For years the ego has been made to be the bad guy, the scapegoat and the source of all of our troubles and suffering on the path to a peaceful life. Many spiritual teachers from many disciplines have been passing information on to students focusing on the ego and the suffering and mayhem it is said to cause. We have heard many comments such as, “Learn to control your ego”, or “you must destroy your ego to be free”, or “become ego-less”. Maybe it is time for this understanding to evolve.

How about a new way to look at ego? A more practical way that reveals its purpose and perfection for your life and does not include resistance but rather the powerful mindset of acceptance. The ego is not a good or a bad thing, it is not against you and it is not out to cause you harm. The ego is you best friend and most loyal servant and is most powerful for you when it is understood.

The way it works is like this. You have beliefs about what is true about yourself and your world. The ego like the dedicated actor that sticks perfectly to the script, takes these beliefs and goes out into the world to confirm, validate and protect what you “think” is true but have not yet come to “know” is true. Therefore, whatever thoughts, feelings and actions you are going through at any moment, is the work of the ego trying to makes sure that what you believe to be true is confirmed in your reality.

For example, lets say someone makes a comment about you that is unbecoming. If you are not at peace with who you are this will “affect” you and your ego will need to go to work to reconcile this comment by either getting angry at them, making an off comment about them, reassuring yourself through the confirmation from others, (That’s not true about me right?) and on and on until you are not affected any longer.

In another example lets say you get let go from your job. The belief that says, “I AM a provider” is now in direct opposition with the truth for the moment. The ego will now kick into high gear to work to create a new job and quell the current disharmony between mind and reality.

There are millions of examples of ways the ego works to make sure one is living their truth, which is revealed in plenty of life’s joys and often includes much of one’s self-sabotage to make sure all is in harmony with our deepest truths.

The acronym Energy Goes Out, E-G-O is a way to look at this vital mechanism that takes mind and validates it in matter, that takes thought and manifests it in reality, that takes the sense of “I” and confirms it through the experience of “AM”.

No one is without an ego. Some people’s egos may be more obvious and working much harder than others to validate their existence, but nonetheless, everyone is graced with this vital part of our being that manages our experiences for us. Understanding this is huge step towards self mastery because instead of fighting what your ego is doing and trying to resist it, you can now become more of an observer and see that the egos actions are connected to a deeper truth you have held that may need to be reevaluated. Another major step on your ongoing journey of self-awareness and the expansion of consciousness.

Much love…

Howard Falco

Howard Falco, is the author of a powerful new book on self-awareness titled “I AM: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are (Tarcher/Penguin) http://www.thebookIAM.com He is a spiritual teacher and speaker on the unlimited creative power of the mind and the creation of personal reality. More about his work and schedule can be found at www.HowardFalco.com