What does it mean to say “the ego has no control”

[Bob Seeker]

I hear people like Eckhart Tolle say this a lot.

Is this the same as saying there is no individual fee will?

does it mean that we are “karmic windup toys” and that our real Self is sitting back and enjoying the show, even though we feel like we are making decisions through effortful thought?

what is the intended communication in the phrase?

Edited September 21, 2021 by Bob Seeker

[vladorion]

The ego has no control because it's a fiction; it cannot have any functions.

Also, the ego and the individual are not the same. You can see/feel your body, but you can't find the entity that claims to own it.

[Leo Gura]

Imagine if we programmed Mario to say to himself in a video game "I'm in control, I'm in control, I'm in control" until he started to really believe it.

Is Mario actually in control of the game?

[FlyingLotus]

Aaron Abke talks about that in a clear, practical way.  You might find these two videos useful:

 

 

 

 

[gettoefl]

you have zero free will

since you are ego

you have complete free wont

since you are god as soon as you as you see the fakeness of ego

and some random fake ego is no longer on auto pilot running things on god's behalf

simply put you wont do that silly game any more

like they say, you might do anything for love but you wont do that

Edited September 21, 2021 by gettoefl

[TripleFly]

Everything happens way before our ego comes to play. A thought comes, then the ego says 'I am thinking this...'.

It was given, you never made any thought, same way as saying you never had control. In fact your very existence was given suddenly. When were you born?! Out of where?! Go back there.

[mandyjw]

You experience what is meant by "the ego" when you're feeling not so great, when you're having resistance to a situation. "It" works against itself, all in the name or trying to force through or control what it thinks it wants. It secretly works in opposition to what it says it wants. There is no "it" of course, no such evil entity, you just know when you're doing it by how you feel. It's like being so anxious and suspicious of the people on the sidewalk that you jump out in front of a bus. It's really funny when you recognize what's going on. 

Here's another good example. Last week I had to call someone for some important information I needed. I have to meet with this person every year and the way she goes about doing things is very much opposite of how I prefer things to be done. She never answers the phone, so I left a message and she didn't call me back. I didn't want to talk to her. Neither did I want her to ignore my message. I realized the humor in the fact that I was screwed either way. Because of my resistance, there was no possible outcome that would please me. Except, when I observed this and recognized what I was doing, I found it so funny that essentially, what I thought of as "screwed either way" and what unconditional love is are the same. 

This minor situation gave me the gift of recognizing and understanding a pattern. Now rather than an annoyance that I was  "screwed either way", it was the highlight of my week.  Also, later she called later and was very nice and prompt with the information I needed. 

Edited September 21, 2021 by mandyjw

[SQAAD]

It means that there is no entity in your head that controls anything. Ego is an illusion. What you experience is a bunch of feelings, thoughts and urges that come out of nowhere with no input from ''you''. 

[Nahm]

@gettoefl

Was that a Meatloaf truth bomb? 
? thought for sure that song was about anilingus.  Weird.

@Bob Seeker

The answer is in how the inquiry was proposed. There isn’t “the ego “, or “an ego “, there are thoughts appearing about me being separate. Because the ego is actually only that activity of thought, meditation is the The Way to Me.