Is The Ego An Illusion?

[Deep]

Hi, I have heard a few teachers say the ego is an illusion. I have an idea of what that might mean but I want to hear your perspectives. What does it mean when someone says the ego is an illusion?

Thanks,

Deep  

[Pramit]

ego = the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.

illusion = an instance of a wrong or misinterpreted perception of a sensory experience.

 

do you understand now? its not rocket science. 

Edited December 4, 2016 by Pramit

[Deep]

@Pramit I have a different understanding of it. 

[Kserkkj]

I like the beginning of what Leo says. Truthfully speaking, yes ego is an illusion, although you need it for practical purposes, once the ego serves something greater than itself, the destructiveness quality disappears I presume.@Deep

Edited December 5, 2016 by Kserkkj

[key]

Ego is a name we call the thought that claims sentience, control and identity.

Ego = I am Jeffery, that is my name, I have a body with which I control, I walk, talk, touch and see everything around me, I live in this objective world that is seperate from me, better yet there's a whole universe around us! all experiences that happen to me really happened, I have memories, thoughts, facts, pictures, videos and people to prove it all, I am real, how could you say otherwise, this is the most obvious thing, are you an idiot? look at me, I'm right here, looking at you with these eyes, using sound to speak with my mouth, were sitting across from each other on the ground for gods sake! Look at the sky above us and the grass below, I think of moving my hand through the grass and my hand obeys, I'm in control, I'm right here, I am real.

Now what is the Truth of that, is there really a person sitting in the grass? maybe, or is it thoughts appearing within experience claiming to be sitting there, controlling the body with which "it" inhabits, better yet what do we define illusion as? It's a misinterpretation of an event, so the thoughts that appear are real as they appear, but they misrepresent the experience because it claims to be more than a thought, thought claims the body, the experience, control & indivduality, but they're nothing but empty claims.

 

^ sorry if that's a mess to read had to make it quick, hope it clears anything up  

 

[Deep]

@Kserkkj @key Thank you 

[Tancrede Pouyat]

Imagine you're sitting on a couch, watching TV. It's off right now, you really see the screen and you distinguish it from the rest of the world. 

Now you turn it on, you go unconscious and you get so involved in the movie that you confuse it for real life. 

That's ego. 

[cetus]

@Deep Ego is the mind's operating system to navigate physical reality. The illusion arises when we think that is all we are.

[Bob84]

@Deep You believe yourself to be the ego. Thats the illusion.
Or you believe yourself not to be the ego and have created a other ego to look at the other ego. Same thing.

[Egoisego]

This ego comes from your own Brain.

 

Put it like this. Is the feeling of deras and happinness än illusion?

[kurt]

@Deep The ego is just the "I" thought that claims the cause and effect chain of experience.  For example, you happen to be pretty darn good looking, well, thats a gift from "awareness" itself, its not got anything to do with the individual, but the ego identifies with this quality and when the quality changes or deteriorates over time it suffers.  This is the basis for all the suffering in life, this ownership of experience that is destined to change.  The ego itself is not really a problem, its not knowing who we essentially are that is the problem.  Once you awaken to the truth, the ego, the person, the individual is understood as a notion inside you, the exact same notion inside all other people.  So its the dis identification with ego that is the final step.  After that the ego can do all the claiming it wants, its just that you are there observing its delusional game.  No problem.

Edited December 24, 2016 by kurt

[Aware]

On 4 december 2016 at 4:17 PM, Deep said:

What does it mean when someone says the ego is an illusion?

He means to say: no matter where I go, no matter where I sit, no mater where I look, there is not a single spot to be found that is free, that has not yet already been occupied.

Edited December 24, 2016 by Motus

[WaveInTheOcean]

The sense of being a seperated self is not an illusion.

The ego itself is not an illusion, just as a thought is not an illusion, a sound of a drum is not an illusion, seeing a car drive by is not an illusion etc etc.

What is illusion then?

The illusion happens when you, beyond the sense of feeling like a seperated individual, also begins to think about this feeling, and actually starts to think: "Hey, this is me, I am this body or this ego. I am an artists, I am a teacher, I am student" etc etc etc.

Nothing you percieve is an illusion.
Everything you think about what you percieve = illusion. ... The thoughts themselves though (The sense of them) is are real enough..it's what the thoughts contain of meaning to your true self that is an illusion. For example thoughts telling you that your name is XXX and that you are business owner ... that's an illusion... Cos you are not that. You are nothing (and thus everything).

A cat only percieves. A cat doesn't think about what it percieves. 

Humans have gained a gift: Complex language and thus complex thinking. Our ability to think and reflect over what we percieve is both a gift and a burden.

Edited December 27, 2016 by WaveInTheOcean

[Deep]

@kurt @WaveInTheOcean @Aware Thanks, appreciate it! 

[abrakamowse]

Ego is our identity. In the past in the Bible they call it the Devil, but it's just our ego.

https://jacobisrael.com/2012/05/07/mans-ego-is-the-devil/

[cetus]

This is what you look like without an ego.

[Deep]

@abrakamowse I think the ego is necessary for survival. Without it, we can't know what we want. I don't advocate removing the ego like some teachers say. That is my opinion. 

[abrakamowse]

Just now, Deep said:

@abrakamowse I think the ego is necessary for survival. Without it, we can't know what we want. I don't advocate removing the ego like some teachers say. That is my opinion. 

The ego doesn't disappear, I agree that we need it. What we have to do is to stop identifying with it, to see the truth/reality.

In fact the ego is an invention of our mind, it was never true. Who was the father of all lies? Who is the one who wants to be in the place of God?

The ego takes the identity of our body, thoughts, etc... when is our true nature (god) the true identity of us.

 

 

[abrakamowse]

And now reading again what I wrote, I think we don't need the ego.

If we have our identity in our true self, the ego is no needed. Our identity will be our "true identity/nature".

The ego is a false identity.

Edited December 27, 2016 by abrakamowse