Killing One's Ego...

by FMZ 37 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  FMZ

  Many of the ancient mystics and their belief systems supported the idea that to truly live life, and draw close to God, each one of us has to remove his "ego". Even Jesus hinted at it.

  I think today, "ego" is very often taken as meaning pride. This is but one facet of one's ego. Fear is another facet, as is self-importance.

  I understand I will probably get many "detractors" in this thread, and I can see how hard it is to understand why we must shed this apparently very important shell. After all, I am still learning every day, and although I accept the theory of shedding the ego, I have still yet to learn how to practice it.

  So, how does one shed his ego? Why is it necessary to shed it? And for the unbelievers, what do you feel the mystics who lived in the mountains / middle of nowhere had to gain from telling people this? Don't you feel that there must have been some experience that "showed them the way"?

  FMZ
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  Incense_and_Peppermints

  someone gave me these two books for christmas, by Carlos Castaneda... one of them was "Journey to Ixtlan", which talks about "self-importance".. i haven't read a lot yet, but part of it says this:

  Self-importance is another thing that must be dropped, just like personal history. The world around us is very mysterious. It doesn't yield its secrets easily. Now we are concerned with losing self-importance. As long as you feel that you are the most important thing in the world you cannot really appreciate the world around you. You are like a horse with blinders, all you see is yourself apart from everything else.
  To help you lose self-importance talk to little plants. It doesn't matter what you say to a plant, what's important is the feeling of liking it, and treating it as an equal.

  i think it's saying when we surrender our ego, we free ourselves from constant disappointment and anguish. apparently it's a difficult lesson to learn. is this what you're talking about? if not, never mind...
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  frankiespeakin

  FM,

  Don't think you can shrink ones ego with a practice,,, well ,,unless you want to be like ST John of the Cross. And severly treat you body to force enlightenment.

  I think when you kill the ego the body first seperates from your awareness and then usually after this I think the ego gets desolved and the seperateness caused by the false self or ego disapears and one is one with everything with no distinction or seperation from any thing.

  This can be drug induced,,meditation induced,,severe hardship can make it happen,,and then you are like awakening out of a dream without a personal self but understanding how to surrender complete control to the highest self.
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  Sunnygal41

  FMZ, as my first spiritual teacher, a native american trained pipe carrier told me when I used the word "kill"..........."no wonder your ego is freaking out.....you don't want to kill it, you just want to get it out of the way"...........I like the word I&P used..........surrender.........there is a big difference...........as my teacher said "you need the ego for certain things in dealing with the material world"..........I agree. She also helped me make my final decision to end my marriage and leave the Borg by quoting Don Juan, I paraphrase it here: "you only walk this life path once, so follow your heart".........and I did and I'm soooo happy and grateful today...........

  Peace,

  Ter
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  Special K

  Hi FMZ

  Rumor has it that Gumby is pretty good at this.

  So, how does one shed his ego?

  lol

  special K

  .. I always thought having a new baby come into the house really got rid of any ego in myself. They sure can bring you to your knees sometimes out of sheer love and sometimes out of utter frustration. Every new baby into my house was very quickly made the new King and everyone else fell in line after that.

  hugs

  Special K
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  Elsewhere

  Yeah... I've never trusted those Eggos!!!!!

  Die Eggo Diiiiiie!!!!!
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  proplog2

  You can't kill your ego. Your ego is important for survival. Some people are hyper-vigilant and have problems with their ego dominating their entire organism. You need to understand the function of your ego so that it can be managed.
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  frankiespeakin

  Prop,

  You need to understand the function of your ego so that it can be managed.

  I agree. There is the recognition of the ego but recognition can be on a scale of 0-10. Some persons never stop to analize themselves and they could be at close to Zero a complete fog as to why they want and do certain things and a ten could be perhaps a finsihed cooking (or done)Guru.
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  SixofNine

  Why do you think it is good to shed ones ego, FMZ?
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  frankiespeakin

  Ego causes suffering by wanting and grasping to aquire ownership of a false self that is seperate from the cosmos.