We see everything through a glass, darkly. Sometimes we can peer through the glass and catch a glimpse of what is on the other side. If we were to polish the glass clean, then we’d see much more. But then we would no longer see ourselves.
Jostein Gaarder, 1993 — Through a Glass, Darkly
I previously wrote about my philosophy On Heaven and Hell, the Ego, Karma and the Chakras.
But I have so much more to add to this ideology—and a few new thoughts on whether the ego serves a purpose, exactly what that purpose might be from a range of perspectives, and how we can harness the ego to integrate with our higher nature.
A very brief recap from my last exploration:
- Heaven and hell as ways of being that exist right here on Earth during life as a human being living post Garden of Eden (after human consciousness awakens)
- Heaven as the path of God/the “higher” way of being for a human = Egoless, acting with pure consciousness, working at our highest nature/way of being.
- Hell as the path of the Devil/the lower way of being for a human = Solely ego-driven, acting without consciousness, personal and material pleasures, working at our lowest nature/way of being.
- Life as a human being requires us to balance these two natures. Our original animal nature and the awareness of our Godly nature that Adam & Eve awakened. We have to act to maintain balance in these dual natures, and as we do, we create karma for ourselves. This simply the natural consequence of our actions, neither “good” nor “bad”—but some karma may be preferable to the human mind.
In this exploration, I want to take a closer look at the purpose of the ego from a number of psychological, philosophical, and spiritual perspectives. It’s an ideology I keep coming back to and learning so much from.
So, I hope you enjoy these wild philosophical ramblings!
Our primal human nature: On Morality
First things first, I want to clarify the idea of morality in my heaven and hell theory.
Because I’m working with religious symbolism and ideas here, I feel like our instant interpretation of these ideas is what we have long been taught—that we have to act solely from our higher nature in order to “walk the heavenly path”, and that the “lower path” or “hell” means that simply having an ego or ever working with it is morally wrong.
Either way, there is a morality implied with the heavenly path being completely preferable over the path of “hell”, as my philosophy puts it, which I want to let go of here.
It’s still ideas of separation. Dualism.
Our lower nature means just that: it is the below, the personal, the closest to us here on Earth. Just as the heavenly nature is the higher nature, the whole Universe is higher: it’s the above, the Universal, stretching high above, in and all around the Earth.
We can be aware of our ‘Godly nature’—but we have to remember that is only one part of our nature. We cannot rid ourselves of our animalistic nature.
Clarity on the idea of heaven and hell
To be clearer in my ideas, human nature consists of both:
- Animal nature = part of us.
- Godly nature = part of us.
We need both, but can’t go too far one way or the other without losing the human experience.
That’s where I believe heaven and hell come in.
If we go too far into the path of our primal, animal nature, we walk the path of hell, in that we are cursed by—or have completely shut off—our conscience and higher nature. (Or shut off our humanity, as TVD would put it…)
However, that doesn’t mean that we should abandon our primal needs in a lifelong quest for ego-death and try to transcend too far into our Godly nature.
If we do this, yes, we might be walking the path of heaven, but that does not necessarily come with a moral high-ground. If we deny our primal nature completely, we also lose the point of the human experience; again, our humanity.
I don’t think we’re supposed to be running as fast as we can back to God consciousness and total transcendence. I also don’t think we’re supposed to deny our connection with the rest of this Universe.
We’re here to experience God. To co-create. To balance the two paths with our free will.
A Brief Psychological Background on the Ego
The concept of the ego is usually associated with psychological theories, particularly in the context of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. So I thought we’d touch on some basics here of the general semantics around the ego.
In Freudian psychology, the ego is one of the three components of the human mind (along with the id and superego) and is responsible for mediating between the individual’s instincts, reality, and societal norms.
From a psychoanalytic perspective, the ego serves several purposes:
- Reality Testing: The ego helps individuals navigate and interact with the external world by assessing and adapting to reality. It balances the demands of the id (which operates on pleasure principles) and the superego (which represents societal norms and moral values).
- Defense Mechanisms: The ego employs defense mechanisms to protect the individual from anxiety and conflicts arising from the id’s desires and the superego’s moral standards. Examples of defense mechanisms include repression, denial, and rationalization.
- Problem Solving: The ego is involved in problem-solving and decision-making processes. It evaluates different options and considers the consequences of actions, aiming to find solutions that are socially acceptable and in line with personal values.
- Identity and Self-Concept: The ego plays a role in the development and maintenance of a coherent sense of self. It integrates various aspects of one’s personality, experiences, and social roles into a unified identity.
While the concept of the ego is central to Freudian psychoanalysis, other psychological perspectives may offer different explanations for the functions of the self or the sense of identity—key parts of the ego.
In broader terms, the ego could be seen as a psychological construct that helps individuals navigate the complexities of the external world and maintain a cohesive sense of self in relation to others.
Transcending the Ego: An Ego-Trap?
There are also a number of philosophical perspectives that do not necessarily reject the idea of spiritual growth or self-improvement, but do question the notion that spiritual enlightenment requires the complete transcendence or negation of the ego.
Instead, they often emphasize the value of understanding, developing, or embracing the whole self as an integral part of a meaningful and authentic existence. These arguments often arise from Western philosophical traditions and may challenge the assumption that the ego is inherently negative or obstructive to spiritual growth, as many New Age spiritual philosophies, and Eastern philosophies lean into heavily.
I think I’m in this side of the camp when it comes to philosophical themes, but not to the point of egocentricity. It’s really all about balance. In my opinion, anything can become an ego-trap. Especially the search for ego transcendence.
Human consciousness, God, and the ego
The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil—Genesis 3:22
Every human being, ever since the Garden of Eden, intuitively knows about God—Romans 1:20
That people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other—Romans 6:23
We were blessed with the knowledge of God via our human consciousness; our intrinsic experience of existence and connection. The so-called “curse” from the biblical perspective is that embodied spirit was never meant to learn the secrets of the Gods, but we went and did it anyway, and now we “pay the price”.
We are still being pulled by our primal instincts, but our now conscious awareness (or Superego, as a certain psychologist might have called it) experiences shame, and more complex internal cognitive processes. (With great power, comes great… guilt and shame?)
This leaves us constantly experiencing a sort of existential cognitive dissonance.
Enter: the ego.
Our egos are simply the stories our brains create to keep us alive, existentially sane, and able to function in the face of all this experience. Remember, we were once literally apes, guys. This world is wildly overwhelming for our little brains.
To me, the ego can’t be treated as a cut-and-dry moral failing. So while a purely ego-driven, unconscious experience may be a hellish state of being, that is not to say we abandon the ego completely.
It’s all in the shadow work.
In short: The ego is our navigation and comprehension system for the real 3D world within and around us. It’s also our translation system for messages from our higher nature.
Our divine human nature
Right now, we are all embodied parts of God. We are each one teeny tiny piece of the Universal puzzle, and we can only see things from our limited human perspective.
We cannot completely transcend the ego. We cannot become the entire Universe. We can only experience God. And we seem to forget that experience is what we are here for. To see God’s greatness—and it’s evil. That is the “curse” we have had as a species since the Garden of Eden.
Human consciousness only exists within a 3D body. We need this vessel to channel and connect with God. We have to nurture it, get to know it, understand its instincts and intentions.
We need our ego in order to experience or channel the higher self; to embody our own divine nature; and to recognise the divine nature of everyone in this physical realm.
If animal consciousness restricts one to fulfill his personal primal instincts, and human consciousness gives one the ability to think and feel about others, what does God consciousness do?
God consciousness is everything, everywhere, all at once. An original phrase, I know. But the reason this phrase is being used is because it mirrors the truth.
There is nothing else.
God is all, from a much greater and wider perspective. God is every idea of God; and every idea, every person, every atom. God is the dreamer, we are the images in Gods dreams; unknowingly beginning and ending at the same source.
God consciousness is not only aware of everything (through our many collective eyes 👁️) but also actively engages in the ongoing process of creation and sustenance. As such, God consciousness is simultaneously transcendent and immanent.
- The transcendent aspect: God exists as a perspective beyond and above the created Universe,
- The immanent aspect: God is present within every individual aspect of the created Universe.
God consciousness is thus both infinite and intimately connected to every individual being.
TL;DR: God is the created Universe; there is no difference.
Bringing it back to the Ego
I just wanted to give a bit of a perspective jump on how and why we are a part of God, but not God’s entirety, and how the ego fits into that. To bring it back down a notch from some more out there ideas on God consciousness, I think the ego is a natural part of the human nature, which we have to acknowledge, nurture and integrate if we want to heal egocentricity, not shun and reject entirely.
What do you think? Where do your spiritual or psychological ideas lie when it comes to the ego?
Exploring the Human Ego: Related Questions
What is the meaning of human ego?
The human ego, in essence, embodies our conscious identity, representing the essence of who we perceive ourselves to be. Additionally, when we remark that someone possesses “a big ego,” we are implying an excessive self-centeredness, an overbearing sense of self-importance that overshadows other aspects of their personality, illustrating the dualistic (or dialectic) nature of life.
What is the human ego philosophy?
In philosophical terms, the human ego is entwined with egoism, a theory positing that one’s self serves as both the motivation and objective of one’s actions. Egoism manifests in two forms: descriptive and normative. Descriptively, it characterises self-interest as a factual observation of human behavior, while normatively, it prescribes self-interest as the rightful pursuit of one’s actions.
Eliza Blooms 