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Zen Stoic Path Show

Ego Is NOT The Enemy: Living A More Authentic Life

Jun 16, 2022
12:13

In this episode, we explore what it means to live an authentic life. Many people view ego as their enemy, but is that really accurate? Can ego actually be a helpful tool when it comes to personal growth?

You'll discover the power of ego and how to use it for your own benefit. So if you're interested in living a more authentic life, make sure to check out this episode!

     

  • Have you ever been told that your ego is your enemy? Or been accused of having too much of an ego?
  • So many spiritual teachers/ influencers through the years attempt to validate the efficacy of their teachings through the lack of their ego or claiming that they do not have an ego or that their teachings can help you rid yourself of your ego.
  • Spiritual egotism is the attempt to use what is of a higher nature to fulfill the desires of that of a lower nature. To think you are somehow more spiritual or awakened than another person because of what you practice, is in itself self diminishing as anything spiritual.
  • The ego is important and necessary to have an individual experience. You couldn’t say, “I’ve gotten rid of my ego” without an ego. “I” would be a meaningless concept without the ego. The ego or “I” is merely a measuring of your individual conscious experience. It is about as real as the equator or the earth. The equator is real in the sense of having a way to divide the hemispheres of the earth, but it doesn’t physically exist as a line we can see, it exists through social institution, as an agreement we share to indicate the midpoint of the earth’s northern and southern hemispheres. This doesn’t mean it is wrong or invalid. The ego is the same in the sense that it is just a word, a symbol to describe an experience.
  • When you are operating through the “ego” or have “too much ego” it simply means you are over invested in the measuring device of individual experience rather than the experience itself as a whole. Similar to mistaking the dinner menu for nourishment or money for wealth.

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