The ego seems to be a complex web of beliefs, ideas, concepts, and images that we think we are. In its dysfunction, the ego can be a negative voice in our head that would make us believe that we are separate from Love.
The ego tries to mask the truth of who we are by telling us that we are not enough, that we are incomplete and fragmented. Your voice can say things like “we are too broke, too ugly, unworthy and guilty.” It will blame external circumstances for our suffering by making us think that we are victims of mundane situations. With every deceptive thought, the ego drives a wedge between us and the reality of love.
Its main function is self-interest. Subsequently, you are constantly inciting scenarios to plot, plan, and strategize to your best advantage, often triggering the belief that we need to acquire more and be more in order to be happy. The ego breeds pain by defining ourselves as past stories of hardship and regret. It can force us to have feelings of sadness and believe in loss. It would make us think that salvation rests at a future time, and at the same time it gives us reason to worry and be anxious about it.
He judges us physically, socially and financially. He constantly compares us to others. It is governed by illusory rules that say that we will be happy when we achieve this or that. It tells us what we are capable of and not capable of doing. His voice sabotages our connection to the peace and joy that is always present.
However, upon inspection, it is clear that the voice of your ego is a ghost; the ego is not real. You can’t touch it or hold it. It depends on your attention for energy because it has no independent life source of its own. The ego is nothing more than an idea that is based on your belief in it. It is up to you to identify with it.
Attacking your ego would be counterproductive because attacking the ego makes it seem real and reinforces the certainty of its existence.
The ego is best dealt with by transcending it. The first step is to recognize that it is a product of the imagination. Like everything imaginable, you give up on it by withdrawing attention from it. Therefore, identification with the ego is renounced by being present and stilling the mind. Thoughts that would normally give the ego a voice are replaced by silence and awareness. In the expanded space of presence you recognize that the ego is not who you really are. With patience and practice you learn to identify with something bigger than your body.
Transcending the ego is easier said than done, hence the reason many of us are on a “spiritual path.” The practice of meditation, forgiveness and the extension of love will help you see beyond the illusory ghost.