Destroy the Ego? Why?

If you’ve wandered through any spiritual or new age works either recent or reportedly ancient, you may have encountered the concept of ego destruction.  As with many other ancient concepts or ideas, I cannot help but wonder if this is yet another epic misinterpretation.  Forgive me, as I mean no disrespect to any person, faith or practice as I write.  I merely wish to paint the picture of an alternative perspective and one that I think is sorely needed for much greater understanding.  In my book,  Exploring the Conscious Self for Growth and Understanding, I explored the ego and consciousness and came to the beginnings of some conclusions as follows: 

From my exploration into the topic of consciousness, the ego as the veil, I begin to come to the conclusion that the life we experience here on Earth is the result of a conscious individuation from the Cosmic Mind or One Mind in the form of ego for the purpose of a physical experience in an individuated focal point of existence in a specific time.  The ego is the veil that separates humanity from the Cosmic Mind or that, to us, which is unconscious or simply, not yet known.  The veil does not separate us from our Source or sever the connection to that Cosmic Mind but rather obscures it through the existence of the ego.  We remain part of the entirety of the cosmos, our cells, molecules and particles gathered as a density intentionally collected in a point of focus here in this now as are all entities in existence within this frame or dimension.

The ego exists as learned scholars and wise spiritual teachers will in unison agree.  Where they all may diverge is on the purpose of the ego and understanding its related consciousness.  In my dissertation, I posit that it is because of the ego that we have individuated from the One Mind or Cosmic Consciousness and this intentionally formed the veil between the physical conscious world and the world of unconsciousness, ether or the ethereal realms of the spirit.  It is through the process of choosing individual experience that seems to separate us from our Source at a purely physical or conscious level.  We did so in order to experience creating and the receiving of the gift and the use of free will from whatever Source or Force in this universe that created us.  As a unified whole, we still exist, I think, as everything in creation is interconnected as well as interdependent.  Others are beginning to join this body of thought.  (117)

In another of my works, So It’s Over, Now What, I explored another concept I wish to share with you, Malware:

Part of the brain’s simulation process is taking in data from the outside and bumping it up against the various memories we have stored within our minds.  By comparing the data the mind makes assumptions about the data it has perceived, runs its simulations, comes up with assessments or conclusions, which then trigger various biological processes which can help keep us safe.  Without memory and the ability to recall it, we might forget about that time fire burned our fingers and reach blindly into a flame without any caution.  One of the challenges with memories is that they are not always exact and we sometimes store the memories of our resulting judgments from our mind’s simulation processes negatively.  If we emotionally charge events such as those that are painful to us, those memories will be a bit easier to find during our mind’s simulation processes.  The problem with the mind’s simulation processes it that the mind automatically assumes the data it takes in is correct, especially if within the memory it finds a similar painful outcome to a process.  A painful memory may be distorted over time.  Such memories may cause us to become triggered over an emotional landmine (read, unhealed psychological wound) that was based on an assumption not validated.

I refer to this as malware or a virus being introduced into our mental processing system.  With malware or a virus in place in our mental processes, we may jump to conclusions without accurate data and decide that vengeance or revenge is the appropriate course of action given the data the mind has taken in, simulated, judged through the filters of all kinds of psychologically tainted experiences and then resulting in illusory emotion that seem real making someone feel a dire urge to strike out to preserve the ego or the body.

If your operating system is not in perfect health, you’ve let your emotional landmine blow somebody up but primarily, it’s you also that is hurt the worst by the blast because you were unaware of the psychological virus or malware unconsciously installed somewhere in your memory or emotions attached to a memory in your thought processing system. (47)

So, in two separate explorations shared, I’ve outlined a concept of the ego as that part of our Consciousness (Big “C” – Cosmic Consciousness) that has pointed its focus in this physical reality.  I’ve also introduced the concept of malware in regard to the mental operating systems via beliefs and psychology in two of my separate works quoted above.  Now think for just a moment.  If we were to destroy the ego in an effort to spiritually advance, would we still be here in this third-dimensional reality?  I don’t know the answer to that and I don’t know how we get to the answer of that.  If you were to take a person and destroy their ego in quite literal terms, where would the “I” of them go?  They’d still be here which means their individuation still exists and then, so would their ego.  What I put forth is the idea that it is not bad to have an ego, it is not wrong to think in terms of “I” and it is not wrong to be an “I” in this frame.  You can still progress in this frame spiritually by maintaining the “I” or the “Ego” or any of its component parts or aspects of consciousness.  My explorations have led me to a path of consideration that it is actually not "the ego that must be destroyed in order for humanity to be awakened" but that it is the malware that must be discovered, rooted out or otherwise healed in order for an individual here in this frame with an “I” focus (what other focus can individuated consciousness have here in this frame?) to grow into greater awareness and improve health and well-being.

It is not the ego that must be destroyed or any part of your being that you should dislike or seek to destroy.  In fact, it is the opposite.  The “I” that is you is perfect in design.  What is imperfect (or really, rather the challenge) is what you have within the concept of “I” that isn’t necessarily what you came here with, “Malware” in your mental operating processes.  Now, I think in some cases that there is past-life residue that can permeate the “I” but even that is separate from the “I” that is you or the Ego.  Even with malware operating in your consciousness, you can still step outside of it and observe it in action and experience the vast peaceful connectedness of the Cosmic Consciousness as Eckhart Tolle outlines in his work, The Power of Now.  I think that we exist exactly as we are meant to.  Our consciousness is never not connected (forgive me the double negative) to the Cosmic Consciousness but that we just have an individuated focus for the purpose of gaining experience.  To me, this logically explains the variations of perception and belief from human to human.  To me this logically unites many theories in a way that I can understand and that build a logical and necessary framework for me of complete compassion for every individuated aspect of consciousness here existing in the physical at this time.

So, the Ego is a part of you.  To want to destroy a part of yourself, I think, is one of the most harmful concepts in existence.  To understand any virus or malware existing within your mental operating system so that you can heal it and unite fragmented aspects of your consciousness into a loving, accepting, understanding and compassionate wholeness makes much more sense to me than destroying or surrendering the ego.  You cannot be other than who you are.  The true self is always there no matter what mental virus or malware has seeped into your consciousness.  The true self can always observe, experience, understand, learn and grow even with the malware.  Discovering the psychological wounds that are the "malware" and striving to transcend them brings greater understanding and a deeper sense of connectedness and awareness.  You don’t have to destroy any part of you for that.  You need only be open to understanding the framework within which you operate.  Trust in your truest nature it is there right along with the “I” and the “We” of individuated as well as united Consciousness.

© 2014 Rev. Dr. J.L. Harter

Rev. J.L. Harter, PhD, M.Msc., B.Msc., Author, Blogger, and Spiritual Counselor, Editor of the JMCC.  See Bio section for more information.

No Problem

Why does it seem that we have so many problems in our lives to deal with?  It sometimes seems we have way more to contend with than we can possibly handle and this can result in anxiety, stress, insomnia and even depression.  Giving considerable thought to these symptoms and their multiple and varied origins and knowing how within our Consciousness we create, I wonder if it is just something as simple as “we’ve got it all wrong.”  We watch how our lives are supposed to be from television, books, movies and even what those around us represent to us as the best case scenario for living and finding happiness.  But what if we realized the truth that these things are only idealized potentials and that if we strive for someone else’s ideal of the perfect life or happiness, we may actually find ourselves quite disheartened?  That isn’t what we’re here for.

We haven’t come all this way in our evolution and development to settle for someone else’s perfect version of what our reality should be, I think.  Look around you and see what this approach is getting us.  Every day we’re becoming more aware of the growing symptoms of personality disorders.  Even the DSM V sites more psychological disorders today than ever before.   The DSM is, “The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) … widely known as the bible of psychiatry and psychology,” (n.p. Tartakovsky, psychcentral.com).

Now, having cited this I realize that perhaps this knowledge is simply a part of the deepening of our understanding due to the increasing availability of information more quickly.  However, certain disorders or behaviors still seem to be on the rise such as those in the anti-social or sociopathic category.  But what if we’ve still not even scratched the surface of the true problems that ail humanity?  Consider this if you will, I have posited before that the Ego is the Veil.  Meaning that I lean towards the theory that our egos are that part of our consciousness that meets physical reality.  If there is a bigger part of our Consciousness that remains not in physically manifested three-dimensional reality, then maybe behavioral issues stemming from the ego are an unintended (or unconsciously intended) consequence of our being here, generally speaking.  So, if we begin from this premise that the ego is the reason we are in the physical, and when in the physical, we don’t understand the whole of our true Conscious capabilities, I could understand how some could wax either more sensitive with the realization of the possibility or it’s opposite, not sensitive at all in the absence of the realization of the possibility.  I see all of these things as coping mechanisms related not just to life and our experiences from childhood but that sometimes the level of discontent and ill-behavior grows simply from our lack of understanding of what it is that we are.

So, we have an ego that projects our focus here were we are physical, experience the physical, encounter egoic emotion and if we remain aware, we can still experience the ethereal.  Now, those of us still engrossed in entertaining that the physical is the ONLY reality may never awaken to the ethereal components of our larger Consciousness and they may begin to label, make-fun of or find other ways to hide out in pure science or psychological bad behavior alone to prove their own ego’s version of reality and all that will seem to do is perpetuate this ill behavior we so often see demonstrated within humanity.  I’m a compassionate soul and have to believe there is a reason for this behavior, for this seemingly limited thinking and why some of those in the know may find our make-up and lack of awareness quite convenient.  I’m not going to dive into conspiracy theories here.  I dare not put any good energy towards that.  I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of those with supreme knowledge and those who are lost to that knowledge (at least temporarily).  What I do know is that there is a collective of memories, thoughts and knowledge available to humanity.  At any time one can merely observe their own thoughts to realize we are not so simply defined.  We cannot even completely define consciousness itself unless we begin to break it down into very small, agreeably identifiable component parts (we can’t do that yet, at least not entirely).  Even if were able to identify all of the component parts, due to the process of individuation of focus (materialization of our consciousness in the third-dimensional world), the challenges of living we’ve all been through in our own unique ways would have us view the findings only through the perspective of our own life experience. The way we are generally made up would have us believe our own perceptions as truth whether or not that truth was provisional.

I have learned in life that we can experience so many problems, challenges and pain as we try to make it through the day living up to ideals presented for us to hold and believe in.  But what if the things in our lives are not problems to solve at all?  What if that concept or framework of operation is the problem and prevents us from truly knowing ourselves and the beauty that life has to offer?  What if we fearlessly engaged in serious inquiry of the origins of our own beliefs, understood them and then realized there is no need to fight for someone else’s version of reality or even defend our own?  What if you discovered that the way things are here as we see and experience them right now is just exactly the way they are supposed to be?  What if you knew you had a choice in terms of labeling, judging, hating, dividing, conquering or accepting, holding compassion, understanding, allowing and appreciating the diversity of life here and the full scope of potential experiences you have in order to better understand your life lessons?  What would that do to your problems?  Would that put them in a different category that might cause you to react differently towards?  Would you begin to see the behavior in others that drives you mad is not the impetus for you to engage in a campaign to change others but to seek greater understanding and wisdom within yourselves?  The irritating factors that occur to us from others does not exist so that we can allow the frustration to take up residence within our heads to our detriment.  On the contrary.  They are messages only to remind us that we have a choice in how we view things, even if we have to struggle a few days to gain a more positive perspectives.

So much is possible in this world.  If we could shift our perspectives we could endeavor to engage in more richly rewarding discourses and interaction with all of life here on planet Earth…here in the Earth School.  We could see the world with new eyes, hear the music of life with new ears and feel the truth of everything with a sensory perception unaided by limited psychological labels for experiences.  We could transform misery into beauty in the span of a heart-beat if we but took the time to learn how to stand in the center of the light of our own beautiful Consciousness and realize that we are one in so many ways.  Or, we could just continue with the drudgery, the pain, the bleak and stark expanses of some of the roadways of life.  The choice of perspective belongs to each of us alone.  That’s the beauty of life I suppose.  There isn’t really a wrong way or a right way.  I think being here at all has the consequence of symptomatic expression of “malware” we’ve had unconsciously installed in our minds from very early on.  I’m referring to the beliefs that were created about ourselves and the world that came from outside in and remained resident in our psyches without our understanding it was that very same "malware" that we have always operated from.  That "malware" skews our vision and makes the truth awfully difficult to perceive definitively.  I guess maybe that part of the fun is learning to spot our false premises and then striving to transcend them.  It is in the journey that we find our greatest rewards and not necessarily in the attaining of a destination, thing or whatever it is you can think of.   

In a way, we are already very Consciously Aware and Awake, we just have chosen not to acknowledge that yet or maybe we haven't yet learned how to remember that fact.  Each in his or her own time, I continually remind myself and remind myself with much gratitude.  I love life and humanity.  The beauty and diversity of existence here is just beyond words.  It’s miraculous, amazing, inspiring… even on those dark nights or during dark seeming times.  Things change, we always grow and everything is forever in motion.  It's not a problem.  It's just life.

Referenced Work:

Tartakovsky, M. “How the DSM Developed:  What You Might Not Know”  Psychcentral.com Web.

Rev. J.L. Harter, PhD, M.Msc., B.Msc., Author, Blogger, and Spiritual Counselor, Editor of the JMCC.  See Bio section for more information.

© 2014 J.L. Harter, PhD