Ego is the is the symbolic representation of the illusion of the separate self. Identifying with the body embedded in the world, ego relentlessly exploits our penchant for stories, endlessly repeating lies which emphasize our guilt and vulnerability. We experience ego as a voice describing what is happening and – using memory and projection – advocating for certain responses to what it insists is happening. Although ego speaks of peace and the end of fear, it always fosters conditions which sustain fear and conflict because without them it will disappear. Ego emphasizes survivability through a complex of attack and defense, all of which adhere to the principle “kill or be killed.” Ego is happy to be a problem in need of solving, just as it is happy to propose solution after solution, so long as we don’t let go of problems altogether. Ego is devoted to fear, which is its origin. It always speaks first but it knows nothing. Its solutions to the problem of separation do not work, or work just enough to keep us seeking more of ego’s “help.” Without our attention and investment, ego disappears.
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