Ego, U go

I think my ego is just right. [Maybe that is my ego talking,huh? LOl] And it does depend on my mood as how positive it is. Most of the time I think I am pretty meek and humble. But when I get all dolled up I have to have the ego to go with it. Ya know?! I think I have a very healthy ego. It could even be better than it is and wouldn't hurt. I am shy and not always positive.

I always thought I had a rather weak ego until I got old enough to not care anymore! LOL Then I remembered this from my psych studies: (I had to look it up on the net to get the thought process right though! LOL) "The id is the part of us that wants what we want when we want it, and we'd kill to get it. The superego is the part of us that incorporates all the instructions from mommy and says - you can't hurt others to get what you want. The ego is the part that figures out how to satisfy the id and the superego. The ego wants to make the id socially acceptable." So I now realize that I have a weak id, an overactive superego (I hear my mother's voice in my head constantly! lol) and a very healthy ego. Frankly, I'm actually in pretty good mental shape contrary to popular opinion! ROFL

Hmmmmm Sometimes my ego is quite healthy and others it probably doesn't seem to work as hard as it should and I feel as though I am not as good as I could/should be. I think though that on the whole my ego just trundles along helping out others where it can and generally sharing with those it meets on its journey through life! xxx

Cemeteries are filled with people who thought the world couldn't get along without them. ~ An American Proverb ~ An ego is not a bad thing. My dictionary defines, "ego" as 1. self, and 2. self esteem. Its important to have self esteem, which is a healthy love of self. Depression happens when a person loses self esteem, and ends up with a Hate of self. When a person has low self esteem, they lack confidence in their ability to accomplish anything, and are low achievers. On the other hand, an inflated ego, or an excessive self love was described very well by Fred Allen, when he said," The last time I saw Him, he was walking down Lovers Lane holding his own hand."

Hi TLChimes, Nope, I haven't got a big ego, I am a shy person and always think I am not as good as others whern doing anything, I am always the last in everything so no I haven't got a big ego. But I do know some has. Tamara

I dont really have much of an ego I realise that the world doesnt revolve around me so i try to be a part of the world rather than try to rule it

Ego is a complex issue and not easily defined. For instance, when does confidence become self-confidence and then ego..? Surely confidence is a good thing, but then ego is not regarded as good. I find that ones outward persona is modified during your formative years and may be exactly the opposite of how you actually feel inside. The persona is developed to 'hide' or 'counteract' the flaws that we detect in our inner self. For instance I am naturally very shy, but since childhood have pushed myself forward to counteract this natural reaction. I don't think I have over-reacted, but I appear confident and gregarious in situations where the real me wants to run and hide. I am sure I am not the only one who has done this, though I am not sure that many people are even aware of it. I have a lot of traits which I have 'tempered' to be more acceptable to society, the traits remain, but there is a veneer which cancels out these traits before they reach the surface. What I am trying to say is the most egotistical people may in fact be extremely shy people who have made the conscious or even sub-conscious decision to appear more out-going and outrageous. The problems come, I believe, when we are at odds with ourselves because we have not recognised that our behaviour is self-modified. what I mean by that, is that we have made an adjustment to our 'outer' selves not fully realising that the original trait is still there deep inside us. The reason I wrote this is that you have said 'what is your core self like' to which I would say 'timid', but my outer veneer is 'accomplished', 'confident'. Do you see what i am trying to say? To go further I would say that there is more 'anger' and 'turmoil' in my core self whereas I wear a veneer of 'calm', and 'collected'. I don't think I am alone in this, I wonder though how many people realise that they make these adjustments on a daily basis??

I think you'll find this powerpoint very interesting! http://www.sandiego.edu/soles/documents/AlternativetoThought.ppt#256,1,Alternatives to Thought as a System I have read Tolle's work as well as seen his discussions, and he is by far the world's expert in our day and age on the Ego. Though, I do think that even he'd agree that his Holiness the Dali Lama probably knows a thing or two about the Ego, and its nature. It's one reason I'm so drawn to Budhism and the study of the ego. It's something that is truly a part of being human. As Tolle relates, it's not really our fault, we're born with it. We're conditioned to it, so to speak. That said, even Tolle shows us ways to break free from the Ego. By becoming the observer the ego is much diminished. We're free to live in the "Now" as Tolle refers to it, and that helps to let the Observer "the core self" as Tolle relates it to live. There is a book on the Kabbalah by Lyam Christopher who also speaks in depth about the ego, and our core self. You might find the book very helpful as you study the ego, and work through it. The best medicine seems to be to simply to live in the present moment. When we let the past be the past and stop trying to recapture something we are free from the ego. When we stop worrying about the future as it doesn't exist yet, we are free from the ego. Asking if someone "likes their core self" is a question that requires a very ego driven response. The ego wants to be flattered, to hear what a great job its doing, and it manifests in ways such as this. The best solution is to not give the ego attention. If we stop living in some of the pitfalls Tolle teaches about (and others who have written on the ego), we're free to simply live. To end, I can only say that I strive to be formless. You'll enjoy the following video too, which is Tolle speaking about "self". Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j42cTkiGdXY Namaste-Anora