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I just saw an interesting Oprah interview with Ekhart Tolle (author of the Power of Now and other books). He told a take to illustrate Ego, in which a high-ranking Japanese officer went to a Zen Master and asked him what Ego is. The zen master said "What a stupid question, why would you ask me that?" and the officer got angry and indignant and started yelling "How dare you talk to me like that!", The zen master said "THAT is Ego". Ekhart said it's the false self, the part that takes things personally, that gets hurt feelings and defends itself. So "Ego Death" seems like it would be letting go of taking things personally, realizing our true selves are not our outer selves, and don't need to be validated, but our inner selves, our spirit.
Thank you...yes...taking things "personally"...that, to me, is the bad part of the ego.
Yes, then it manifests ..and I recognize it in a NY minute...as indignatiion, hurt, anger, defensiveness, revenge or
spitefulness....I spot it instantly in myself or others.
In myself I stomp on it...as if it is The "Enemy" or the Christian "devil".
Couldn't rep you again, ha! Catch up with u later...
The ego is a glutton for thoughts, and it isn't discriminate as to what kind of thoughts. I've tried the relaxing moments of thoughtlessness, (I'm lucky if I can go 2 minutes) but I don't get far and that blasted ego is saying: I'm bored! I'm bored! Entertain me! Convince me I'm still alive!
I do treasure the times I can be thoughtless, ego-less, as it's a great massage to the mind! Ah! That calm, empty feeling!
I doubt whether it's achievable to completely kill the ego, but for minutes at a time, you can, with practice!
"Ego death is characterized[note 7] as the perceived loss of boundaries between self and environment,[18][19] a sense of the loss of control,[20] personal agents, and cognitive-associations.[21][22][23] This re-organization, reidentification, and reinterpretation of boundaries between self and environment is experienced through sensations[note 8] of wholeness[note 9] or by refutation of the "I".
According to Stanislav Grof, "Ego death means an irreversible end to one's philosophical identification with what Alan Watts called skin-encapsulated ego."
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