What is Ego?

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of “The Ego” as it pertains to psychology and spirituality, this article will serve as a brief foundational introduction to the concept. When it comes to Enlightenment, Self-Knowledge, Mindfulness, etc., we will fail again and again if we do not understand Ego. To expand on this concept, read the works of Eckhart Tolle. There is undoubtedly no better teacher on this subject.

What is Ego?

Ego is essentially your identity. It is the character you play. The Ego is who you think you are, from trivial qualities like your hair color or where you are from, to more fundamental qualities like your philosophical viewpoints or religious identity.

Think about these qualities in yourself, all of the attributes that make up the character known as you.

Here is the truth: These qualities are not you. These qualities are a mask. They are only who you think you are. They are symbols. They are Ego. The attribute itself is not you, only the experience of the attribute is real.

All suffering that you experience comes from identifying with this part of yourself, this Ego. You are not your thoughts. You experience thoughts. You are not your emotions. You experience emotions. When we identify with these thoughts, we are strengthening the grip of the Ego on our psychic ecosystem. 

For a little further exploration of this concept you can read our article on Letting Go

You might be asking at this point, if everything that makes up my identity is supposedly not real, what is left? This is a fair question, the answer to which is a crucial step in our spiritual journey.

I am. That is what is left. Pure presence. Existence. Being. Tao. Christ. The Observer. The Eternal Now.

I AM THAT I AM

You can think of it this way. You are sitting in a theater watching the drama of your life play out in real time. You see the actor on the stage giving the performance of a lifetime (literally). You become entranced by the emotions of this actor, to the point that you begin to identify with them as if their emotions are yours. You are sad when they are sad, happy when they are happy, angry when they are angry.

But this is just an actor on a stage. You have become so enamored in the drama of this production that you have forgotten that you are actually the one sitting in the audience. You look down, there is nothing. There is no body holding up your awareness, just pure Being. Pure Awareness. The Observer. This is who you really are. This is what meditation and spiritual practice is leading us towards. Remembering who we are. Remembering the Source of all things, the Unmanifested.

This concept takes time to fully sink in, and so we will revisit it many times throughout this publication.

At some point, you will hear mention of Ego Death, or killing the Ego. While dissolution of the Ego is part of the spiritual process, be weary of this type of language and thinking. This type of language sets up the Ego as adversary, as the enemy. Ego is not your enemy. Ego is what makes the game a game. There is no game without the player. We have the joy to participate as both actor and audience. Without the actor, there is nothing for the audience to watch.

Understanding the interplay between Ego and the Observer is the key that unlocks the doors of Enlightenment. The Ego is the very lens which makes our experience unique, but mistaking that lens for our true nature is at the root of spiritual despair. The Observer is who we truly are. This is what connects us to one another and to the Source of Creation.

We are all the same, and yet we are all infinitely unique in the ways that our identities have manifested in this physical experience.

This concept will come up time and time again on your journey, because to understand it is to understand the Self. And to understand the Self is to understand the Universe.

As above, so below; as within, so without; as the universe, so the soul.

-Hermes Trismegistus