Hi Philip,

We're all born w/out an ego. It's created throughout life.

IMO there's a fine line between self-confidence and ego. It's an interesting dichotomy methinks. Good topic.

Revvell

Great Post Phillip!

The ego is a tricky thing isn't it? It really is a process of growth, and also a sort of alchemy in a way. We have to learn to "temper" the quality of the ego and its influences. In esoteric religious traditions, one would know that satan/devil or "accuser" in Hebrew is the Ego, the shadow self of our soul in materiality. It's not something you can kill, it is part of you and even Ekhart talks about this in the webcast with Oprah about a "A New Earth", that his "ego died" but he qualifies that by saying, it's still there but he has conquered his Will in its relationship to it.

This reminds me a lot of what Rudolf Steiner talks about when trying to discuss the nature of the egoic "devil" -- when they are not a person so much as the incarnation of influences. He says there are 2, one is Lucifer and one is Ahriman.

The Luciferia Egoic self is all puffed out, its is the "I, I, I, me-me-me" mentality. Ahriman is the other side of the pendulum and is a complete negation of self. It is a dispersion vs. a building up. (for more read: http://www.doyletics.com/arj/landarvw.htm)

Steiner says says to us how "neither is bad per se, each provides gifts to human beings that further our evolution" -- like you say: it is a process of growth, "and that it is us who must learn to balance these gifts in our individual lives. His recommendation for a solution to the problem of the "devil" is to transcend the tendency towards either Luciferic frenzy or Ahrimanic tedium by creating a spirit-filled synthesis of the two in our lives."

So that's my two cents! Have the best day ever!

Hey Philip!

Great video. I have a couple of thoughts. I know for me, as I started losing more and more weight, it WAS easy to get caught up in ego for a bit. And I don't see that as a bad thing. I think if you go from not even really being able to look in the mirror, to being able to not only look, but appreciate what you see, that's a day to be celebrated! :) So that may or may not be what some of it has been for you?

Also, I hear ya on the video (what about that pimple?) thing. I have a super-hard time doing my vidoes. First of all, I'm very self-conscious a lot of the time anyway. Then, stress and detox are forever showing up on my face. Plus, I'm trying to grow my hair long again, so it's always dorked up now because it's at that in between stage. The thing that has helped me get past that each time, is the wonderful responses I've gotten to my videos, and all the people who have told me it's helped them. The videos no longer are about me at that point, they're all about those that have been helped. It helps to keep the self-conscious wolves at bay if you will.

Sorry, I know I rambled a bit, but hopefully those thoughts will help you in some way.

Oh, and btw, you look pretty damn good yourself, so why wouldn't you want to be next to someone else who looked pretty damn good? ;) Besides, I have a feeling you take pictures with just about anyone who asks. And that's where the heart part comes in. And we all know you've got heart baby! :)

I struggle with that last part a lot...the feeling like I've dropped the ego and feel total acceptance for everyone and where they are in life, and then all of a sudden it comes back out of nowhere so that I notice someone else doing something egoic and feel the need to debate it or assign it a name. I am not sure what causes the fluctuations, but I definitely feel that the ego is still there in those moments, and I would like to shed it. Thanks for this video.

Ego = Identification with Form

Form = Physicality or anything that has limits

Having a BMW doesn't mean you have an ego. Thinking that the BMW adds to the definition of you and who you are is ego.

Hi Phillip! I liked your post :) I have some thoughts on ego I'd like to share. I think many people in their quest to develop their spiritual path, forget that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. We, in the raw food community, can get really caught up in the upper chakras (if you know what I mean), but part of having this human experience and learning and growing is having the ego! So it's great you don't see it as good or bad, because it is not a polarity thing, it has a role in our earthly experience and is a tool for growth, as well as a tool to inspire one to act! What if we all were ego less and felt so beyond the constructs of this two dimensional reality. There probably would be no reason to incarnate, cuz that's our higher self in the ether, lol :) We should practice connecting with our true self for sure, but we shouldn't forget to experience being human...ego and all...that's why we're here :).
All love ~

It is wonderful you want to share pictures with friends, whether they are women or men. :)
Wow. Ego. It is a constant dance within ourselves. A struggle that no-one escapes! Mr. Lama's words have always been soothing to me on this topic. "The Wisdom of Forgiveness" by Victor Chan has been helpful on my arduous journey.

We can build ourselves up and break ourselves down. A positive exercise I have learned from some wise old yogis is to fill that space with love. When you find yourself puffed up and feeling better than others or judging, have compassion for that part of you. Fill it with love and acceptance. You are a beautiful, perfect part of the whole cosmic existence.

But that may just be my ego talking...
~Safe Journey on your path of self-study and discovery!

E=edging
G=God
O=out......ego is edging God out

Oh forgot most important. I love you exactly where you are and exactly where you are not...yet.....Love.