Attack of the Egos?

Posted on July 12, 2008
Filed Under Awareness, Fake Culture |

Has anyone else noticed recently, that many people seem to be growing increasingly contrary, conflicting - and even aggressive? I have seen this quite a bit over recent weeks; people wanting to argue simply for the sake of arguing, people going out of their way to cause problems either for themselves or for others. Some even being overly confrontational about the most inane of things! I suspect it has a lot to do with the current climate (environmental and otherwise), everyday the news seems to get grimmer and darker. Not only are we hearing of all this, but it is also starting to affect people - we are all beginning to feel the economic pinch, the constant ever looming threat of Terror and War. Many no longer trust their governments. Perhaps even there is a loss of faith.

I am a big believer in sub-conscious behaviour; that many of our reactions are unconscious responses to stimuli we experience. Living in an overly crowded town is a good example of this - and this is something I have experienced myself - where it is impossible to leave your front door without tripping over someone. It’s a closeness that borders on claustrophobic, with people seemingly present at every turn. It infringes on ones sense of freedom, and in the end the constant overlooking, the hustle and bustle all lead to heightened tensions and people get grotty, antagonistic and hostile. The Ego (and the Spirit) need room to breath. I have noticed that most people don’t actually notice all of this, instead they are more focused on their immediate circumstances - by and large they will blame those immediate circumstances for their woes…and on occasions lash out at them, either verbally, emotionally or physically.

Being on the receiving end of this sort of stuff can get tough, but being the guy dishing it out is no less unpleasant. I have often found myself on both ends of that spectrum. And you know what? It is always about the Ego - that part of us which takes offence, believes itself to be affronted, or simply wants to ensure its barriers remain intact. I’ve noticed that the more the Ego becomes under-threat, the greater extent its defence mechanisms kick in. And this really is a problem.

Learning how to deal with this is an ongoing exploration. The truth is though, the more you can learn about yourself the better you will be able to handle these issues. This is what I do; every time I find myself reacting towards something, I quickly take a step back and look at the processes which are going on within me. Why am I feeling in such a way about that particular subject, occurrence or event? What purpose is it fulfilling if I allow myself to react in such a way, who is this serving? It can be a tough thing to constantly look inside ourselves like this, and I appreciate that many people simply feel they cannot do it. But in the end it doesn’t take that much effort to give this a go…the biggest hurdle is standing face to face with yourself - and many are completely unwilling to do this. But that too is merely the Ego trying to get its way - because it knows that once you look it in the eye it will lose a degree of its power over you. You see the Ego thrives on ignorance.

Ingorance in its pure form is a lack of self awareness. Now think for a moment on what that implies for a culture who constantly looks away from itself, and sees everything as either a threat or an opportunity…

Comments

3 Responses to “Attack of the Egos?”

Dan on July 14th, 2008 7:39 pm

Eckhart tolle refers to this as the painbody.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aUjLiLiriA
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Marcus on July 14th, 2008 10:35 pm

This is pretty interesting - I had actually forgetting about it. I read Eckhart Tolle a few years back!

So this ‘painbody’ issue seems to have become increasingly apparent in recent weeks. Have you noticed this too?
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Dan on July 15th, 2008 1:44 pm

It might just be local to your area, the need for conflict is all around living in London but then im quite the recluse so maybe I haven’t noticed the increase.
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