why is the Ego Important?

                       
                    

What is The Ego?

My Maori spiritual teacher says that ego is outward manifestation of energy. In yoga, many believe it is called ahamkara, but ahamkara is actually the identification, or being attached to, one's ego, rather than the ego itself.

So, that is the attachment to what we think, feel, believe, want, dislike. This mainly construes what we believe to be our ego. And this is somewhat limiting.

And yet, the ego is important, for it is this area of being that we can cultivate to being a happier, more decent, and yes, more spiritual person.

Why should we cultivate our ego?

Because this is the part of oneself that we generally relate to, that we identify with. Take it away, when we first start our spiritual journey, and then, who are we? We then have nothing us. to relate to, within our life. Take away the ego, and we are incomplete. It is an important part of us.

Plus, we do need an anchor, a background of experience for most things, and the ego is an excellent anchor to start with. It is part of us during an incarnation.

To begin with on our spiritual odyssey, we don't suddenly start having the third eye wide open, nor Ma Kundalini racing up through the spiritual channel in the spine (sushumna), nor the heart chakra opened and beaming love to all. No, we generally begin with our body, our emotions, and our thoughts and thought patterns, and what we know from our own life experience.

Then we are told, or read, spiritual "truths" which we translate into concepts that we try to grasp the meaning and the reality of. I actually feel that a lot of what is available for reading, watching, and listening to, is quite limited in what we are capable of experiencing and knowing, and, some of the modern information available, I just don't believe it. This feeling is based on my own experiences.

How do we use our ego on our spiritual quest?

It is via the ego that we try to understand the eternal spiritual truths. It is through the ego that we can start the wonderful spiritual journey of ourselves. When we hear that ahimsa, or non-violence, is the first step in yoga, how do we try to work that out? Through the ego, of course.

And through which medium is our concept of, for example, ahimsa, outwardly expressed? The ego. As time goes on, each and every truth that comes your way, will evolve into a new understanding and experience. When this happens, our outward expression of everything will also change.

We can use our ego to journey through life, in a spiritual manner.  We could perhaps understand it better, if we said that "we can cultivate the mind", although our ego is just a part of the everyday mind. It is via the ego that we can all become a better person, a person who sincerely aims to incorporate decent qualities, such as the aforementioned ahimsa, into our lives.

What do we gain by cultivating our ego?

Peace of mind, less shadows across the heart, better relationships, and a more meaningful daily life. A more lovely and loving expression of oneself. And, to me, that's really important for our life's journey.