The Ego – Taking Responsibility

Posted on October 16, 2005
Filed Under Journal, Spirituality |

In the article “Equilibrium of the Ego and Self”:http://www.thethoughts.co.uk/thoughts/unity-equilibrium-of-the-ego-and-self I discussed the concept that the ego is not something that we should seek to reject or transcend. Rather it is something that should be understood – and thus integrated into our being in such a way that we can form a Unity between our physical self, our ego and our higher / spiritual self.

Our ego has allowed us - through the development of reason and science – to perceive our physical reality in ways that were once unheard. Of course, the danger has been that we have walked too far down the path of the physical world, and forgotten the unseen worlds. Upon this realization, it is easy to see the ego for its true nature, and then wish to turn away from it, in a search for something higher.

Indeed this is a good thing, as it can prompt us to discover areas of our being and reality that we once did not see. However we should never forget that understanding our ego allowed us to find such a path. We have an ego for a reason.

It is in our ego’s nature to fear our own part in this world; to fear our decisions, our nature, our freedom.

Our responsibility…

When we identify this and realize that those fears come from a shadow within our ego – it becomes possible to distance ourselves from such fears. To comprehend them and accept them as a vital part of our own being, in doing this they lose their hold over us. But we should remember to do no less for our ego. It is a thing utterly human, a thing to be embraced.

Every time we learn something new about ourselves – we learn something new about reality. Conversely when we see something new in reality – we can identify something new within our self.

Since the dawn of human memory, we have continuously placed the burden to be our true self, upon something external to us. Be it religion, God, laws and regulations, or merely the superficiality of appearance, fashion and high drama. When we begin to understand this, and see that it is our ego that has given cause to it; we can discover our higher self, or else new and wonderful things in our true reality. But it can also be very tempting to reject everything that our ego desires for us.

It is vital to remember that our ego is an important aspect of us. It can give us cause to discover our spirituality – and help teach us to see the true nature of the universe. To react out of our ego – is not a negative thing, it is a _human_ thing. We are not angles, or saints – and neither should we attempt to be.

The ego can be worked with in order to understand it…and to then integrate it into our being for a new way of living. The ego is a powerful part of us, and so long as it is not left to run about on its own – but instead used in unity with our spiritual self, we can become so much richer, discovering a powerful inner peace. Learning to understand our true nature and desires, and then accepting what we find; embracing it as a part of our very being.

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*Tempering the Ego*

One thing that can help us integrate with our ego, is to understand that we need to take responsibility for it. This doesn’t mean pointing a finger at this aspect of ourselves – or assigning blame to it. Taking responsibility means possessing that aspect of yourself in its entirety. Knowing how and why the feelings and thoughts arose – why your ego reacts in a specific way – and then consciously choosing how to act based upon this awareness. Rather than merely reacting according to general or specific circumstances.

Some choose a path where they deem not to act based upon anything their ego suggests to them. This is a form of suppression and ultimately will only strengthen the ego as it seeks other ways to be heard. Instead, we can listen to our ego – we will see that it often wishes to establish itself over and above all else, as we find a clarity that shows our ego speaks from arrogance and fear – if this is accepted we can see that often its requests are not totally unreasonable.

Unreasonableness comes from the course of action chosen; living from our physical senses rather than the spiritual senses, or indeed living from our spiritual senses at the expense of the physical senses. For many people the line between the two can be blurred.

If for example we ignore our spiritual self then we give reign to our ego – to the five-sense world. In essence we then begin to live _outside_ of ourselves, we move pieces of the world and our life around, like we would the pieces of a chessboard. The ego believes such a game will fulfill us and teach us. Ultimately all it can do is make us a better chess player.

On the other hand, some spiritual practices seek inner understanding and release / control instead. Believing that as we illuminate our inner self to greater degrees, the chess pieces in the world around us – will automatically fall into the correct places.

Neither of these concepts can work if we use them on their own. In order to understand both our inner self, and our reality – we need to integrate these two methods. To work on both aspects at once, understanding that there is no division between the two. That indeed it is only our ego that causes separation between the chess player and the chess pieces.

If we learn to work with the physical world and our inner world as a single unified reality, we can discover a totally new flow to life – as a very different perspective on life and reality manifests. One in which we flow ceaselessly and freely upon the currents, whilst still possessing the ability to have a form of direction and influence upon those currents.

The entire feeling is not unlike a dream world state. Things happen in our dreams which we cannot control, yet we still retain the ability to influence the course of our own direction and re-action, and up to a point the things around us. In lucid dreams, you cannot change your dreamworld, until you understand on a deep level that the dreamworld and the dreamer are one and the same. If you wish to change something within a lucid dream, you do not merely seek dominance over it – or attempt to move things as you would those allegorical pieces on the chessboard. Instead you work as one; the dreamer and dreamworld as a singular undividable being. This very same spiritual and mental attitude can be carried over into the waking world. It is simply about awakening from the five-sense physical world and learning to gain lucidity within it.

A powerful lucid dreamer is aware that they are responsible on either a conscious or unconscious level for manifesting what is occurring in their dreamworld. It is only at this point that any true outside influence and causes of the dream can realistically be recognized. As it is the same in the waking world; only when we reach a level of awareness that allows us to clearly perceive our inner and outer realties can we hope to see any external causes or influence upon our world or life.

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*Gaining Lucidity*

Becoming lucid in the waking world (as in the dreamworld) requires a leap of faith. It means we need to release our grip upon the world, and cease attempting to control all the circumstances around us. It means that we need to process all those little traits within us, which we constantly attempt to hide from ourselves, and then accept them fully. Once we do this, we can also begin to learn to release control over our self. This takes a brave act of trust in both the universe and our own being.

When we can be fully open with our self, we can claim responsibility for who and what we are, and from this, an awareness is born which will soon give rise to lucidity. At this point we can understand that we cannot control our reality, we can instead learn how to guide it – to work with reality toward desired goals. Both observer and the observed working as one.

If we wish to gain lucidity, it is essential to realize through our own discernment that we cannot simply ignore our ego, or our inner spirituality. They continue to work and develop with or without our attention. With no focus or awareness, either will run amok and ultimately drag us down. However with certain acceptance – and taking responsibility for all aspects of our being, we can evolve our awareness of self and of our personal realities into something far greater.

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Marcus - 2005