Our ego is our sense of identity in this world, and is used to understand who we are in comparison to who we are not.

As an innate aspect of the human being, the ego serves primarily as a tool for surviving and making sense out of the world and understanding where and who we are in the context of our environment.

When we use the word "I", we are describing our unique sense of self.

 

"I am this. I am not that."

 

There is nothing wrong with having an ego, for we all have one. The problems arise due to the fact that our sense of self develops rapidly as we are children, and usually remains concrete and unchangeable throughout our adult lives, thus creating a limited reality experience which is often one filled with pain and suffering due to belief systems we have created years and years ago.

For example, as children, we are extremely impressionable, and one event of duality is enough to cement in our minds a 'fact' or a new belief system about life in general. If you were a child and saw your parents getting into arguments, or leaving the home, then you may have created a belief that says "I am not loved." "Men are scary" "Women reject me" etc.

What happens is that we take these beliefs and mindsets and carry them throughout our lives, using them as templates for how we perceive reality through our senses. This extremely subjective world view may be incredibly beautiful, or incredibly dark and sad, all depending on the sense of self we created while we were children.

Overcoming the Ego

In order to overcome the ego, we must look deep into our subconscious minds and understand the belief systems that limit us. This is not an over night process, rather it is a ongoing one throughout life. It often takes us multiple times to repeat the same experience before we understand there is a root cause in our mind that is creating it.

For example, if you believed "Women/Men reject me", then you will live your life constantly creating experiences which mirror your internal beliefs. Failed relationships will occur, heartbreak will be repeated, all because we hold the belief of what is true.

In order to break the cycle, we must dive deep and understand what the root belief is that is driving our experiences. Through meditation, thoughtful prayer and reflection, or even psychedelic healing medicines, we are able to relax and allow our shadows to show us our truths.

All it takes is the awareness of one experience to understand where the belief system came from, and from there we can observe the belief from the perspective of a new adult with an expanded awareness. In the above example, if one felt that "women/men reject them", well the original belief could have been made by witnessing their parents fighting and arguing.

By being present in the moment, one could understand now as an adult the intense realities of a relationship, and could have compassion for his/her parents and realize they didn't truly feel that way towards them, but as a young child, you witnessed what you witnessed, felt what you felt, and made a belief in order to survive through that reality. Even if you did receive negativity as a child, your experience is not who you are.

 

Who you believe you are is truly who you are.

 

Opportunity

Opportunity comes when we understand our beliefs and rework them or change them to match our greater and expanded view of reality. In this example, we can heal our inner child by telling him/her she is ok, that they are loved, accepted, and was just subject to an experience that many of us go through. It's not part of their identify, but just an experience of life.

By breaking through and reworking our beliefs, we are able to change the course of our present and future moments by no longer reacting in the same unconscious way. We are instead able to decide what resonates with us now.

There are truly unlimited possibilities in regards to how we can express ourselves, achieve, and create. It is when we look through the shadows and see our truth that we have the power to overcome our old habits of the subconscious mind and create a new awareness, and from that, a new experience.

Thoughts Change Matter

As we create new belief systems, we open up new pathways in our brains, essentially creating new synapses which allow neurons to fire in new directions. The science of neuroplasticity shows that when we change our perspectives and open up to new beliefs and possibilities, we literally and physically rewire our brain matter, showing physical evidence that our thoughts affect our physical world.

These changes are intense, as they allow us a new course for life with unlimited possibilities, reshaping our ego in a greater and expanded awareness of who we truly are.

How have you overcome your ego? What realizations have you made that have helped you grow and love yourself more?
Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading!

Much love
Bryan Divisions