What Is The Ego?
We are afraid of death as we know only one thing that is ego. Unless we die as ego.
What is the ego?
The ego is an identity of our own construction.
It’s our beliefs we have about our personality, talents, abilities, life experience, relationships etc.
It’s the mental construct of our “self”.
While it can appear that the ego is static, it isn’t. Rather, it is active, dynamic and changing.
After all, we’re changing as we learn about ourselves and have more life experiences.
The kinds of thoughts that contribute to the ego are:
“I’m bad at math”.
“I’m smart”
“I’m emotionally mature”.
“I am better than most people at writing”.
The ego hides behind “I” and “me” in those thoughts and statements about our identity.
The ego is difficult to see. It appears as real because it’s our attachment to descriptions of our identity – and we use our ego to understand the world.
In fact, it’s quite difficult for the unaware person to discern the difference between what is ego and what is really them.
How to experience ego death?
According to yoga, there are 4 ways to experience ego death:
1. The path of action.
Karma Yoga believes that by doing the right action that’s aligned with your values can result in the dissolution of the ego. It’s all about making your actions aligned with your spiritual self. This could be living a life of service for others.
2. Bhakti Yoga.
This is apparently difficult to grasp for westerners. It’s about cultivating the highest love for God. This is usually achieved through meditation, prayer or chanting.
3. Jnana Yoga.
This is also term The Path of Knowledge. This is usually focused on exploring questions such as “Who am I” and “What are these thoughts?”
4. Raja Yoga.
This is the path of meditation. This is all about concentration practice, such as on your breathe, body parts and objects. It’s about gaining control over mind and emotions.
Tags: Learn To Die
