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Originally Posted by yoopersmith  Tolle says that he doesn't have an ego...which I suppose might be true. I like to believe that his ego is now subordinate to his consciousness...the ego is no longer is charge...his consciousness is...
...I am working toward this goal as well...the ego is sneaky and mine likes craft beer, football, and other vices...they are falling away slowly... |
The 'ego' is an outdated term which psychiatry has used to try and define the self. I believe everyone adopts an ego, or rather, a self, by default and my definition may not match others, but I think the ego is our basic sense of self, our sense of ‘I-ness’.
Beyond that, it is difficult to describe. Sometimes, during meditation, I am aware of being the ‘silent witness’, just observing. But, I can’t keep that up all the time. As soon as I begin to interact with my mind/reality/others, I am being a ‘self’, which is the ego.
I agree with Maguru that this self is the human being, the person, and we can’t really separate ourselves from that. The self is the ego. It may be coloured/tinged with various emotions and beliefs, which come and go, but that self is basically who we are. I also believe that when we die, that basic sense of human self, of being a person, continues to exist. We are, and always will be, human beings. We don't morph into God or reincarnate as stick insects. We each have that unique quality of being a human being, a person.
When we talk about conquering the self or the ego, what we really mean is conquering the lower, negative aspects of the self which manifest as selfishness, greed, envy, etc, not destroying the actual self/ego.
And who or what is the ‘silent witness’ – God, the soul, pure consciousness? Perhaps, that is what we truly are. I don't know. But, in the meantime, I quite like being myself. I don't believe it is necessary, and perhaps it could even be spiritually detrimental, to try and crowbar the two apart.
Enjoy the unique gift of being spirit and self combined, as a person, as a human being.