Are you confused about the human ego?

The dictionary defines the ego as: the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought. Ummm. Sounds benign enough but unfortunately there is another context that has become much more prevalent these days: egotism; conceit; self-importance. 

A good friend of mine a couple weeks ago even defined the ego as “Edging God Out.”

This negative connotation of the human ego is what many of the popular religious and spiritual teachings maintain we need to rise above and/or transcend.  This way of thinking actually stems from the fundamental delusion that there is something inherently wrong with humans; that there will always be some flaw or behavior that makes us “unworthy” and for which we need to atone. The result is an internal conflict within which fosters the question, “how can we be worthy of God, or of being God, when we are so imperfect?” We find ourselves at constant war within – the spiritual self against the lower ego self.  We disconnect ourselves from the truth of who we are; whole and magnificent creators.

In my next post, I will define the “fundamental delusion.” Stay tuned!