Thursday, July 6, 2017

Ego preservation strategies (1)



Saw this conversation recently online in a 'nonduality' forum:


Questioner: What do people think about the ego? It's hard to find when it is looked for. Maybe these practices are just engaging the ego itself?


Respondent 1: Well I've never found the ego.. I don't know what people are talking about when they talk about 'ego'.


Respondent 2: Who's asking??


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Are these sorts of question / answer sessions really helpful?


No. Neither for the questioner who is none the wiser, nor for the respondent.


What are these sorts of responses, actually?


Ego preservation strategies.


Ego preservation strategy 1) Blatant denial of the ego by the ego-- "It doesn't exist!", "What? There's no such thing as an ego.. find me one!", "I can't find any ego here!"


Ego preservation strategy 2) Over-exertion or over-effort in trying to extinguish the ego by the ego-- "Kill the ego!", "I need to fight the ego, suppress it, and conquer it!", "I need to detach from the ego!"




Stay calm. Keep practicing.