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...the ego?

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Tracerammo

So, I've been working on 'knowing myself' and trying to 'eliminate' my ego.  I've been reading and researching and learning and doing all this stuff that I thought was very important to my 'growth'.

Then I read "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle.  He does a fantastic job of explaining the ego.  He does such a good job that I can't help but notice, in myself and others, when we are acting because of our higher selves, or when we are associated with our egos.

I've been observing this... a lot.  I don't know what to 'do' anymore.  If I'm doing anything, it's likely an ego motivated thing to do.  Like this post, for example...  I am complete right now.  I am perfect, my Atman.  But I THINK (that's my ego) that I need to know something else.

My dilemma is (as far as I can figure) that I've trained my ego to act a lot like my higher self.  When I'm trying to clear my mind, I have a thought telling me, "Be present... clear your thoughts... be here now..."  I'm not clearing my thoughts, but thinking thoughts about clearing my thoughts!!!  I feel as though I've painted myself into a corner...

Any help, anyone?

Thanks, everyone.
"We are born, we die, and the waves roll on."

mactombs

What is your definition of the ego?
A certain degree of neurosis is of inestimable value as a drive, especially to a psychologist - Sigmund Freud

Kenneth

I saw a TV episode with Ekhart Tolle the other day, were he said something that I missed when reading his books:

"If you put yourself in Forms, then you are not there..." (or something like that).

Meaning: The moment you start THINKING about being in the present, clearing your thoughts etc. you are in your Ego ;-) :shock:  ... If you just DO it instead, or are observing of those thoughts, then you are in NOW  :wink: ....

(If you start thinking about being in the presence, then THOSE very thoughts, and were they come from, how they and you feel together,  are what you should be present about! ....

If you start categorizing, or "labeling" your inner states, then it is EGO that is talking (imho).

You could also look at EFT, that I have found is a very good combination with Eckharts thoughts and ideas. ( www.emofree.com ) or read another thread, where EFT is explained in better detail: http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20468

Just my two cents ;-) ...

Cheers from Denmark,
/Kenneth

--- One thing at a time, be in NOW, and be gentle to yourself ---

--- Your biggest obstacle is most of the time also your most powerfull startingpoint ---

Lente

Quote from: TracerammoSo, I've been working on 'knowing myself' and trying to 'eliminate' my ego.  I've been reading and researching and learning and doing all this stuff that I thought was very important to my 'growth'.

Then I read "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle.  He does a fantastic job of explaining the ego.  He does such a good job that I can't help but notice, in myself and others, when we are acting because of our higher selves, or when we are associated with our egos.

I've been observing this... a lot.  I don't know what to 'do' anymore.  If I'm doing anything, it's likely an ego motivated thing to do.  Like this post, for example...  I am complete right now.  I am perfect, my Atman.  But I THINK (that's my ego) that I need to know something else.

My dilemma is (as far as I can figure) that I've trained my ego to act a lot like my higher self.  When I'm trying to clear my mind, I have a thought telling me, "Be present... clear your thoughts... be here now..."  I'm not clearing my thoughts, but thinking thoughts about clearing my thoughts!!!  I feel as though I've painted myself into a corner...

Any help, anyone?

Thanks, everyone.

Actually your extremely dual view of yourself is what is causing the problem. You separate the ego from the higher self, but the two are not separate. That's why you don't really have worry about if you are acting as your ego or your higher self, because the two operate simultaneously and in harmony, even when you don't believe this. It might not look like this because you view your problems to be an indicator that you are acting as your ego, which is the cause of all problems in your belief. Especially the thinking aspect of the ego you view as problematic, but its really not the problem, though your obsessive concentration on your thought might be considered to be a issue. However the real problem is your non-acceptance of whatever is occurring in the moment, that's why you want things in the future, and because you concentrate upon your thinking these wants echo in your thinking, so its like "I want a bigger house!" or "I want this to stop" or in your case "I need to know something more" , these thoughts are indicators of non-acceptance, and non-acceptance disturbs your peace. The value of being in the now and observing whatever comes into your attention is that you will be able to reveal those beliefs that are causing your non-acceptance and deal with them, and ultimately accept them, thereby rendering them powerless.

MindFreak

Observe your mind. Dont think about clearing your thoughts. Dont think about anything. Take a step back and just observe your mind.

jilola

QuoteI can't help but notice, in myself and others, when we are acting because of our higher selves, or when we are associated with our egos.
Thing is, we don't act because of our Higher Self. We act because we ARE our Higher Self. The entire quest for enlightenment and spiritual advance can be boiled down to consciously and viscerally realising that we are.

QuoteI don't know what to 'do' anymore. If I'm doing anything, it's likely an ego motivated thing to do. Like this post, for example... I am complete right now. I am perfect, my Atman.
Yes. This is what you are. All and everything yet as fleeting as a mayfly. Not as the individual but as the part of all that is. Time is well spent on thinking about that.

QuoteBut I THINK (that's my ego) that I need to know something else.
Thinking is usually the obstacle, not understanding.

QuoteMy dilemma is (as far as I can figure) that I've trained my ego to act a lot like my higher self.
Or your ego is tryig to pass itself as your Higher Self aka YOU.[/Quote]
QuoteWhen I'm trying to clear my mind, I have a thought telling me, "Be present... clear your thoughts... be here now..." I'm not clearing my thoughts, but thinking thoughts about clearing my thoughts!!! I feel as though I've painted myself into a corner...
This is what always happens  during the initial excursions into the transendent states of perception. Thoughts will come and mess yor concentration. Later, thoughts wil come and undermine your understanding. Even later, thoughts will come and just entice you to feel overtly good and more achieved than the next guy.
The solution is to paint yourself into the corner better than Michelangelo could've done. Just keep concentrating on your path, keep focusing on breaking through the illusion.
It WILL happen.

It may take lots of time so be patient ;)'

2cents & L&L
Joun

James S

QuoteMeaning: The moment you start THINKING about being in the present, clearing your thoughts etc. you are in your Ego ;-)  ... If you just DO it instead, or are observing of those thoughts, then you are in NOW  ....
Spot on!

Something I was taught by "higher self" when I first started getting serious about meditation and spiritual development was the idea of observing without commenting. Just watching and listening silently to what's going on around you, and stopping the almost constant mental commentary.
It's hard to do at first, but very rewarding.

Tracerammo

Hey, everyone,
Thanks, all, for all of the responses.  I've been keeping my 'awareness' on my 'perception'.  When a 'thought' comes into my awareness, I notice it and shut it down.

At first it seemed that I was still thinking, but after a bit, when the thoughts were less frequent, I suppose, it became clear that I was observing the thoughts.  (That's something I've 'known about', but never actually experienced.)

What I'm getting from all of this is:

We have a habit (inertia) of thinking and labeling and commenting... blah blah blah.  By putting the focus of awareness on 'being' instead of all this other stuff, the momentum slows down and 'satori' can be achieved.  If that state becomes your permanent state, then you've achieved enlightenment.

That's as simple as it is, now I've just got to 'do' it, right? ...or be it.

Thanks again!
"We are born, we die, and the waves roll on."

apop

DOING IS EGO, NOT DOING IS WISDOM AND CONSCIOUSNESS-
only consciousness not necessary needs to do-  :cool:

Kenneth

Hello Tracerammo,

Quote from: TracerammoHey, everyone,
Thanks, all, for all of the responses.  I've been keeping my 'awareness' on my 'perception'.  When a 'thought' comes into my awareness, I notice it and shut it down.

That was something I did too a couple of years ago, before I started EFT. What became my experience was, that I could "shut them down" (and I became very good at it), but at the cost of "experiencing" the unresolved emotional baggage and conflicts inside of me, from where these unwanted thoughts actually came!

That had the consequence, that instead of those issues from earlier in my life slowly being relieved through thoughts and feelings in current situations, they (the thoughts, and thereby the underlying emotions) became blocked - I simply shut them down.

Ever wanted to find out, where Headaches, pain in muscles, sore throats, pain in the back comes from? ... Well, I found out the hard way :confused:

So what did I do instead? ... (Because I totally agree with you, that these thoughts ARE a disturbance toward inner peace  :wink: )

Okay - the situation is, that these inner thoughts are there, and they are a disturbance (a problem) on the way towards inner peace and "enlightenment", so what to do?:

- Following what they (the thoughts and the emotions inside) tell me to do is (IMO) not a solution, doing that only brings further pain.

- Shutting them down doesn't work either in the long run - it's like putting a damn on a river. , and then just expect that the water stops floating and building up behind the river, and does not find another way to break through or express themselves!.

- Just being present in them is possible, and it works, but by G** it is difficult!!! .... To me it seems, that one tenth of a second where you are not present, you are either pushed out of the way, or are being drawn into the feeling. It's like balancing on a high wire without the balance-boom to support and help you  :twisted:. And then when you become aware that you have been drawn into it, you automatically react on that, (either with annoyance or anger toward yourself, or another feeling), and then you become that feeling, and react to that one ... all in the time frame of about 1 second! ...

This is (IMO) a great little paradox, seemingly without a solution. (I am dammed if I do, and dammed if I don't!), but like with all other paradoxes, there are a solution in the experience and acknowledgment of the paradox.

In this case it is in the fact, that the problem is, that YOU (or I)  have a problem with these thoughts - basically, we do not like them, we want them to go away!

My experience tells me, that each and every problem in it's core contains its own solution - and the same is the case here.

To me it was finding the missing piece to my puzzle called EFT, that gives you emotional relief using a "setup" phrase (the setup phrase being what you are "aiming" at, when using EFT). This could go something like: "Even though I want to smash him in the face for saying this to me, I deeply and completely accept my self!" .... or "Even though I think I will never learn how to find inner peace and enlightenment, I deeply and completely accept my self".

So the point being, that instead of shutting them down, or being them, you actually USE them. You use the fact, that each and every thought is nothing more or less than a "pointer" to some unresolved issue within you (it being a big or a small issue).

Slowly and steadily the thoughts stop by them self, with you doing nothing more than "catching" each fleeing thought, and using a single round of EFT on each of them. (one round takes about 45 seconds to 1 minute to do).

And you are right in the point, that "labeling" the thoughts and inner emotions can also be a way of removing yourself from these thoughts and emotions. It is the thought (the energy it carries with it, or the "impact" it has on you), that are the primary thing, and the "label" you attach to it, that are the secondary thing!

Good luck on your inner "hunt" !! ....  :twisted:

Cheers from Denmark,
/Kenneth

--- One thing at a time, be in NOW, and be gentle to yourself ---

--- Your biggest obstacle is most of the time also your most powerfull startingpoint ---

A Souls Fury

Here's a blurb.. on the ego. it resonates well with me and I am writing an article on converting the ego, to igo because it's gotta go with me.

"You don't have to spend years sitting in caves; you don't have to spend years starving yourselves; you don't have to spend years denying your emotional body; you don't have to spend years trying to control your ego. Your ego is part of you, without your ego there is no driving force. How do you control your ego? With Love. And if you love yourselves then your ego will be happy.

You see, your ego needs something to do. It is not very discriminating in the energies with which it will work, or the energies through which it will experience. Your ego will be just as happy processing energies that are not of, and disassociated from, the Light, as it will be when processing the energy of Love. The difference that it means to you, as a conscious human being, is that if your ego is processing the energy of Love, well then there is no emotional trauma. Love yourselves, be compassionate to yourselves, until the transformation to Love happens, because when you become Love, you may then love others. "

Frequency is Everything