What is Ego?A Report from The Trenches by Andrew Cohen In the end it really is black-and-white. But of course it all depends upon the sincerity of our interest in genuine and truly radical transformation. That's why there is so muchconfusion about the theme of this issue of What Is Enlightenment? Because our ability torecognize the true face of the ego, to see it for what it actually is, depends entirely uponhow far we want to go on the spiritual path.A simple psychological definition of the ego is something like the "self-organizing principle," that all-important command center in the psyche that coordinates the differentaspects of the self. And that command center must be in good working order for a human being to be able to function in the world with any reasonable degree of competency. Theego as self-organizing principle is neither positive nor negative; its function ismechanistic, and in that, it has no self nature. But there is another definition of egotheone that inspired the investigation upon which this issue of WIE is basedand the ego inthat definition has self nature. The human face of that ego is pride; is arrogant self-importance; is narcissistic self-infatuation; is the need to see oneself as being separate atall times, in all places, through all circumstancesand that ego is the unrelenting enemy of all that is truly wholesome in the human experience. When this ego is unmasked, seendirectly for what it is, finally unobscured by the other expressions of the personality, onefinds oneself literally face-to-face with a demona demon that thrives on power,domination, control and separation, that cares only about itself and is willing to destroyanything and everything that is good and true in order to survive intact and always incontrol. This demon lacks any capacity for empathy, compassion, generosity or love;delights in its perfect invulnerability; and, worst of all, will never ever acknowledge thatwhich is sacred.But I knew none of this when I began teaching the path to liberation fourteen years ago.At that time, I had no idea of the magnitude of the battle I had taken on by daring to leadothers to the yonder shore. In those days I thought spiritual experience, tasting themiraculous and unlimited depth of the Self beyond time and mind, would instill enoughreverence and awe in the seeker to empower them to face whatever needed to be facedand bear whatever needed to be borne in order to be free. But oh how wrong I was! Ididn't realize then that for most seekers, enlightenment experiences were not the end of the path but only the beginning. It's true that without that depth of spiritual experience, itis very difficult for a seeker to take the possibility of their own liberation seriouslybuteven when one has experienced that depth of Self, when push comes to shove, when our back is against the wall, when like Jesus or the Buddha we must face directly into thedarkest regions of the human soul, how many among us will have such love for the truthalone that we will courageously remain unmoved and immovable?
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