The Nature Of The Ego

[Victor Mgazi]

"As long as you take yourself to be a person, a body, a mind, separate from the stream of life, having a will of its own, pursuing its own aims, you are living merely on the surface and whatever you do will be short lived and of little value, mere straws to feed the flames of vanity."                                                                 Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj 

Ego vs. Love 

When I started learning about spiritual enlightenment, I was drawn to the idea of infinite being. The fact that I could exist free from all suffering was a pleasant thought but of course this is only pleasant for the ego. Its very nature is for self preserving. After a crucial self reflection I realized that most of my life if not all is based on fear. My survival and well being was my number one priority until I became a little conscious of the bigger picture. Now love has become my priority and expanding it is the goal. I'm learning to appreciate the beauty in everything, even the ego itself, its nature is of high intelligence and I am learning to be conscious of that. I have learned that loving something allows you to be conscious of its absolute nature and is the most efficient non-dual approach to awakening. This is a sincere confession from my (ego) point of view. 

Eposing the ego's tricks. 

Now that I'm learning to accept and love the ego for it is also a part of the absolute, Its tricks are also being revealed to me and i confess them so that there's more awareness to its tricky nature. 

I will always be open minded when I self reflect about my fear driven actions but I can only understand so much without falling in any trap set by its nature again. For instance, me speaking about the ego like it's something external is one of the tricks I fall prey to. Followed by dishonesty or self deception and the lack authenticity, etc. Really the list goes on but like Leo said in his video on collective ego, "really it's a thing of beauty and something that only God could accomplish." 

If you have some information perhaps that you have discovered from personal experience that you would like to share then feel free. For instance have you ever noticed how the English language reinforces the notion of a self with all the personal nouns and phrases, ' I am..., I will..., Are you, etc. The ego has many tricks up its sleeve, it's honestly beautiful. Collective ego is one of my favorite topics because in essence this has shaped most of humanity's current state. Hopefully humanity will one day comprehend its psychology. All it takes is transparency and will. And if you have questions regarding the ego, with or without the answers to, feel free to state them and hopefully they will get answers, that's if the ego is willing to confess. 

Open your heart and you will open your mind! 

[Nahm]

@Victor Mgazi Infinite love for you Victor. 

[Victor Mgazi]

@Nahm Thanks, I wish you infinite love too. 

[Victor Mgazi]

Since me and you don't actually exist then is there really a seeking going on since seeking suggests a seeker and if not then what exactly is being enlightened? The ego? 

 

 

 

[Nahm]

Hey! Careful. You’re gonna blow it for everybody. ?

[Victor Mgazi]

@Nahm I don't know what you mean. 

This is a complete mystery for me too. Should I not be asking this question? I would really appreciate an answer to it if it's trouble. 

[Victor Mgazi]

16 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

@Nahm I don't know what you mean. 

This is a complete mystery for me too. Should I not be asking this question? I would really appreciate an answer to it if it's trouble. 

Sorry, I meant if it's not trouble. 

[Nahm]

2 hours ago, Victor Mgazi said:

Since me and you don't actually exist then is there really a seeking going on since seeking suggests a seeker and if not then what exactly is being enlightened? The ego? 

 

 

 

I was just kidding. 

The only answer really,  is who’s asking? 

And who’s being asked?

 

[Faceless]

The seeker is one and the same process as the seeking. 

If there is still a seeking, one still thinks they are seperate from the seeking itself.

Self perpetuation of “the i” who seeks security in time. 

The notion of division-duality between the experiencer and the experience remains. Therefore conciousness is still bound by its content as the independent i. Unless that content ends, the i am nothingness notion remains an idea born of things. 

Sneaky sneaky thought, it will get you ?

 

[Victor Mgazi]

@Faceless so would you say enlightenment is also a movement in thought since it is yet to be attained? And if so then is it not inevitable? 

@Nahm well that's just the thing, the whom is just the universe asking itself since there's no person here. Me commucating with you is just one incredible phenomenon that is inevitable and perfectly infinite. Really it's a thing of beauty this experience, I just wish there wasn't so much mystery here. 

[Faceless]

16 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

so would you say enlightenment is also a movement in thought since it is yet to be attained? And if so then is it not inevitable? 

If you see the significance of what was said, all these questions become quite obvious. 

I would just explore more into this division-duality that takes place. 

Its much easier to start nearer to the conditioned consciousness as t is, instead of accumulating ideas that have been invented by thought 

16 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

well that's just the thing, the whom is just the universe asking itself since there's no person here.

Is this a movement of thought? 

If the conditioned consciousness as the i in time has not ended, how can one be sure that is the case, and not just another figment of the imagination? 

Just a couple questions we can ask ourselves. 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Faceless

[Faceless]

28 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

so would you say enlightenment is also a movement in thought since it is yet to be attained?

I never pursued enlightenment. And as I see it now, I feel to seek “enlightenment” is just another positive manifestation of ego. 

Plus if we seek an idea, any result will be narrowed down by that limited idea of what we think enlightenment would be. 

The way I see it, in the ending of the conditioned content as the i, what may lie beyond will be waiting. But not to be concerned with that. 

We cant seek what what don’t, and cannot know. Start with what is the case, start close to home. With fear, sorrow, pain, pleasure, identification, and so on. 

 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Faceless

[robdl]

9 minutes ago, Faceless said:

I never pursued enlightenment. And as I see it now, I feel to seek “enlightenment” is just another positive manifestation of ego. 

Plus if we seek an idea, any result will be narrowed down by that limited idea of what we think enlightenment would be. 

The way I see it, in the ending of the conditioned content as the i, what may lie beyond will be waiting. But not to be concerned with that. 

We cant seek what what don’t, and cannot know. Start with what is the case, start close to home. With fear, sorrow, pain, pleasure, and so on. 

would you say, rather than seeking enlightenment, simply bring total attention to this "seeking" quality in the movement of thought?  Just to watch it, to see what its nature is, and see what happens with it.  To investigate it without any motive or intent; not to change it (i.e. condemn or reject it), but to observe it.

Edited July 12, 2018 by robdl

[Victor Mgazi]

@Faceless don't you believe in anything? I mean don't take this in a wrong way but it just seems like your entire life is based on one mind set - the movement of thought. Don't you think there is a reality that can be communicated? 

If the absolute has infinite intelligence then couldn't the universe learn the truth (that is, what exists)? Think about it. 

[Faceless]

13 minutes ago, robdl said:

would you say, rather than seeking enlightenment, simply bring total attention to this "seeking" quality in the movement of thought?  Just to watch it, to see what its nature is, and see what happens with it.  To investigate it without any motive or intent; not to change it (i.e. condemn or reject it), but to observe it.

Indeed

 

As long as we see “it” as being seperate from “the i” this will seem difficult. 

 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Faceless

[Faceless]

Start with what is actually happening in yourself. Is that happening seperate than “the you?” 

 

6 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

@Faceless don't you believe in anything? I mean don't take this in a wrong way but it just seems like your entire life is based on one mind set - the movement of thought. Don't you think there is a reality that can be communicated? 

If the absolute has infinite intelligence then couldn't the universe learn the truth (that is, what exists)? Think about it. 

Doesn’t matter what I think my friend, explore into it yourself. Ask yourself, why is it so difficult to remain empty-nothing? Why must we identify with things? 

You will see the significance of what is said when you have seen this all holistically. 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Faceless

[Victor Mgazi]

@Victor Mgazi @robdl this is one of the ego's tricks. 

Investigating and seeing, these words both suggest action, which then requires a doer. Hence this would be a movement of thought. 

[robdl]

7 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

@Victor Mgazi @robdl this is one of the ego's tricks. 

Investigating and seeing, these words both suggest action, which then requires a doer. Hence this would be a movement of thought. 

Right, which is why it's a quality of investigation/seeing without volitional/motivational action behind it, as I noted.  Any volition is investigated/observed with alert, passive awareness.

Ultimately, holistic insight sees all of this - the whole movement of thought-self, which includes the seeking as part of the movement.  The insight is void of doer-ship.

Edited July 12, 2018 by robdl

[Faceless]

3 minutes ago, robdl said:

Right, which is why it's a quality of investigation/seeing without volitional/motivational action behind it, as I noted.  Any volition is investigated/observed with alert, passive awareness.

Indeed.

The thing is this movement of the i doesn’t see its own movement of fear seeking security in time. And in so doing, nourishes the movement of volition-will-thought, without being aware it has done so. So it becomes a movement of self perpetuation. 

[robdl]

4 minutes ago, Faceless said:

Indeed.

The thing is this movement of the i doesn’t see its own movement of fear seeking security in time.

Quite right.   The "I" is under the impression that "fear," "volition", "time", and "security seeking" are apart from "I" --- when in fact they are all one and the same movement as "I"/thought-self.