What is the ego?

[WelcometoReality]

6 minutes ago, Gesundheit2 said:

How do you distinguish between appearance and actuality? Ego appears to exist, but so does everything else. If you deny the existence of ego because it seems like a mere appearance, then how do you not deny existence itself? After all, all of what you have of existence is just your perception of it, which could very well be just an appearance, exactly like what you think of as the ego.

You know the old crt monitors that were used before lcd monitors? Let's say there was a completely white screen on that monitor. Seems very white. Then you take a magnifying glass to each pixel to investigate the whiteness and discover that the white was just red, green and blue dots put together and together they appeared white. Ego is the white appearing on the screen. If you start investigating what the ego is then you see that it's just thoughts and feelings (and other senses) that one is identified with. 

[Breakingthewall]

1 hour ago, Gesundheit2 said:

Can you narrow all that down into one very specific and short statement? What is the essence of ego?

the essence of the ego is its fragmenting activity. it turns indefinite reality into something definite. fragment the present moment into many moments past and future. and fragments the indefinite emptiness of being in the "i" as opposed to what is not the i

[Consilience]

Ego = a deep perceptual entanglement of Mental images + Mental talk + Emotions + Uncognized/subconscious emotional positions (beliefs) + physical body sensations + physical sights as the body/face + physical sounds (voice)

This is what vipassana meditation is all about, untangling this complex web is self referencing perception that gives rise to the sense of self.
Or self inquiry, which is recognizing how each of these different forms cannot be that enduring, immutable self, as each and every one of these is constantly changing and is being witnessed by consciousness, and therefore not the whole in and of themselves. 

[Mason Riggle]

Ego is the notion of a 'thinker' in addition to and separate from 'thinking'.. a 'doer' in addition to 'what's being done'. 

An 'experiencer' who 'experiences'. 

 

 

[Nahm]

2 hours ago, Gesundheit2 said:

Maybe, but I am not trying to catch no-mind. I'm, rather, trying to catch the mind, aka the ego. So, why can't I use concepts? I have the experience, just trying to verbalize it, if that's okay with your ego 

When it clicks you gonna be happiness. (Or, self-happiness rather, that which is already the actuality)

“What is the ego?”
???

What Is a Self Referential Thought. (That’s not a typo! There is no question mark there!)

“What”…. IS… a self referential thought. 

 

“Your ego” lol! Freakin adorable. 

[The0Self]

Ego = That which intends to take the edge off of this.

But really, there is literally no ego. The ego is inseparable from: What is assumed yet does not exist.

 

Unless by ego you mean character, which is freedom.

 

But when the first type seems to fall away... Think about how that might happen -- however you're thinking that might happen is just a dream. It literally "falls away" only by virtue of never having been... so nothing changes, and everything changes. I'm laughing reading this but it's true, This is most certainly NOT saying don't practice, just in case you misunderstood.

Edited July 19, 2021 by The0Self

[allislove]

4 hours ago, Gesundheit2 said:

So, basically, ego is God? Huh?

Exactly, but the realization is not conceptual... it's the source of any concept, in other words, no mind is not conceptual.

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If that's so, then why does the distinction exist? Why are there two words instead of one? Wouldn't it be wiser to remove either of them and apply the other universally?

What comes to mind... there are different masks you want to play. You have to play (live through) the mask, so you can clearly see that this is just a mask, and not you. "ego" pointer is useful for some of the masks.

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If by a separate entity you mean some ghost floating in some distant isolated galaxy, then yes.

The body is not separated from a direct experience so to speak. It's the one 'thing', hence non-duality.

Meditation.

[The0Self]

12 minutes ago, allislove said:

Exactly, but the realization is not conceptual... it's the source of any concept, in other words, no mind is not conceptual.

What comes to mind... there are different masks you want to play. You have to play (live through) the mask, so you can clearly see that this is just a mask, and not you. "ego" pointer is useful for some of the masks.

The body is not separated from a direct experience so to speak. It's the one 'thing', hence non-duality.

Meditation.

^^ Yes.

And... You might experience enlightenment, but then you may or not be aware of the truth that "you being enlightened" is another story. Maybe not though.

[ZzzleepingBear]

I think the root problem is, that ego is not.

[Dodo]

8 hours ago, Gesundheit2 said:

I want to beat this horse to death.

There are various definitions for the ego but very little agreement between people, including spiritual. Maybe it's because of how vague and general the term is being used and how layman it's now become. Or maybe it's just because the ego is actually a tricky beast, as they say.

From the biggest picture possible, how do you define the ego?

Creativity is encouraged, Mr. @Nahm 

Some say there is no ego, it is a mirage. 

In the dream and sleep investigations we can see from everynight experience that the waking ego is not You, because its not with you in dream and deep sleep.

It's a character we play in a game called life I guess! Hello there

So I know I went on a bit of a tangent, but I felt its important to show why we are not the ego. Its not so important after that ? 

Edited July 19, 2021 by Dodo

[Anahata]

I suggest investigating deeper in this direction :

What is the origin of thoughts?
Isn't the origin of thoughts the same as THAT which creates the impression that •there have been a past which 'impregnated' memories into your mind•? 
All the stories that make up your *human self* are nowhere to be found but in your Mind & they have no other substance but Mind.
Aren't your 'memories' = 'you as a baby', 'you as a child', 'you as a teenager' nothing but thoughts in the now?
Ego is also a thought which is occuring within Consciousness. It's a very complex and convincing one. It's something that gets experienced by You because it is being thought by You.

What is the origin of thoughts?
Consciousness.

What is a thought?
A thought can mean potentially anything you imagine it to mean, right?
Because at the fundamental level any thought is actually groundless. Thoughts are not separate from sensations & experiences as everything is being held within Consciousness.
Consciousness is That which is prior to ANYTHING. So it is 'empty'/formless and everything at the same time.

But where are thoughts arising? Where are thoughts occuring? To 'whom' are they 'happening'? To an ego?
No. The ego is itself nothing but thoughts.
It's like saying that the experience of playing a videogame is happening to the game character. The game character is a construct. A bunch of thoughts you're having. But in order to be able to play the game you have to 'entangle' your sense of self with a fictive creature, colors & shapes moving on a screen.
Ego = Identification with thought
Thought = Imagination
Ego = Imagination
What is imagination?
Imagination = God
This is why the relative and The Absolute are one and the same in Actuality.
But paradoxally, to realize that, you need to transcend the ego in order to see that You've been nothing else but The Absolute all along.
You are Truth itself. You are always 'it' no matter what 'meaning glassess' you choose to experience Yourself through. *watching the sunset*, *making love*, *drinking tea*, *dancing*, *living as Anne, John, Nancy, Freddie, Rosalyn x y z etc*, *experiencing a warm hug*, *getting bored*, *waking up in the morning*, "washing the dishes* and so on.

And notice how your ego and other people's egoes are inextricably interconnected as a unitary whole within the tapestry of Reality. So much so that once you get God-realized, 'you can't help' but see everyone & everything for what they actually are as well, which is also God, oneness, togetherness, wholeness. That's because other people's egoes are being dreamed up by the same Conscious Awareness as yours, appearing as the entirety of what you call Reality. Oh God  ❤

'What' is that which is experiencing other people's egoes if not You as Conscious Awareness in Your direct experience? 

It's not your ego. The egoes are being imagined by God/Consciousness/You.

So the same Conscious Awareness is dreaming up all the egoes including what you call 'your ego', in your direct experience.

Now...

What's the ego?

Consciousness dreaming it up.

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by Anahata

[RendHeaven]

From the biggest possible picture? There is no such thing.

[VeganAwake]

A false claim 

[Kamo]

On 7/19/2021 at 0:47 PM, WelcometoReality said:

You know the old crt monitors that were used before lcd monitors? Let's say there was a completely white screen on that monitor. Seems very white. Then you take a magnifying glass to each pixel to investigate the whiteness and discover that the white was just red, green and blue dots put together and together they appeared white. Ego is the white appearing on the screen. If you start investigating what the ego is then you see that it's just thoughts and feelings (and other senses) that one is identified with. 

I like how you put this, can you elaborate why is the self not the compilation of our senses? or to rephase the question what is the compilation of our senses with out the identification (ego) with them? and are the thoughts feeling and other senses separate from others? 

[The0Self]

It also depends on what you mean by ego. If you mean the one who knows reality as separate from it, that’s completely a fairy tale, but if you mean the psychophysical entity’s personal desire mechanism, that’s a different story. You can still doubt whether you have perfect pitch or not after enlightenment — you can’t know relative facts absolutely.

[WelcometoReality]

On 2021-07-19 at 6:17 PM, allislove said:

Yes... the point that the source is one: 

@Kamo Different from each other but the source is one. 

Without identification there is no longer the illusion of separation between subject and object.

Edited July 21, 2021 by WelcometoReality

[ZzzleepingBear]

"What is the ego?"

What is what?

Who is asking, what is?

What is who?

Who is what?

Who says ego is something?

Is something ego?

Ego is what now?

The ego?

Is ego?

ego?

is?

?

!

 

[Breakingthewall]

On 19/7/2021 at 6:47 PM, WelcometoReality said:

. If you start investigating what the ego is then you see that it's just thoughts and feelings (and other senses) that one is identified with. 

If you deconstruct the ego, after all the thought and concepts you have acquired, you find a basis: the need to survive. this is something real, genetic. as the human survives thanks to social support, this need to survive translates into a need for acceptance. It is not easy to get out of this, it is a labyrinth with no way out, no matter how much you go through it, you get nowhere, you have to rise above it. understand that you are not only a survival machine

Edited July 21, 2021 by Breakingthewall

[WelcometoReality]

44 minutes ago, Breakingthewall said:

If you deconstruct the ego, after all the thought and concepts you have acquired, you find a basis: the need to survive. this is something real, genetic. as the human survives thanks to social support, this need to survive translates into a need for acceptance. It is not easy to get out of this, it is a labyrinth with no way out, no matter how much you go through it, you get nowhere, you have to rise above it. understand that there is no duality between survival and death. although in some way there is

Survival is part of the ego and dissolving the final layer of the ego is the experience of despair and death. Nothing really dies though since it's the illusiory sense of self.

 

51 minutes ago, Breakingthewall said:

It is not easy to get out of this, it is a labyrinth with no way out, no matter how much you go through it

Believing that something isn't easy makes it not easy. Maybe the labyrinth is an obstacle created by thought? How do you get out of something that doesn't exist?

56 minutes ago, Breakingthewall said:

you have to rise above it.

Transcend it to see that it was an illusiory obstacle course.

[Breakingthewall]

2 hours ago, WelcometoReality said:

Believing that something isn't easy makes it not easy. Maybe the labyrinth is an obstacle created by thought? How do you get out of something that doesn't exist?

It's an objective appreciation.i have understood what the ego is many years ago, but it was impossible for me to transcend it until I discovered psychedelics and 5meo, a short time ago, and even now it takes hours of meditation every day so that it does not become too heavy. I know people who are very interested in spirituality, who do vipasana retreats, go to meditate in India and things like that and have not even remotely floated above the ego for a minute. most of humanity lives in the ego, and the possibility that separation is an illusion does not occur to them. So I can say that the ego is real, that the mind is innately programmed to carry out this construction, and that for that reason it is difficult to transcend it.