The Ego VS The Self. What you should know in order to live in peace.

I’m sure we all battle with our egos at times. More times than we’re aware of. They’re loud, they want to be seen and they want to be right. They annoy me the absolute most. I swear I don’t notice mine until after I react. I get tested by life all the time. Whenever I feel at peace the universe humbles me real quick. As it should. In truth, not one person knows it all and maybe there is no way to get rid of the ego completely. But we can quiet down the ego. We can learn to distinguish who in our mind is speaking and to what voice we listen then act upon. We can start living through our consciousness rather than the ego. When we do so, we feel at peace far more often.

To start we have to know how to observe and be present. Only when you’re fully present can you truly get to know yourself. But who is the self that we constantly talk and think about? There has to be an “I”. An “I” that experiences the world, an “I” that feels everything, an “I” that has opinions and beliefs. An “I” with memories. In truth we are a consciousness that is aware of everything that keeps happening around us and to us. Distinguish the difference between the you that experiences life and the you that is conscious of it. The ego actually hangs around the you that experiences life. The ego thinks everything happens to you. The ego feels everything deeply and the ego loves feeling like the victim of life. The ego sees life as yours and only yours, because it can’t put itself into the perspective of others. The egos only perspective is itself. Life happens on its own. Life doesn’t happen to you specifically. This life exists and lives, this life is constantly moving and changing forward. This life and the existence of everything is something the ego doesn’t understand. The ego sees everything as an accessory for your story. You are this life. You are everything just as much as everything is you. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It’s very much beautiful.

When you quiet down, slowly becoming aware of your surroundings and the breaths you take, you can start hearing the voices that go through your mind. So many voices that we can start mixing up realities, beliefs and opinions. So many voices that we can easily start feeling overwhelmed by life’s "challenges". Your challenge is to observe the thoughts you think and not to associate with them. Separating the thinking that you do and the conscious part of you that just observes that thinking will bring you confidence like no other. You will stop relying on your thoughts for answers. In our thinking we can’t find the deep answers our souls crave. You will stop giving your ego so much attention because you have stopped acting upon its thinking. When we say “I think that’s the answer” or use the phrase “I think” in any context, we use it in a way where we’re not sure. As if we know that our thinking can’t be 100% correct. We use “I think” because we want to give a logical answer, yet we know we can’t rely on it. We cannot rely on our thoughts and thinking alone. Subconsciously we know our thoughts change constantly, therefore they do not hold the real answers. Next time you say “I think”, analyze in what context you’re using it or have used it.

If you were to ask me years ago what a spiritually healthy and mindful person acted like, I would say that they make the right decisions, meditate and write. I had this "perfect" visual of what spiritual growth and a conscious lifestyle looked like. However, there is no ideal for your higher self. If you were to focus on the end result of your spiritual growth, you would miss the whole point of it all. The journey towards your higher self never ends. The journey itself is the vocal point. Therefore you can’t deny or reject it. Fall in love with the process of it all. The pain, the hurt, the endings, the beginnings, the love, the hate. I can’t help but to thank my ego for making me feel so passionately sometimes. I can’t help but to appreciate the people that have hurt me and the rejections I have faced. You can’t make any wrong or right decision, as they all contribute to your growth. Therefore, can we really reject and hate the ego?