The Ego / Personality
"The Person that you 'think' you are"
Introduction
Defining Ego
The Ego here is defined here as the attached beliefs we have about who we are, who we should be and how others should perceive us.
The Ego can be said to be our "Personality". The deeply-rooted beliefs that make up this construct define what we love and hate in life, our fears and cravings.
This article will talk about the Ego and ways to penetrate it to discover the deeper Self.
Ego/Personality In Depth
The personality belongs to The Self, but The Self does not belong to the personality
The Personality is like the outer layer of an apple—it's only skin deep. The real thing of essence is inside, the Deeper Self, the Soul, the Spirit, the Infinite Consciousness, and can only be accessed through penetrating beyond the illusions of the personality.
Realize that the personality, the ego, is only a temporary construct. It will change with time and experience. Often, the changes will be slight because the beliefs one has about themselves can be deeply rooted in the mind.
From a spiritual perspective, the personality is the bias we have chosen, the masks that we have decided to wear for coming into this life journey. Because through living life through its illusions, the soul can then experience different life lessons. With an angry personality, one can learn greater lessons about love and forgiveness. With a fearful personality, one can attempt deeper lessons to do with trust.
Thus the personality is simply a tool that one can use to accelerate their greater spiritual journey.
To become attached to it will only invite suffering.
Would the apple be happy if you tell it that it's only a skin?
So, relalize that you are much more than just a personality!
You are infinite, and your personality is simply a way to experience more intensely a part of Deeper Self—the Self that is Infinite.
Path Of Creator
Ego/Personality In Relation To The Path Of Creator
When we become attached to our Personality, it will only invite greater suffering.
For instance, when we become attached to the Ideas that we need to be powerful in life, we can become unhappy in moments when an experience makes us feel weak.
For instance, when we become attached to the ideas of being extraordinary, we can suffer in times when we have to be ordinary.
For instance, when we become attached to the idea that it's important to be beautiful, we can end up chasing beauty products all our lives.
The journey of Self-Transformation begins with the awareness that creating attachments to the personality will only create Suffering. Also, it will block one from developing deeper Knowing about one's Deeper Self.
The solution?
Release the attachment you have to your ego!
But how do we do this?
Ok, it won't be easy! The journey will indeed be a difficult and confusing Path.
On the journey, one can become clueless as to which part of The Self is real and which part of The Self is an illusion—sometimes even trying to figure out which part to destroy.
When one approaches the journey this way, of course one will encounter confusion.
Redefining one's goals can help one to gain clarity into one's journey: simply aim for greater happiness and all will be clear!
So, instead of trying to destroy the "Fake Self", the "Ego" "The Personality" learn to embrace them instead; realize that they are simply a part of ourselves. The goal is to develop the awareness as to why we are so attached to the idea that we are only the Personality, that we can't be anything more than that. So, it's a journey of discovering why we have been limiting ourselves this way.
Realize that the Mind is Infinite. We are Infinite. Within the mind, all is The Self because All is Possible.
Thus the greater work is to simply release our attachments to the idea that only certain parts of ourselves are acceptable.
To make the journey clearer, one can simply work on their suffering states of the mind because the cause of our attachment towards our Personality will always come back to the Negative Ideas we have about ourselves—the parts of The Self that we cannot accept.
For instance, the fears we have of being humiliated in front of people will give us a personality of wanting to appear strong all the time.
For instance, our impatience can make us become attached to the need to rush all the time.
For instance, our Negativity towards boredom will make us crave for interesting things whilst steering away from the more mundane activities.
Thus, one will always be able to discover the suffering states of mind behind one's attachments.
By simply working on our Sufferings, the attachment to the Ego / Personality will naturally disappear and be resolved. So instead of hating and trying to destroy the ego or analyzing ways to reform oneself, simply embrace all parts of yourself. Simply focus on the suffering states of mind.
You can also use your personality to discover what you cannot accept about yourself and others. The Personality is your tool to use for greater spiritual growth. It there to serve you on your journey of Self-Transformation rather than the other way round. Let your personality follow your heart's desires for greater happiness. Learn to let go and accept all parts of yourself!
At The Idea Level
As The Seed Cause to all forms of Sufferings will recede to Negative Ideas, let us look at the cause of the attachment towards the Ego / Personality from the perspective of Negative Ideas.
The Negative Ideas which can drive one to become attached to their personality are generally Ideas that begin with –
“I Should Be...”
I.e.
“I should be popular”
“I should have heaps of money”
“I Should not be Selfish”
“I should not be taken advantage of”
“I should not be controlled”
“I should not waste my time”
etc.
Viewing these ideas from the perspective of Acceptance—
“I will not accept myself if I’m not popular”
“I will not accept myself if I don’t have heaps of money”
“I will not accept myself if I am Selfish”
“I will not accept The Self if I am taken advantage of”
“I will not accept The Self if I am being controlled”
“I will not accept The Self if my time is wasted”
The Key to transforming one's suffering states of mind thus is to develop greater Self-Acceptance.
The destination is to realize that there is no good or bad about the ego/personality. It's simply a part of ourselves that can be used as a spiritual tool. Much like money which can be used for good and bad, we can use our personalities/ego to clash with one another to experience life more intensely and learn more about ourselves.
The practice of meditation will help one greatly on such a journey. Because as one learns to put their thinking mind aside, one will begin to experience moments when The Self is without attachments to any ideas or thoughts, allowing them to gain glimpses into their deeper Self. In these moments without thoughts, of simply accepting oneself and the present moment as is, are moments of happiness—this is our natural state, the state of unconditional love. That is the destination, to remember who we are through the process of unveiling our masks, our personality, our ego.
Know and Transform The Self!
Reading articles helps with understanding, but to transform the mind, one realizes the truth from experience.
For such an enlightening journey, the Self-Transformation Course has everything you will ever need!
