What's the Ego to you?

[Tom Church]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to get a true opinion on what you think the ego is, if you think it exists.

Thanks in advance,
Tom

[Nick Krygier]

Everything that you think you are is your ego in my opinion.

[evil_monkey]

I think its more of how "cool" you think you are.

[Daniel Becerra]

Eh... such a complicated thing to define. Actually, I dont think having an ego is a bad thing. The bad thing is when your ego outgrows your heart and I think Tom, we spoke about this. Having an ego (and of course seeing how you define it) is what keeps you going, isn't it? If the ego and the heart work in harmony, then you'll never give up on what you love because of your ego. But in they are not in harmony, then your ego will cause more damage than good.

[Tom Church]

Thanks for the replies. I don't know what it is yet, that's what I want to discover whilst traveling. I began to write my thoughts on it today, and described the ego as a prison, restricting my mind from being able to see the truth, like a barrier between the conscious and the subconscious, filtering and manipulating the impulses.

[dmacfour]

Here is what Freud thought:

In modern-day society, ego has many meanings. It could mean one’s self-esteem; an inflated sense of self-worth; or in philosophical terms, one’s self. However, according to Freud, the ego is the part of the mind which contains the consciousness. Originally, Freud had associated the word ego to meaning a sense of self; however, he later revised it to mean a set of psychic functions such as judgment, tolerance, reality-testing, control, planning, defense, synthesis of information, intellectual functioning, and memory. [11]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego,_super-ego,_and_id#Ego

[Sloaner92]

My ego is what occurs when people talk to me and make me feel good about myself. It becomes inflated, and I fail to see the important things that are around me. It distorts the truth.

[Nick Krygier]

the philosophical and spiritual ego differs greatly in definition from that of psychology and freud. And yes, I agree with ya... the 'ego' doesn't have to be a bad thing. It just is. We all have one, but do we think that we are our ego? If we do then it controls us, if we don't then we learn to just let it do its thing and not give any energy to it. Awareness gives us the possibility of separation of the ego and the eternal but it doesn't mean that it kills the ego. It always has been, it always will be- in my opinion.

[Sloaner92]

Something this question prompts me to ask... How do you perceive others? (That's kind of a really loose question. I hope my explanation clears things up.) For me sometimes, when I try to think about other people, my mind gets completely cloudy, and I just feel like I can't comprehend anything except for me. That could be in part because of my huge, inflated ego holding me back. What do you guys think about that?

[Ray Casanova]

my ego is me and my self respect, it is my drive, my motivation, and what makes sure i don't hit the bottom of the barrel.

my ego is my prime motivator.

[Bob]

Your ego is the part of your subconscious that communicates with your conscious mind. It is the balance between your desires and logic.

When you see a girl dressed in a nurses costume your:
ID says, I WANT I WANT I WANT
Superego says, SAY NO SAY NO SAY NO
Ego says, lets test the waters and see where it goes from there and hopefully she doesn't have STDs up the wazoo

When your "ego" manifests, this is because you are compensating for something.
You may wear clothes beyond your financial means to compensate for your lack of wealth.
You may get angry when somebody challenges your masculinity
You may get angry if somebody says you have a tiny penis
You may act tough to show others you are tougher than you are
You may always have an answer even if you're wrong to compensate for your lack of intellect

there are many aspects of the subconscious and ego, but what it really comes down to is how much of your personality relies on your ego versus how much is based on true confidence, empathy, sympathy, and modesty.

[Chikito]

When your "ego" manifests, this is because you are compensating for something.
You may wear clothes beyond your financial means to compensate for your lack of wealth.
You may get angry when somebody challenges your masculinity
You may get angry if somebody says you have a tiny penis
You may act tough to show others you are tougher than you are
You may always have an answer even if you're wrong to compensate for your lack of intellect

there are many aspects of the subconscious and ego, but what it really comes down to is how much of your personality relies on your ego versus how much is based on true confidence, empathy, sympathy, and modesty.

This might be true but how then do you explain the 'ego' you feel when a group of people praise you or the sense of superiority you get when you find out your better than a group of people in one way or another (grades, sport etc)?

[Tom Church]

It's awesome to see how varied all the responses are. The Ego means something different to all of us, and I'm wondering what it means for me, as it isn't a physical thing and shouldn't be personified. Today, I wondered whether The Ego is just a term (created by me for me) for the confusion in the mind created by conflicting interests.

For example, we're taught to want and need conflicting things...a house, a car, financial stability, sex...and then metaphysical things such as love. So by removing the ego, I'm essentially clearing the brain out of the clutter and finding the true me.

Which brings me to another question, does the ego create the desires, or does it prevent you from acquiring them?

Also, without the ego, does 'me' exist?

[Bob]

I don't want to say anybody is wrong or right in this case but the ego doesn't exactly desire anything. It is medium to your consciousness for both your desires and logic.

In essence, an ego is a negative trait because it's technically the compensator.
If you act all tough and threatening when you get insulted it's because you're emotionally weak about that topic.

It is impossible to remove your ego from the picture.

It is however possible, to understand which of your traits are affected by your ego and learn to harness those behaviors and emotions and act in a way that is more modest and true.

In order to understand how to do this, we need to understand which of your traits and behaviors are affected by your ego

[Ray Casanova]

Bob, in your last few posts you are obviously trying to overcompensate the fact that some of our answers made you feel insecure about yourself.

[Bob]

thanks ray, that gave me a good laugh for today

[Tom Church]

BUT. The ego isn't a thing. It is no physical being, and shouldn't be personified as one. So how and why does it arise?

[blaque.ops]

I think ego is something that not many people actually have. Everyone has a basic level of self respect but ego is something much more. I'm not a big fan of other peoples egos and I make it my mission in life to bring these mofos down a step or two.

[Nick Krygier]

I'm normally not one to point out something like that unless it's Blackbull but I think Ray is right Bob... and your reply to him simply reinforced it. Don't beat yourself up over it. It's simply an observation and there is no way you can deny that is what he is feeling. So you accept it as his reality and possibly check yourself to see if there is truth behind it, or you deny it, whether it be true or not because it could be an insecurity in himself that he sees in you out of reaction. Who knows... I have a hunch but it doesn't matter unless you want me to say

[Bob]

You lost me nick as i have no idea what you mean by that. Ray's comment was a joke in regards to my previous post

[SilverStreak]

Clearly Nick is trying to overcompensate for lack of posting in the thread and feelings of inadequacy by reinforcing that Bob is overcompensating about his inadequecy with accepting other opinions and compensating further by calling them jokes which is in response to Tom's compensation for the responses given and furthering discussion which clearly proves the fact that Leonidas was overcompensating for most likely a small erectile area which his wife compensated for by becoming a homosexual, which further generations compensated for and led to Greek expansion and more.

Unequivocally speaking, I believe I stand to be THE correct person here. I'm right. You're wrong. It's as simple as that. You petty fools argue while I wait for the perfect moment to swoop in and give you the revelations you've been looking for. I am a master among you, and I shall use these powers for good not evil.

This is not ego my friends. This is selflessness.

[A New Me]

You doing alright Silver?

[Tom Church]

I think that was possibly the best thing I have ever read from you Alex! The most decisive, excellently clear, concise and to the point post. No questions, no queries, not even a waver of doubt, just pure action and I love it.

Take note though, true leaders are servants to all.