Obliteration of the ego (page 2)

JamesThomas

I understand Brad; and I suggest that you relax.

It's not about fighting, or killing, or "obliterating" the ego (the mental, thought created self, that we believe ourselves to be), but rather simply seeing it for what it is.

Clear seeing happens within an atmosphere of sincere earnestness, and gentle attentiveness. Sit, be still, and meet with the mind; watch kindly, respectfully and non-judgmentally as the the mind weaves it's identity. Be with whatever thoughts and emotions arise. Go deeper and begin to relate more with the unmoving and pristine consciousness which is observing.

This phase can be difficult, because the ego, in a sense, has a life of it's own, and like every-other life, does not want to die or be "obliterated". Let it know that nothing really need die, for nothing is excluded from the infinite-vastness which you really are.

j

purplesofa

I understand what you are saying...........I say doing away with all that outside stuff is getting to the CORE of a being.

I think it is pretty awesome.

the bandersnatch esq.

Logansrun - have you ever read Dice Man by Luke Reinhart? It's a fictional account of one man's attempt to destroy his own ego. It's also quite funny, worth a read.

Terry

I understand what you are saying...........I say doing away with all that outside stuff is getting to the CORE of a being.
I think it is pretty awesome.

I wish I understood.

Nobody has explained anything in a way that makes any sense to me.

Is there a secret language at work?

Clueless, that's me.

Terry

Dansk

Hi Terry

The ego operates on the "reality principle", in which instincts are restrained in order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the individual into society.

That's just the point. The ego tells us that all is real, when the opposite is true. We live in an illusion, but our ego has us accept it as reality. "Maintaining the safety of the individual and helping integrate the individual into society" is delusional, born out of ignorance. The ego ties us to the illusion. That is why I said earlier it is the last thing to go before enlightenment. As Ramana says, once one is enlightened the ego is then "harmless; it is like the skeleton of a burnt rope - though it has form it is no use to tie anything with."

No, I'm not enlightened. I strive to be, but my ego gets in the way

Ian

trevor

Logansrun

It seems that you are embarking on a journey of self awareness and enlightenment.

James Thomas explains it so well. I suggest you click on his posts and read some of them.

I have quoted below the words of Osho. It is not the first time I have quoted them but truth is always worth repeating.

OSHO

When you have emptied all the content, thoughts, desires, memories, projections, hopes, when all is gone, for the first time you find yourself, because you are nothing but that pure space, that virgin space within you.
Unburdened by anything, that content-less consciousness, that is what you are! Seeing it, realizing it, one is free. One is freedom, one is joy, one is bliss.

Abaddon

Dice Man!

Great Book.

I think I might need WoMD to deal with my ego though...

... but if WoMD don't exist, then that means my ego doesn't exist, which mea... *pop*

heathen

I get what you are talking about logansrun . Even the teachings of christianity state that you have to strive to be better than you were , the part of us that is content with material wellbeing needs a back seat to the part striving to imitate a higher power .

LittleToe

I prefer the term "submitting the ego", though the question arises "to what do you submit it?".

Now you've arrived at a working hypothesis, how are you going to test it?

donkey

I have reached the opposite conclusion and subscribe to the virtue of selfishness.

If we accept natural selection and survival instincts as the key drivers of man we realize that there is an issue with the way society works. All species on earth act in line with their natural instincts since this is natural selection in the works. But not humans. For some reason (probably due to religion and control) the minute a human being is born the parents immediately start conditioning the baby to supress his/her natural instincts and control their behavior in line with some societal ideal. This continues through the rest of that childs life as they are moulded to "fit in". Suppressing the ego is a great way to "fit in", but if natural selection/survival instinct is correct then it is paradoxical that we allow society and not natural instincts to control us and define what should mak us happy.

Communist Russia was a classic case in the suppression of the ego of the individual and the ideals it espoused were just that. Some might argue that the ideals were great but the implementation was corrupt, but reading Ayn Rand's (someone who rebelled against that system and started a very logical philosophy) works on selfishness and its virtues quickly surface rather strong arguments for allowing the ego to flourish rather than suppress it. Again why are we born with such strong egos, if evolution dictates that our instincts are put there for our survival?

At any rate please send me all your money as you discover the virtue of the suppressed ego because the money will just feed the ego...IM me for account details as I gladly accept bank transfers and I want to do anything I can to make sure money cannot be used as a tool to boost your ego.... Only kidding of course....but if you believe me then please send the money...

Donkey

Obliteration of the ego

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