves being right. You see it most clearly with extreme zealots who have zero tolerance for anything outside their bubble and an obsession with forcing their views on everyone else. I don't buy the idea that this comes from a place of pure altruism—like, "I found peace and want you to find it too." To me, it’s just the ego trying to prove it's right and everyone else is wrong.

To me, it feels a lot like that old saying, "misery loves company." It’s as if someone isn't entirely secure in their own convictions or doesn't quite feel comfortable in their own skin, so they hunt for others who will validate them and tell them they’re still on the right track. In that sense, failure might actually be a more positive thing than success, simply because it eventually forces a person to face reality.

Joseph Bailey41 said:To me, it feels a lot like that old saying, "misery loves company." It’s as if someone isn't entirely secure in their own convictions or doesn't quite feel comfortable in their own skin, so they hunt for others who will validate them and tell them they’re still on the right track. In that sense, failure might actually be a more positive thing than success, simply because it eventually forces a person to face reality.

I completely agree. It’s tough for anyone when people start suggesting they might be wrong; maintaining your faith in something isn't easy. That's why spiritual fanaticism is dangerous in any form. Whether it's religious zealotry or just some freelance guru, it all leads to the same trap. Reaching the truth is a difficult journey.

'Be careful not to wear spirituality as a badge to decorate your ego.'

feralranger said:Frankly, every single person is tied to their ego, barring perhaps those with severe cognitive impairments or small children who haven't yet developed a sense of self or a distinct personality.

Generally speaking, yeah, that's true. Though, let's be real—little kids still deal with jealousy, so you can't say they have zero ego. It's just a work in progress. They have whatever level of ego has developed for their age. Some people just get stuck at that developmental stage—usually due to how they were raised or their social environment—and end up staying jealous and codependent for life.

Gregory Carter67 said:Generally speaking, yeah, that's true. Though, let's be real—little kids still deal with jealousy, so you can't say they have zero ego. It's just a work in progress. They have whatever level of ego has developed for their age. Some people just get stuck at that developmental stage—usually due to how they were raised or their social environment—and end up staying jealous and codependent for life.

Infants, for instance, haven't yet developed a functional ego—meaning self-awareness or a distinct personality—much like those with severe cognitive impairments. A true ego is the province of healthy adults, whereas in children, it is a structure that assembles itself gradually over time.

The ego can be defined as:

1. In psychoanalytic terms, it is the component of the personality structure that mediates with reality, maintaining a delicate equilibrium between our primal impulses (the id) and our internalized moral standards (the super-ego); it serves as the cognitive and perceptual layer of consciousness, encompassing memory, decision-making, and more.

2. The individual as a whole entity, fully aware of their own existence and asserting their uniqueness in relation to other people, their environment, and the world around them; essentially, the self, the persona, or the core personality.

feralranger said:Infants, for instance, haven't yet developed a functional ego—meaning self-awareness or a distinct personality—much like those with severe cognitive impairments. A true ego is the province of healthy adults, whereas in children, it is a structure that assembles itself gradually over time.

The ego can be defined as:

1. In psychoanalytic terms, it is the component of the personality structure that mediates with reality, maintaining a delicate equilibrium between our primal impulses (the id) and our internalized moral standards (the super-ego); it serves as the cognitive and perceptual layer of consciousness, encompassing memory, decision-making, and more.

2. The individual as a whole entity, fully aware of their own existence and asserting their uniqueness in relation to other people, their environment, and the world around them; essentially, the self, the persona, or the core personality.

Honestly, it’s just semantics. Call it what you want, but little kids (more often than not) get jealous.

Gregory Carter67 said:Honestly, it’s just semantics. Call it what you want, but little kids (more often than not) get jealous.

Newborns? I fail to see how jealousy could possibly have anything to do with them.

Small children certainly haven't developed a fully formed ego yet; rather, the ego begins to manifest at a certain stage of development... so, it’s a bit of a stretch to suggest a toddler possesses a cohesive personality... that sense of 'self,' the ego, or any actual persona, is something that takes years of growth to actually establish.

Thomas Nelson25 said:You talking about people in general, or specifically the spiritual crowd?

It’s all about finding that balance. The whole universe exists because of imbalance and the constant struggle to fix it.

It’s impossible to exist on this plane without an ego—honestly, we’d all just be idiots if we didn't have one. It isn't about getting rid of it; it's about bringing it under our control. We need to direct it toward what is useful, rather than letting it run on autopilot. There is no such thing as good or bad, only what serves a purpose and what doesn't.

First, you have to study it and get to know it intimately before you can consciously steer it in the right direction. (Good luck with that, 😁.)
Keep in mind (who actually owns the mind? 🙂) that the ego is always one step ahead. It doesn't want to be touched. That’s why it develops such subtle tricks and maneuvers to stay out of reach—you have to be a truly refined person just to sense them coming. This leads to a realization: if we didn't have an ego, we wouldn't even know it existed. And we certainly wouldn't realize that it occasionally tries to correct itself, or even destroy itself. It is at war with itself.

Chilling. 😁

Priests have basically hijacked the concept of the ego, stripping away everything useful and turning it into this purely negative symbol. Seriously, if you bring up the word "ego" to any Priest, they immediately translate it as something inherently sinful or broken.
It’s just like when someone refuses to see anything but the flaws in another person—that classic, reductive Black and White world mentality.

In actual psychology, there's a much more nuanced and logical way to understand the ego, which is a far cry from the mindless chanting you hear in spiritual circles.
The ego is simply self-awareness. It's that internal third-person perspective on your own existence... your identity.
If you want to be able to judge what's right or wrong in your life, you first need a sense of who you actually are. That’s the ego—it's your perception of your own traits..
As an individual navigating the world, you build your beliefs about yourself and your capabilities through constant interaction with your environment. Your ego is essentially forged by the intersection of your circumstances and how you react to them.

So, when some Priest starts preaching about "liberating yourself from the ego," they either have absolutely no clue what they're talking about, or it's just a clever tactic to empty out your head... making room so they can fill it up with whatever their own minds decide you should believe.

Jacob Cooper5 said:Priests have basically hijacked the concept of the ego, stripping away everything useful and turning it into this purely negative symbol. Seriously, if you bring up the word "ego" to any Priest, they immediately translate it as something inherently sinful or broken.
It’s just like when someone refuses to see anything but the flaws in another person—that classic, reductive Black and White world mentality.

In actual psychology, there's a much more nuanced and logical way to understand the ego, which is a far cry from the mindless chanting you hear in spiritual circles.
The ego is simply self-awareness. It's that internal third-person perspective on your own existence... your identity.
If you want to be able to judge what's right or wrong in your life, you first need a sense of who you actually are. That’s the ego—it's your perception of your own traits..
As an individual navigating the world, you build your beliefs about yourself and your capabilities through constant interaction with your environment. Your ego is essentially forged by the intersection of your circumstances and how you react to them.

So, when some Priest starts preaching about "liberating yourself from the ego," they either have absolutely no clue what they're talking about, or it's just a clever tactic to empty out your head... making room so they can fill it up with whatever their own minds decide you should believe.

Those Priests are nothing but Yin Yang moon parasites. They are the absolute bottom of the barrel. They push this black-and-white worldview because it keeps them comfortable while the masses stare at the light from below.

The ego—it’s basically just a container, a shape, a structure where pure consciousness gets molded into something specific.
Then you have the functional ego—that part of us responsible for actually navigating life, keeping us oriented in time and space so we don't spend our days trying to walk through brick walls.
Then there’s the status ego—this imaginary persona. It’s loosely tied to who we really are, but it’s essentially a fake center of self-awareness that constantly tries to force its way through a wall
(whether it's our own or someone else's).
Once we become aware of how fleeting everything is—our own mortality—this part of our personality tries to grab onto the whole world out of pure fear, thinking maybe it can finally feel secure. It's a lost cause.

Since spirituality is really about finding your true Self, it naturally leads to freedom from that status-seeking ego.
That particular slice of the ego is definitely a problem, and it’s responsible for a huge chunk of the suffering in this world.
By "problem," I mean it stalls our evolution—even if, at some point early on, it was actually the thing driving us forward.

A functional ego—incorporating all those physical, emotional, intellectual, and willpower qualities—is necessary for anyone. In fact, a spiritual person should, in theory, be working to develop that side of themselves as much as possible.

Jacob Cooper5 said:Priests have basically hijacked the concept of the ego, stripping away everything useful and turning it into this purely negative symbol. Seriously, if you bring up the word "ego" to any Priest, they immediately translate it as something inherently sinful or broken.
It’s just like when someone refuses to see anything but the flaws in another person—that classic, reductive Black and White world mentality.

In actual psychology, there's a much more nuanced and logical way to understand the ego, which is a far cry from the mindless chanting you hear in spiritual circles.
The ego is simply self-awareness. It's that internal third-person perspective on your own existence... your identity.
If you want to be able to judge what's right or wrong in your life, you first need a sense of who you actually are. That’s the ego—it's your perception of your own traits..
As an individual navigating the world, you build your beliefs about yourself and your capabilities through constant interaction with your environment. Your ego is essentially forged by the intersection of your circumstances and how you react to them.

So, when some Priest starts preaching about "liberating yourself from the ego," they either have absolutely no clue what they're talking about, or it's just a clever tactic to empty out your head... making room so they can fill it up with whatever their own minds decide you should believe.

Maybe it's about freeing yourself from the mundane stuff, or at least having the free will to think about it...
Basically, finding balance.

Standard psychology doesn't really touch that... maybe transpersonal psych does, slightly.

casualtiger2 said:The ego—it’s basically just a container, a shape, a structure where pure consciousness gets molded into something specific.
Then you have the functional ego—that part of us responsible for actually navigating life, keeping us oriented in time and space so we don't spend our days trying to walk through brick walls.
Then there’s the status ego—this imaginary persona. It’s loosely tied to who we really are, but it’s essentially a fake center of self-awareness that constantly tries to force its way through a wall
(whether it's our own or someone else's).
Once we become aware of how fleeting everything is—our own mortality—this part of our personality tries to grab onto the whole world out of pure fear, thinking maybe it can finally feel secure. It's a lost cause.

Since spirituality is really about finding your true Self, it naturally leads to freedom from that status-seeking ego.
That particular slice of the ego is definitely a problem, and it’s responsible for a huge chunk of the suffering in this world.
By "problem," I mean it stalls our evolution—even if, at some point early on, it was actually the thing driving us forward.

A functional ego—incorporating all those physical, emotional, intellectual, and willpower qualities—is necessary for anyone. In fact, a spiritual person should, in theory, be working to develop that side of themselves as much as possible.

Look, you are who you are. If you can't accept yourself—flaws and all—you're just going to spend your life chasing a "true self" that doesn't even exist.

An American Secretary of State might put it this way—"don't mix apples and oranges."😍
It looks like you guys are actually making some headway in this debate and will probably reach an understanding sooner rather than later.(©)
PS
Maybe I should just stay in my car? It’s the best place to be anyway.

casualtiger2 said:The ego—it’s basically just a container, a shape, a structure where pure consciousness gets molded into something specific.
Then you have the functional ego—that part of us responsible for actually navigating life, keeping us oriented in time and space so we don't spend our days trying to walk through brick walls.
Then there’s the status ego—this imaginary persona. It’s loosely tied to who we really are, but it’s essentially a fake center of self-awareness that constantly tries to force its way through a wall
(whether it's our own or someone else's).
Once we become aware of how fleeting everything is—our own mortality—this part of our personality tries to grab onto the whole world out of pure fear, thinking maybe it can finally feel secure. It's a lost cause.

Since spirituality is really about finding your true Self, it naturally leads to freedom from that status-seeking ego.
That particular slice of the ego is definitely a problem, and it’s responsible for a huge chunk of the suffering in this world.
By "problem," I mean it stalls our evolution—even if, at some point early on, it was actually the thing driving us forward.

A functional ego—incorporating all those physical, emotional, intellectual, and willpower qualities—is necessary for anyone. In fact, a spiritual person should, in theory, be working to develop that side of themselves as much as possible.

Yeah, getting rid of that status ego is an uphill battle since it's been drilled into us since we were kids in elementary school.
Does it ever feel to you like you're just speaking gibberish?

Thomas Nelson25 said:Maybe it's about freeing yourself from the mundane stuff, or at least having the free will to think about it...
Basically, finding balance.

Standard psychology doesn't really touch that... maybe transpersonal psych does, slightly.

Just prove that these "supernatural" quirks aren't actually nothing more than your own life failures and a desperate attempt to run away from them.