“The journey into unity consciousness begins as we step out of our egos and into our hearts.” —Chantelle Renee
The ego defines our personalities, allowing us to experience polarity while living in the physical world. The ego (being practical, realistic, and mundane-life-focused as it is) can often try to sabotage our search for spiritual growth and union with the Divine (spirit, being as it is, impractical, ethereal, and transcendence-focused). As human beings, we must learn to mediate between the mandates of our egos and the longings of our souls.
We must endeavor to create a harmonious balance between these two disparate aspects within ourselves. To be aware of the ego is to have power over how we choose to give, receive, and express our energy—both our physical energy and our spiritual energy. Managing the gulf between the ego and the soul is about finding balance. We know that we are personalities (egos), yet we know also that we are all unique reflections of Divinity.
When we rise above our self-focused, mundane-life-distracted egos and strive to love everyone and everything unconditionally, we can embrace the Law of Divine Oneness and transcend the illusion of separation between the physical and spiritual worlds. When we consistently reach for higher planes of awareness, and confirm that we are one with the ALL, our ego can be more easily managed and directed towards supporting our spiritual pursuits. And, when our ego is not self-focused, it becomes increasingly heart-centered and unity minded. So, while the ego is fixated with life in the physical world, we can aspire to ‘get the ego on board’ with helping us to live a more spiritual, holistic, ONE-focused existence.
While the ego would like us to believe that we are separate, special, and superior, in truth we are all—human beings, animals, insects, and so on—equal in the eyes of the Divine creator. In this debate, ego’s perspective is erroneous, only the soul’s perspective reflects the truth. The ego can be a dangerous master or it can be our faithful servant. So, ultimately, our goal is not to destroy the ego, it is rather to embrace the ego as a tool to master the spiritual lessons we came to this physical plane to learn.
It is about maintaining balance and harmony between mind (ego) and spirit as they both serve our ever expanding Divine consciousness. Our ego can also serve us by allowing us to believe in and love ourselves enough to pursue our dreams with confidence. However, if the ego becomes unbalanced and we become willing to hurt or to take advantage of others to reach our goals, then we are not vibrating in harmony with our highest potential nor are we allowing space for the universe to work with us in obtaining our goals. If we allow our egos to hold a “lack” mentality or we allow the ego to convince us that we are “not good enough,” we are coming from a place of fear, and when we are in fear, we are not living with full faith, trusting in the universe. This sends a ‘signal’ into the ethers that the universe cannot deliver what we desire. In order to ensure that our ego does not get in the way of our Divine alignment, we must first trust that the universe is indeed on our side.
We must also endeavor to maintain harmony between our ego and our soul. When our ego and soul are working in harmony, the universe conspires to serve our greatest needs. When we transcend our ego’s perception that we are separated from All That Is, and tap into our soul’s perception that we are a part of a greater whole, life begins to unfold in miraculous ways. When we do this, we get out of our own way and we master the ego. And, when we are masters of our egos we can choose at any point how we will carry our energy and how we will project it into the world and onto those around us. Thus, rather than allowing our egos to be obstacles preventing us from moving into our best, soul-based life, we can tame the ego, broaden our perspectives and expand ourselves outward to embrace a larger life—the life of universal consciousness.
Ten Ways to Tame Your Ego:
- Be humble. Realize that you are a small part of the whole, vast universe. Humility will always serve to balance the ego.
- Be generous. When your ego flares, take time to give to a cause or to people. Whether it is just being present unconditionally and listening, or donating time to support others’ needs, honoring others and providing service to others brings everything into perspective.
- Do not judge. Check in on your judgements of others. If you judge someone, you are projecting that you are better than them. Remember, everyone has something to offer in this human experience, and even if we don’t fully understand someone’s purpose, we must learn to love and accept others for who they are.
- Be grateful. Always try to maintain a state of gratitude. Others have helped you to get where you are, and whether their influence was “good” or “bad,” they helped you to become who you are today. When you are seeking balance in your life, holding an attitude of gratitude is always the best choice.
- Be open. Always keep your heart and your mind open to new perspectives. If we are not rigid in our thinking, we can embrace new perspectives and use them to expand our minds and to grow as spiritual beings having a human experience.
- Think before you speak. Remember: Your words can lift or lower someone, they can hurt or help—so always use your words with love and integrity.
- Be quietly confident. Someone who is confident does not need to brag, gloat, or put others down. Cockiness, on the other hand, is a sign of weakness and a desire to seek attention and assurance from others.
- Be compassionate. Where competition once served you, now cultivate compassion. Look at others as friends and fellow travelers, not as strangers or rivals. Ask yourself not “What can others do for me?” but ask instead, “How can I help?”
- Live from your heart. In everything you do, ask yourself, “What is my intention right now? Is my heart driving me or am I acting from my ego?”
- Learn to laugh at yourself. Humor is a wonderful way to break up with the out-of-balance ego! Why take life seriously? After all, not one of us is getting out of here alive!
This post is an excerpt from my best-selling book Aligning with the Divine
