Post by kapitanprien on Nov 26, 2010 12:46:23 GMT -5
beyond-within.com/blog/consciousness/in-defense-of-the-ego/
Excerpt:
The ego gets a bad rap in most spiritual circles.
When I began exploring various spiritual traditions and started hearing so much about how the ego was supposedly the source of all my woes, I recognized that before I would be able to figure out what to do with this part of myself, it would probably be a good idea to try and reach a more clear understanding of what the ego actually IS, and what its functions are. Far too many times I have been down the road of trying to get rid of part of myself that I felt was the source of problems, only to later realize I was only doing damage to something that had legitimate, vital functions. This never ends well, and I have long since abandoned that approach. If part of myself isn’t functioning in a way that I consider healthy or beneficial, I don’t try to cut off the part — I simply have it release whatever it’s doing that I find detrimental, and give it some healthier functions to operate with. This basically sums up my approach toward the ego.
Excerpt:
The ego gets a bad rap in most spiritual circles.
When I began exploring various spiritual traditions and started hearing so much about how the ego was supposedly the source of all my woes, I recognized that before I would be able to figure out what to do with this part of myself, it would probably be a good idea to try and reach a more clear understanding of what the ego actually IS, and what its functions are. Far too many times I have been down the road of trying to get rid of part of myself that I felt was the source of problems, only to later realize I was only doing damage to something that had legitimate, vital functions. This never ends well, and I have long since abandoned that approach. If part of myself isn’t functioning in a way that I consider healthy or beneficial, I don’t try to cut off the part — I simply have it release whatever it’s doing that I find detrimental, and give it some healthier functions to operate with. This basically sums up my approach toward the ego.