The Greatest Lesson for Humanity is to Overcome the Ego.

 “If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It’s very important to be aware of them every time they come up.”

~Deepak Chopra

A Little Thing that I have noticed is the amount of hurt going on lately and it makes me sad. I see friends hurting and lost in their emotions, and I don’t know how to help other than be there and make up for past decisions. So here is the little advice I have to give to you.

1. Change Your Perspective
Don’t Points Fingers but Look in the Mirror

This was a particularly hard lesson for me so I almost assume everyone goes through it because we always hear “think about others!” as we grow and learn. But the truth in this statement isn’t going to just help with perspective in a situation, but open you mind to understand things greater.
When we forget our own egos and stop trying to defend ourselves and take a step back and look at the situation we can see our responsibility in the situation that has unfolded in front of us. For example, spreading a rumor. It will come back and bite you in the butt because rumors spread like wildfire (especially if you are in a school setting), and the fire will roar till it eats away from the person who started it and to the others around it. Or for another example, if you are involved in a sport or an extra-curricular activity and you feel sick so you choose not to go to practice, thinking nothing of it, and your spot is given to someone else. It would hurt, badly, I understand and I recognize that fact but are you going to blame the person who has come every single day or worked hard? Or will you look in the mirror and use it as a chance to change, grow, and learn. That’s the point of life right? To learn and grow wise?
Flip that perspective and allow yourself to shed that ego and realize that it isn’t other people’s fault and it will open you to a door that will allow to grow and succeed in anything you do! I promise you that!

2. Find the Healthy Balance
The Id and the Super-Ego

       According to the dictionary the ego is:  The part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment. Alright so that basically means the ego is what is stuck in the middle of the Id and the Super-Ego. Now the Id, as stated above, is the primitive drives that lead us toward survival, i.e. hunger, tiredness, sexual drives, anger, those are all examples of primitive drives. Now the Super-Ego is the big party guy. The Super-Ego is our need for socializing and the need of attention from our physical environment.
The ego lies somewhere in the middle. It combines the pulls from our primitive drives, and the glittering lights of our environment. The ego (in the context of this post) is necessarily the need to protect oneself, as a kind of social survival. The ego is not bad, but when the balance of the ego, Id, and Super-Ego are really wacko (i.e. anorexia-social demands over survival drive) then problems occur. The same with balancing the ego with our morals, ideals, and perspectives on the world. If one is egotistical than one is conceited and “self-important”.  So it is the balance that we need to learn in life that will awaken wisdom.
Look for ways that you could make simply changes in your life that would affect your ego. Those “little white lies”? Blaming others? Hating on others? Judging? Snide comments? I understand that some of these things are basic human acts. We cannot help but make judgements on a person the second we meet them because it is a part of our psychological need to survive and it has been defined by our culture. Try to recognize when your ego is stepping in front of you, limiting your vision. As Deepak Chopra said, relinquish the need to control, to be approved, and to judged. Be aware of these things constantly because your ego is you! Its not going to disappear. But I believe that you are strong enough to make the right choice, what ever that may be.
Do not be a person that blames the world for every circumstance. Dont allow the world to walk over you. Find the middle. To where you can see others clearly and recognize their perspectives, and to where you can still protect yourself from the primitive drives and social demands.

Remember:
Everyone has the opportunity for greatness. Sometimes its easier for some than it is for others, but we all have the opportunity or the choice to be great and live with wisdom, hope, and love.

Most of all.
Don’t forget to love. Love yourself. Love your friends and family. Love your enemy.
Love heals. While Hatred destroys.
Be the Change you wish to see in the world.
Be the Love.

11 Jan This entry was published on January 11, 2012 at 3:21 am and is filed under Words of wisdom. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.