Fighting Your Ego

How does the Ego impact our spiritual and personal growth?

The first time I read about the "Ego’s" impact on our spiritual development and higher awareness to this universe, was when I read The Dalai Lama’s book-"the art of happiness". This was by the way the first guide book for self improvement that I have ever read. I was desperate for help, maybe hope. looking for something that will give me the hope that there’s more to life, that things can change dramatically, and that it all depended on me-I did have a choice, no situation is permanent, everything can be turned upside down –there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel, I just can’t see it yet, I just have to keep moving forward,and pushing every obstacle in my way.

Well, since then a lot of books and seminars came along the way. I learned a lot, I am still learning. I still have my setbacks; and so called "tough" hours-which I will relate to later.
But each time I get pass one like it I get stronger, and ascend to a higher level of awareness.

Our Ego is the buffer that prevents us from getting connected to the universe.

The ego, the "I am", in other words, puts us in a virtual prison. A prison that makes us believe that the self image we have created is real. We feel we must protect it; we constantly worry about what others should say about us, and whether we stand up to the standards that our ego has set for us.

Are we good or bad? Do we deserve to be loved? Does this person deserve to receive our help or love? We keep ranking people-putting them on pedestals, or putting them in pits, but most important, we forget to put them in our hearts.

The Ego disease is a common disease.

It can ruin relationships, friendships, and get in the way of our own happiness .What I’ve came to understand, is that my ego has set me to a state of suffering, for false reasons. Made me feel hurt and disrespected, made me get insulted and offended easily, made me feel anger and sometimes even hold resentment for those I blamed for hurting me.

I came to understand, it all was merely a false reality. My ego created it to protect itself; hence I built walls around me, which prevented me from creating close relationships with people, and not forgive those I cared about for doing what they did and causing me pain.

When one releases one's self from the chains of the ego and lets only love, sympathy, and compassion come between one and one’s surroundings; one will find it easier to forgive and forget; easier to sympathize and understand the fact that the person who hurts you, does it, because he’s hurt inside, in some way or still has a memory of an event that made him lose his trust and thus he protects himself from hurting again by hurting others. Maybe that person has a basic need, of love, compassion, or understanding that hasn’t been fulfilled yet and thus, it causes frustration within him and pushes him to act in certain ways because of his hurt ego and self image.

One will find this person unaware, but one can see that the difference is that one is aware and thus can sympathize with that person, and even prevent his unaware actions and destructive ego driven behavior come between both of them and cause conflicts,when one is an "ego free" person. To tell the truth, no one is really 100 percent "ego free", but being in a higher state of awareness than most people, can help one stop the Ego attacks in time.