Attached to the Ego the Problem - (817)

Egos Plus Attachment to Them

We have the many egos which is a problem to itself, though what we also have on top of that is attachment to the many egos. We have some kind of attachment to all of the egos, though with some it is very strong and with others it is very weak.

The egos that we have less attachment with are easier for us to weaken and dissolve. The egos that we have a lot attachment to are much more difficult to weaken and dissolve.

In the cases of the egos that we have a strong attachment to, what is typical is that we make progress in weakening them then we slip back and strengthen them again. Really before we work on those egos what we should first of all do is to work on the attachment that we have to these egos.

The general observation is that the more an ego harms us or the more unpleasant it is the less attachment we tend to have to it, and when an ego is quite interesting, useful and pleasurable the more attachment we have to it.

When we see that an ego is useful or helps us to get a certain outcome we will find it more difficult to weaken as opposed to one that we don’t see a use for and is very painful. An example is some fears, like the one of flying is very unpleasant and not very useful, whereas pride or lust maybe useful because they make something happen, they get something done that we find good or useful.

What is Attachment to the Ego?

The attachment to a particular ego is a concept or a belief that we need that ego to fulfil a certain function in our life. We may even catch ourselves thinking or saying “I can’t possibly live life without that”. As soon as we observe ourselves thinking or saying those words, straight away we can know that we are attached to that ego.

With this attachment our vision is clouded we cannot see how we can live without it and how the essence and or Being in us can carry out that function. We can’t even see sometimes that we don’t really need that function being carried out that way, we can instead have the same function but carried out in a better way, or perhaps something else altogether can fulfil that function.

For example, a person may be attached to lust because it stops boredom or can distract a person from his or her woes. That same attachment gives lust this function in the person and does not allow the person to see that something else can fulfil that function, say for example like walking, meditation, prayer, writing, helping others etc.

How do we Know we are Attached?

We may not really want to go into the ego but because we have given it a function we use the ego, but we don’t really feel like identifying with the ego. It is a strange situation but a real one.

When we say I can’t imagine my life without this or I can’t live without it we are attached. When we feel that we need it we are attached. When we have a use for it we are attached to it. When it makes us happy, distracts us, comforts us, protects us, defends us and other we love we are attached to it.

When work and ego and we go back to it we are attached to it. As soon as we are not attached we go hard on it weakening it and weakening it.

Work the Attachment then Work the Ego

The procedure then would be to work the attachment to the ego, then go to work on the ego itself. This way ensures progress, because it is very difficult for a human being to get rid of something that is useful and has a purpose, and further more is needed. With that out of the way we can get access to the work on the ego.

Conclusion

The first step is to investigate the value that the ego has for us, then work on seeing how much do we really need that function and how can we use something else, namely the essence or the values of our Being to fulfil that function, if it is a valid function that is.

The function that the ego serves may not be a valid function, but sometimes, actually most of the time it is, and that is why it is so difficult to eliminate the ego.

Doing this actually is transmutation, where we transmute the ego carrying out a function for the essence or a value of the Being carrying out this function.

End (817).