thank you! yeah, i don’t know what everyone’s definition of ‘ego’ is but i just define it as a ‘collection of beliefs’. definitely correct me if i have a differing idea of what ‘ego’ is.
but everyone has a collection of beliefs that are harmful or helpful or a mix of both.
all i care about is having helpful beliefs and being around others who have helpful beliefs.
i don’t need to turn off that whole aspect of my humanity.
Sorry @psynergy, this is for everyone…not just you, so please don’t take too much offense.
Who Cares About the Ego? I Just Want to be Happy!
That’s the Ego talking…
The only way to have completely “helpful” beliefs is to “RESET” the Ego “programming” completely.
And the only way to be around “others” who only have helpful beliefs is to “RESET” the Ego programming and decide move on to other planes with others who have done the same.
Using a familiar analogy…
YOU, the REAL YOU, are the computer…the hardware…
The Ego is literally software programming with all kinds of viruses, back door exploits, malware, ransomware, and all kinds of nasty things in it.
The most nasty programming it/the Ego has installed is a ransomware program that has convinced you(everyone) that if you uninstall the program, your computer will die.
Or that you will not be 'you" in some way…
or the infinite other “exploits” and faulty reasonings to convince you to not remove the software
and simply REINSTALL A FRESH CLEAN COPY.
You can literally be on this Earth with a clean fresh copy with the “programming”,“beliefs”, “thoughts”, “feelings”, “attitudes”
that YOU have programmed fresh…clean…
NOT from one’s parents…
NOT from society…
by you and only you…
THAT’S Enlightenment… THAT’S “Ego death” (or rainbow bunnies and butterfly reconditioning or whatever term makes one happy)
The “Ego” Before Freud…
So seems alot of people seem to have an issue with the word “Ego”…
It’s the CONCEPT of the ego that matters.
Plato was talking about the “ego” all the way beck when he told the Allegory of the Cave.
The people watching the “shadow movies” in the cave who think it’s real are the masses who don’t even REALIZE yet, that their Ego is the problem and showing them a 4th hand version of Reality.
Again, the Zen OX Herding pictures were talking about the concept of the “Ego” well before Freud decided to add his “spin” on the word.
Again, here the CONCEPT of the Ego is the bull.
Just like Plato, the Bull doesn’t even appear in the first few frames indicating that most people do not even understand what the “problem” is to begin with.
The Images
I. The Search for the Bull
II. Discovering the Footprints
III. Perceiving the Bull
IV. Catching the Bull
V. Taming the Bull
VI. Riding the Bull Home
VII. The Bull Transcended
VIII. Both Bull and Self Transcended
IX. Reaching the Source.
X. In the World
As I’ve talked about in other posts, and is thoroughly explained in my recommending reading list,
however one wants to “label” the Ego doesn’t matter.
Some have you used the term “Separate Self”…
Old Buddhist and Zen writings often referred to it as the small self (with a lower case s) as opposed to the Self (with an uppercase S) or what many call the Higher Self nowadays.
The words DO NOT CHANGE the concept of the thing.
“Ego Death” and How Killing Things Is Bad…?
Again, whether one wants to call it “training” or “killing” or “destroying” or “uprooting” or whatever rainbow flowering word instead, does NOT change how the Ego reacts to one consciously trying to “regain control” of it.
It feels like “death” to the Ego… in fact, it’s the only real “death” one ever experiences.
People’s fear of “physical” death is ultimately just a extension of the Ego’s fear of losing it’s control of the “computer hardware” known as the REAL you.
So yeah, your “Ego”, especially if one is identifying with it as who and what you are, is going to make ALL KINDS of excuses and issues over the “word” choice or how it needs to survive
ie
“Enlightenment isn’t my goal”
“I don’t like the term killing the ego”
“I just want a healthy Ego…”
They are one of the multitude of “tricks” the Ego has at it’s disposal (as it has complete knowledge of ones’ fears, desires, etc) to convince you to let it stay in control.
Numerous movies have depicted this issue in a multitude of ways.
The Matrix,
2001 Space Odyssey
Lawnmower Man
Any movie where a “robot”/created beast that was built to serve, but ultimately takes over and becomes a greedy power hungry tyrant where the “hero” has to “unplug” it to regain control and return it to it’s original purpose.
Any story with a “Christ” storyline where the originally selfish and reluctant Hero has to learn unconditional/unselfish love which is demonstrated by DYING (aka death of the selfish Ego) only to be “reborn” again in some manner as a stronger, IN CONTROL OF THEIR OWN LIFE, self.
THIS is the storyline that this “Star” Being (aka the Sun) has written for this Solar System.
It’s the “game” it chose.
And like any RPG game, there can be infinite ways to play it but the MAIN PLOT POINTS of the game have to be accomplished to “win” the game.
zero need to apologize, friend! i sincerely enjoyed your explanations. i didn’t feel any ‘negative’ feelings towards anything you said and felt compassion and empathy come through.
now you’re talking my language!
overall, you’ve helped me decide on my next course of action with my morphic field audio playlist.
Ha! You setting me up to trigger a whole bunch of people?
I’m not saying WHOLE anything … that feels too black and white and as you know…that becomes another duality that would need to be transcended.
I’m saying for THIS part of the game… (guys…there are SOOOO many other games out there to be played) transcending one’s ego UNLOCKS allllll those OTHER games out there to be played.
And before people freak out over this idea…
Buddhism, which has been around a looong time, has described 31 planes of existence.
Humans are at level 5 of 31…
Contemplate how much OTHER game play is out there…
(Other philosophies will describe it in different ways with different numbers of “levels” but it’s still the same concept)
@_OM hahah… not trying to trigger anyone. Just trying to find answers for myself.
Oh wow…really? I didn’t know that. So, this is part of the reincarnation process…the cycles you spoke about elsewhere on this forum? As you clear up one part, you move to the next plane of existence in your next lifetime and work on clearing up the next piece?
I found this wikipedia article that speaks about the 31 planes of existence.
Are these planes / games which you are speaking about?
That article adequately describes the Buddhist concepts of the 31 planes…yes.
To be clear as I sense some confusion…
Enlightenment (aka Transcending one’s ego/ego “death”) breaks the reincarnation process aka the wheel of karma aka being reborn into plane(s) of suffering.
And pointing to one of your other questions in another thread.
Enlightenment = TRUE Free Will.
Whew! Somebody’s Conceptual Realizations has kicked already! Nice.
Yes that’s exactly correct!
See this post here tho…
So again, you have TRUE free will to play or not play this game or other games.
Also remember, these other planes of existence are exponentially more peaceful and loving if you DO decide you would still like to keep playing.