by Paul Lenda -
“Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others but remains more of a slave than they are.” --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Although Rousseau was mainly referring to human society as a whole, even 250 years ago he understood that humanity can upgrade itself and live in a golden age by returning to nature and living a balanced life at peace with ourselves and each other.
It’s almost hard to believe that, as a result of the ego (something that isn’t even fundamentally real), we can come to a point in our timeline where there is a probable possibility of species self-annihilation, whether by accident or by focused intention by the the most megalomaniacal of minds within our human collective.
It’s is a very dangerous way to live and leaves the uncertainty of a bright future, if a future at all, at unsettling heights.
It’s almost hard to believe that, as a result of the ego (something that isn’t even fundamentally real), we can come to a point in our timeline where there is a probable possibility of species self-annihilation, whether by accident or by focused intention by the the most megalomaniacal of minds within our human collective.
It’s is a very dangerous way to live and leaves the uncertainty of a bright future, if a future at all, at unsettling heights.
It’s time to finally come to terms with how big of a role the human ego plays in all the social and political issues we see all around us and that affect our daily lives.
Putting band-aids on the symptoms will not cure the very deep causes of those symptoms.
Putting band-aids on the symptoms will not cure the very deep causes of those symptoms.
Thanks to some wonderful luminaries of humanity, we can upgrade our understanding of what ego is from the rather simplistic Freudian view to a model that allows for more complexity.
Within this infinite reality time is irrelevant…the creation of a highly complex non-entity structure-process that has an illusion-generating nature is not an impossibility.
The growth, metamorphosis and transformation of the energy of Infinity can concoct aspects of Reality (algae, poetry, entheogens, lacrosse, etc.), one of them being of such a high level of sophistication that it has influenced the sentient life cycles of entire species like the human race.
Yes, rather than being an actual entity, the ego is a structure-process that has an illusion-generating nature… something that has been backed by not only thousands of years of personal and direct experiences and eastern philosophies but also by the study of the nature of Reality and its various aspects through quantum physics and other forward-thinking sciences.
This is why activities such as meditation are helpful in the minimization of the ego’s influence over our lives.
Understanding the Illusion
The powerful emotions of anger, fear, envy and others can be seen as if they were mechanically following tiny signals…as if there was a switch that was pressed.
The illusion is that we are seeing something that is an actual experience within an objective reality.
However, the fact is that it is mostly a replay of past experience that is modified a little to fit present circumstances.
This replay is recorded again in order to add to the previous memory, which ingrains things even deeper, leading us to have a greater conviction in its real-ness.
The illusion is that we are seeing something that is an actual experience within an objective reality.
However, the fact is that it is mostly a replay of past experience that is modified a little to fit present circumstances.
This replay is recorded again in order to add to the previous memory, which ingrains things even deeper, leading us to have a greater conviction in its real-ness.
The more we experience in this way, the deeper we get stuck in the illusion.
This entire time, we stay in a state of confusion where we think that we are basing our actions on experience itself.
Take a look at how prevalent this is in older individuals. The older a person gets, the more ‘experienced’ he or she is in this illusion that has essentially entrained the brain to think a certain way.
The older a person is, the more sure he or she is that they “know” what they’re doing, making it very difficult for them to think differently or delineate from the path the illusion has trained them to go down. The essence of such a person’s life is now made up of a series of illusions.
The older a person is, the more sure he or she is that they “know” what they’re doing, making it very difficult for them to think differently or delineate from the path the illusion has trained them to go down. The essence of such a person’s life is now made up of a series of illusions.
Wouldn’t you like to be free?
Wouldn’t you like to be in control of your own life and not have it controlled by something that isn’t even intrinsically real in the first place?
You can and you will…if you can over come the great obstacle of fear. This incredibly powerful tool of the ego is a reflex that is set in movement when something that’s identified as very necessary is seen as being threatened.
This reflex of fear causes a person to find every possible way of protecting what is felt as being necessary, or it failing this, to create illusions of escape from the approaching danger.
In the strong words of physicist David Bohm,
“fear confuses, corrodes and corrupts the mind.”
Minimizing Ego to Become Self-Realized
Many of us don’t realize that the question “Who am I?” is a much more difficult one that we put ourselves on to believe.
The ego, the “I” or self that we feel we are is largely a figment of our self-created reality.
The ego can become so incredibly empowered at times that we may fall into the trap of believing that it is the real and genuine “I” that we should associated our awareness with.
If we have such a belief we will be unable to become fully self-realized and live a completely liberated life that is guided by love.
The ego is unreal in a way. We create it in order to cope with our social interactions. The ego is a false center, a smokescreen and a barrier to the true Self.
It’s what gets in the way of experiencing unconditional love.
It’s what gets in the way of directly experiencing the source of reality.
It’s the deeply-buried but always-present intuition that we are the center of the universe/everything that gives rise to feelings and beliefs in our uniqueness and specialness.
What we see ourselves as being, which is a perception that stems from our time-and-sense-bound consciousness is ultimately unreal.
It’s what gets in the way of directly experiencing the source of reality.
It’s the deeply-buried but always-present intuition that we are the center of the universe/everything that gives rise to feelings and beliefs in our uniqueness and specialness.
What we see ourselves as being, which is a perception that stems from our time-and-sense-bound consciousness is ultimately unreal.
All of our self-limiting activities grow out of this false picture of ourselves and because of this we conjure up an idea of a dualistic world of self and other, of things separated and isolated of pain and struggle, birth and death, killing and being killed, etc etc etc.
This picture of reality that we paint for ourselves is untrue because it’s not seeing reality for the way it truly is.
A good analogy for this is that it’s like looking at the tip of an iceberg above the water and refusing to acknowledge the most of it is still underneath the water.
This picture of reality that we paint for ourselves is untrue because it’s not seeing reality for the way it truly is.
A good analogy for this is that it’s like looking at the tip of an iceberg above the water and refusing to acknowledge the most of it is still underneath the water.
If we could see beyond the continuously-changing forms into the primary Reality, we would realize that fundamentally there is nothing but harmony and unity and that this perfection is no different from the phenomenal world of continuous change and transformation.
I’m not saying that the ego is inherently “wrong” to posses (we all possess it, after all).
It can be likened to a tool that we have and can use and just like with any tool, if you don’t have it under control, it carries with it the potential to become dangerous, and cause you and others a great deal of harm, pain, and suffering.
This is why I used the term ego minimization.
It can be likened to a tool that we have and can use and just like with any tool, if you don’t have it under control, it carries with it the potential to become dangerous, and cause you and others a great deal of harm, pain, and suffering.
This is why I used the term ego minimization.
As you transcend lower levels of consciousness that are firmly rooted within the domain of the ego, you become less and less prone to falling into the grip of the ego and letting it sway you every which way it pleases.
Through ego minimization, we are able to become Self-Realized and directly experience the true nature of who we are. The question of “Who am I?” becomes a much easier question to answer.
Through ego minimization, we are able to become Self-Realized and directly experience the true nature of who we are. The question of “Who am I?” becomes a much easier question to answer.
Self-Realization in its fundamental and most elementary meaning is the direct experience and awareness of the true Self (that luminous spark of the source of all that is that is all that is within itself).
The higher Self is often masked by the false self, which by now you probably see is the ego. Both transpersonal psychology and psychosynthesis explore and unravel the nature of self-realization.
In Hinduism, it refers to the experiencing the reality that one’s higher Self is a mirror image and spark of the the Source or ultimate reality.
By becoming fully Self-Realized, enlightenment becomes within our grasp for being a state of existence we can finally attain.
In Hinduism, it refers to the experiencing the reality that one’s higher Self is a mirror image and spark of the the Source or ultimate reality.
By becoming fully Self-Realized, enlightenment becomes within our grasp for being a state of existence we can finally attain.
So how can we get from an ego-dominated life to a self-realized one filled with harmony and unity? There’s many ways to go about it.
Some ways are the following:
- Kundalini cultivation
- Meditations on higher states of consciousness
- Letting go of all egoistic thought forms or ideas
- Administering the principle of oneness in everyday life
- Transcending emotions and mind states such as anger, greed, hate, jealousy, fear, shame and guilt
- Brainwave entrainment
This is by no means an exhaustive list but simply a list of ways that have helped me in my own Self-Realization.
In this day and age where the youth see a lack of true leaders to help them in their quest to answer the age-old question of “Who am I?” many turn to psychedelics in order to peel away the thick layers of false-self that the ego has hidden our true Self under.
In this day and age where the youth see a lack of true leaders to help them in their quest to answer the age-old question of “Who am I?” many turn to psychedelics in order to peel away the thick layers of false-self that the ego has hidden our true Self under.
Although enlightenment doesn’t come on a piece of paper, a pill or a sugar cube it still is precisely what some who are now Self-Realized attribute their eventual Self-Realization, enlightenment and spiritual awakening to.
Attachment to the technology that opened the door for us must too be left behind if long-standing Self-Realization and enlightenment are our goals.
Attachment to the technology that opened the door for us must too be left behind if long-standing Self-Realization and enlightenment are our goals.
Whatever methods you use for minimizing the ego and becoming Self-Realized it is ultimately the end-result that truly matters, not the path in which one took to get to it.
Pay attention to how your ego is controlling your thoughts and actions so that you can reduce its grasp on your life.
After identifying how its affecting you, you can minimize its influence on your being, paving the way to attaining an almost blissful enlightenment state of becoming Self-Realized.
If you truly wish to become enlightened, Self-Realization is a fundamental step that must be taken towards attaining that blissful state of pure be-ing. Are you ready to peel away the layers of illusion?
After identifying how its affecting you, you can minimize its influence on your being, paving the way to attaining an almost blissful enlightenment state of becoming Self-Realized.
If you truly wish to become enlightened, Self-Realization is a fundamental step that must be taken towards attaining that blissful state of pure be-ing. Are you ready to peel away the layers of illusion?
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