I don't think getting rid of ego is possible

[Roman25]

I see ego demonized very often but I don't think it's actually possible to get rid of it. Other than offing your self.

But here's a message to the suicidal people: Seems like you believe that you can’t have a nightmare if you never dream.

About ego, I think that getting rid of your ego is just as likely as unlearning your native language. It's just not going to happen. Even when you look at something, that is ego.

For example: At breakfast time in school I sit alone in lunch since it's early in the morning and I don't feel like talking to anyone at that time. One thing that I noticed is that people tend to look directly at me more often than any random object around me. The obvious deduction is that humans find it more appealing to look at other people rather than objects that they are already relative to. If you're my annoying brother than you'd ask something like "well how would you know they are looking at you? Wouldn't you have to be looking at them first?" It's a corner of the eye thing that you can see if someone is looking at you xD.

For instance, let's say that you have a dog. You are not relative to that dog since you just bought it. But over time you get used to it. If people saw a seal crawling down a road then they would be in shock and take pictures of it since they aren't relative to seeing that.

 

[Joseph Maynor]

I know it sounds counter-intuitive and paradoxical but you have to go from hating Ego and wanting to get rid of Ego to loving and accepting Ego.  But at the same time fully realizing the illusion of Ego.  It’s tricky because we tend to want to stick to one answer like “Ego is bad” instead of accepting a paradox like Ego and No Ego.

Edited November 21, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[Flammable]

Desiring to get rid of ego is still a desire. So you are right in believing that we cannot get rid of the ego. We can just accept it as it is.

As Sadhguru once said, you evolved over hundreds of years in order to have the most developed mind among the animal kingdom and now you want to get rid of it? What is this non-sense? Just use it to its purpose and it will not interfere.

Edited November 21, 2018 by Flammable

[Mu_]

Joseph brings a good point and that was very helpful in my spiritual journey after hating and trying to some how kill the ego (just a mental game really).  If you really really really observe this "ego" thing, do you really know its a "ego" or is this just another label of some sort of emotional/mental thing going on inside?  Because honestly, before you called what ever you do a ego going on inside, there probably was never some sort of marker/sign in your experience that said this is ego this is ego, and this is not this is not..  Then for what ever reason you read something, heard something, and then you just started believing inside yourself what was and what wasn't ego.  Maybe? 

Ultimately though, if you've seen or heard, or believe that all is One/Self/God/Infinity, then really what is not that, even this so called "ego"/ego naming thing appearing to go on?

Edited November 21, 2018 by Mu_

[bejapuskas]

Have you seen Leo's video What is perception? I have actually had a little glimpse of infinity while watching it. You actually have to kill your self  

[nightrider1435]

@Mikael89

1 hour ago, Mikael89 said:

I think with enlightenment you become the witness of the ego, instead of being the ego.

I agree, then I think it's about aligning yourself with your true authenticity so you can fully let go and be the witness of your life play out in unconditional love, joy, peace, abundance, and perfect harmony. 

[Hellspeed]

Update, Update, every day. 

[AlwaysBeNice]

I don't think so either, you can certainly get rid of the ego in meditative states, or in my case semi-sleep meditation states, but I have no idea what's possible.

But you can be happy if you can live in love in life

[Shadowraix]

The ego doesn't exist.

But when talking about ego and what we are trying to point to via then is more just about becoming more aware of yourself. To be aware of what you are once blinded by, not rejecting it. I like to visualize the ego as some routine in your 'program' that you can override, tweak, and manipulate. 

[Nahm]

@Roman Edouard When you’ve slept at night, and had dreams, every dream you’ve had, you were fully consciousness that you’re actually a person dreaming? (During the dream?)

[Rilles]

You cant get rid of what doesnt exist no. 

[SoonHei]

3 minutes ago, Rilles said:

You cant get rid of what doesnt exist no. 

exactly. YOU can come to know it's make-up and realize it does not exist.

[NoSelfSelf]

Ego is a concept you cant get rid of something that is not real in the first place...

[seeking_brilliance]

@Mikael89 because it's a label we give trying to explain a certain nature of thoughts. These thoughts in particular are ones that seem to be protecting us from something that most likely doesn't need protection. We slap a label on that and call it ego, giving it one word to go by instead of having to repeat everything I just typed about it every time we want to discuss this phenomenon. 

However, there is no ego. You can't hold it. Can't see it. Can't hear it. You can only have thoughts about it. It is not an object, it is a concept. And concepts aren't real, they only point to something. 

[tentacion]

If God is everything doesn't that make the ego God too? Why is it then bad and most be killed etc? I agree seeking_brilliance, it doesn't seem the ego can be found, maybe it's just thought/thoughts.

[Nahm]

47 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

And why exactly doesn't the ego exist?

If infinite could be finite, then it would not be infinite anymore.   It IS infinite, so it must first forget it is infinite, and then experience being finite. This forgetting naturally brings the consequence of identifying with the brain & body, which is referred to as ego. But in actuality, there is only infinite. 

Notice imagination, love, intelligence,  are not like the objects in the room. Though ultimately, no difference. 

You are this infinite, just haven’t remembered .....yet.

[tentacion]

It seems like it depends on how you define the ego. If the ego is the identification with the body and brain as you said Nahm then the ego seem to be real. We could also say that there is just identification with the body. In the end it's just the infinite doing it's thing and we have no control over it because we are it and it choose to exist in human form/body. We just can't remember it which is the whole point.

Btw, is the ego some entity of it's own or something like that? I think about it like that sometimes but I really have no idea

[seeking_brilliance]

5 minutes ago, Mikael89 said:

You can interact with it though, for example hitting someone physically, that ego will feel a sensation of pain.

Isn't the body a ego?

I guess it depends on your definition of ego. If you say the body is the ego, then in that context yes the "ego" would experience thoughts about feeling pain. Thats all pain is, is the thought about it, influenced by the nerve receptors that were signaled on a particular location of the body. 

But there are other definitions of ego, like the defense mechanisms the mind creates by means of evolution to protect itself. This would be more of a mind type thing, and the mind itself is a concept.  You can't say, well it's in the brain, because you simply have no idea if that is where it is. You don't even know if you are operating from the brain, it just feels like it because you feel like you're 'up there' behind the eyes and between the ears. 

Then there's the thing that there is no 'you' to have a ego. You don't exist, there just seem to be thoughts about your existence. These will come and go, and change subtly and very drastically, all within about 5 seconds ( made that up). That's just to show how subtly and dramatically it will change in the course of 5 years. Or 10. Or 20.  And that's all they do, they just evolve the story of you. One day, you might begin to notice that if you search for yourself, there will be nothing that exists in between the thoughts of yourself. Nothing to grab hold of and say, yeah, that's me. (talking about your current understanding of me). The one thinking these thoughts about myself. And then you may realize that the only thing that exists (in Maya) are thoughts about myself.  You may still be utterly confused about where these thoughts of a self are coming from, but then again you may just not care anymore. Then you just let yourself enjoy them, no matter how they arise. And hopefully you will begin to forgive the thoughts for abusing you all these years, because it's not 'your' fault, because there is no you. They're not 'your' thoughts, they just appear exactly as they appear. Then you see that even the thoughts aren't too blame, because they have no control over how they appear. So they never abused you at all. 

And then there's the definition which Nahm gave, which seems to be the most used one on this site and refers to the dumbing down of infinity to experience finity. 

[Nahm]

@Mikael89 Ok, in claiming it’s real, surely you know much, or at least somethings about it.  Share what is known about the ego.   Describe it, please.

[Jack River]

It’s real enough to be seen, or not seen through.