Ego

Ego. What is ego? To be egoistic is to be one devoted to one's own interest and advancement, an egocentric person, an egotist. Egoism is an excessive or exaggerated sense of self importance as oppose to altruism which is the selfless concern for the welfare of others.

To another extreme, the art of cunning would be Machiavellianism which is a tendency to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain while an alter ego is another side of oneself, a second self or personality. I think the highest form of self deception is Suitheism - the belief in self as a deity. That is you think you are God. Perhaps this includes those people who think they are God among the lowly humans? Let me share some wise quotes on ego:

Whenever I climb, I am followed by a dog called ego - Friedrich Nietzsche.

Any time there is a struggle between doing what is actually right and doing what seems right, then your ego is interfering with your decision - Darren L. Johnson.

One may understand the cosmos but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star - Gilbert K. Chesterton.

The minute you start compromising for the sake of massaging some body's ego, that's it, game over - Gordon Ramsay.

Ego has a voracious appetite, the more you feed it, the hungrier it gets - Nathaniel Bronner Jr.

Ego is the biggest enemy of humans - Rig Veda.

If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves does not disturb us - Hermann Hesse.

The people we judge and hate in life are in fact reflections of our disowned selves - Dr. Hal Stone.

When the game is over, the king and the pawn go into the same box - Italian Proverb. (Our souls are all equal. I like this one.)

Those that fight do not listen. Those that listen do not fight - Fritz Perls.

It feels good to blame someone else, especially if they are smaller than you - Marc Lampe.

The ego is your enemy not your friend. It is the ego that gives you wounds and hurts you. It is the ego that is violent, angry, jealous, competitive. It is the ego that is continuously comparing and feeling miserable - Osho.

The ego does not and cannot live in the present because the present is real but the ego is false - Osho.

All troubles come to an end when the ego dies - Ramakrishna.

Stupidity combined with arrogance creates a huge ego. An egotist is a person of low taste because he is only interested in himself and never others. Ego can turn people into tyrants who are the lower self at work. 

One can never experience bliss when your ego is in the way simply because egoistic people have a strong need to feel approved by certain circle of people like those they perceived to be are very successful, wealthy or powerful. They seek control over everything and are critical and judgemental of others but often never bother to find the truth or get to know a person better. A man with a big ego jumps ahead of himself. Listening is the first tool to deal with your ego so take the cotton wool out of your ears and put it in the mouth.

A person cannot be egoistic and at the same time be spiritual. Never shall the twain meet. It's like the Devil and God. As ego is about self importance, it is man's greatest enemy. When ego gets in the way, you may think that making others wrong can make you right? 

When there is ego all around, truth is denied and in turn there is a rigid belief in lies. George Bernard Shaw said: "All great truth begins as blasphemies". There is an American Proverb that quipped: "Never criticise a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins" because when you walk in his shoes you would be doing the same things, maybe worse. Are we earthlings here for a spiritual experience or spiritual beings here for an earthly human experience? Answer this yourself. 

Confucius said: "Respect yourself and others will respect you". The meaning is the same as respect others and they will respect you. Why? Because what you think of yourself is being projected to others who in turn will reflect it back to you. 

Goethe: "Only when we know little do we know everything. Doubts grow with knowledge". Haha, ego knows everything and emotions create soap operas. Man is definitely rendered unfit to be trusted with unlimited power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players - (William Shakespeare's As You Like It Act II Scene VII). They have their exits and their entrances. Most people are getting too hanged up in the game of life, playing unnecessary dramas and games but the truth is all paths in life lead us to the same place - nowhere! So when your paths are many and forked and it goes nowhere, what and how do we choose? Simple - choose the one with "heart" and you will never be wrong. 

Ego is something we implant into our our minds. While hatred is like taking poison while hoping for the other person to die, ego is a self-served poison that gets you mad and eats you away. While it does not kill you instantly, it is like a time controlled capsule that releases a certain dosage of poison each time  your ego takes over you. Ego is nothing but "I", "Me" and "Myself". 

Ego like greed does not come to you in one single huge chunk. It is like a viral infection or worse cancer. It grows on you. If you are not in the military but you ordered people around, you have an ego problem. All people have an ego but it varies in size and magnitude. Rather your ego be bruised than be a beast. Never let your ego and pride get in the way because you will regret it one day. That is a sure thing. I said "will regret" not may regret. Do check yourself on the ego meter each day. Like hypertension, it hurts and kills eventually.

Remember, after the game is over, the king and pawn go into the same box. I wish you well on your ego trip. I mean I hope your ego trips. For your own good.