Why is an ego bad?

I don't mean the megalomaniac ego, a really macho ego, or even narcissism.

I mean the ego that tells you where you are, the identity, the assumptions about life, the projections into the future, holding onto the past and relationships.

I know that having an identity and having expectations causes suffering. But after my most recent acid trip (first in a year) I realized that it's WORTH IT sometimes.

When I was first dosing (did 5-6 times last summer) I loved the prospect of ego-loss, but mainly because I had no use for one! All I did was smoke weed and play music. The last time I dosed (Thursday night) it was terrible. I thought of my girlfriend that I met at school, I thought of the plans I've been making as far as what I want to study and how I want to sort of project myself, what kind of a father I'd eventually want to be (all very egoic constructs, you know?) and I felt MORE of a sense of devotion and duty to that then I did my quest for experiencing unity, consciousness, etc. I hated the idea of not tending to my perceived responsibilities.

Then I turned to this little Hinduism book I've always had, and it outlined the four stages of life. I assume most people here are about where I'm at (18-34 range?). And the acid mentality seemed so much more appropriate for an old retired guy whose kids have gotten married or something.

Does anyone feel like there's a time in life for the ego? If not, do you feel your interest in ego-loss (which I assume a lot of us here have) is motivated by a hole in your personal life?

If you could have money, women, cars, be really attractive, whatever you run low on, would you trade that for an egoless mind?

I try consciously to be very open-minded, but I feel acid leaves me too open-minded. When there's only the present, when there's only the current experience, when I can't hold onto anything, that's almost disturbing to me.

I certainly value having had the TRANSIENT experience of lsd, but it's more of an attitude I would like to maintain (being open-minded) rather than a state of mind (be actually tripping all the time).


COMPLETELY UNRELATED: When I dosed last, there were some visuals, some patterns, but when I looked into the mirror my face was completely fucked up. So was my friend's face. Everyone looks like a monkey to me, with dark circles around their eyes when I trip. It's really a bizarre phenomenon for me; I feel like I get more in touch with the fact that we are all goofy looking animals pretending not to be. Just a fun reflection I always seem to have.

 

The egos bad because you get caught up in it, in its "truths." The ego that tells you who you are IS the ego you want to shed. Your ego tells you that you want a family, so any thoughts about not having a family are wrong. Your ego tells you what you are going to study, and anything else seems the wrong thing to do. Some times there isnt so much an absolute right and wrong, just what works right now, and thats what youre contending with. Forget about what you think needs to happen, what other people expect from you, what you expect from yourself, and just let your real desires surface. If youre having trouble accepting two completely contradictory ideas at the same time, youre no where near open-minded.

and, yeah, I dont have cars or women or money, and I dont really care. Im not egoless, but Im a pragmatist, and that seems to work well, for now.

 

I don't really get the ego, because it seems like it's egoistic to want to lose one's ego? Like, isn't ego loss for the benefit of the self?

Definitely, yes. I would trade being stupid and shallow for being whole and thoughtful.

 

Perhaps it would have been better for me to experience ego loss later in my life after being more accomplished. I say this because the more times I experience this, the more inclined I am to focus on my spirituality and oneness with the universe through meditation and experimentation of various other altered mental states. I think it can be dangerous for some people to experience ego loss at such a young age, they may interpret the experience incorrectly (if that is even possible), but I only say this because I have witnessed various college classmates go crazy from tripping too frequently and misinterpreting who they are, and/or letting this new image of themselves be consumed by a new megalomaniac ego. I don’t know if that makes sense, but one kid thought he was a prophet, dropped out of school. Another thought he was John the Baptist reincarnated, and he too dropped out of school. However, these 2 are both back in school right now, but I know a few others who are nowhere close to going back to school and he had some great potential back in the day.

For me ego loss has confused me a bit, I can’t decide what I should go to grad school for…should I stick with what I planned or should I follow my heart which is telling me to do something more risqué as far as education goes.

You ask, if I could be drop dead gorgeous, have the perfect man, perfect jobs, and all the money in the world…I would DEFINITELY choose ego loss…but maybe that’s a result of my experiences with psychedelics and how I was raised.

It can leave people too curious, but I think that is only the case when people don’t use these experiences and reflect on them, in order to understand themselves and life in a deeper way. Sure it can be frustrating, and perhaps it would be better to wait until later in life, but then again by starting younger, perhaps we are benefitting ourselves with the questions we create. If we didn’t question things we wouldn’t learn or grow, ya know?

--- and about the visuals, i was talking with a fellow forumer about this same thing. his reasoning for how "ugly" we can be when tripping is a direct result of ego loss, we like ourselves to look pretty so we blind ourselves from our flaws, and we do that to our friends as well. we want to be associated with good looking people. but ego loss breaks that down and we see what is really there.

 

ego isn't bad.
ego death is a temporal state that no sane person can sustain.
an ego is a necessary part of being human.
it is not the ego that is the problem, but one's relation to it.

 

our egos are jewels on god's necklace

 

God must look pretty hot. I wonder if God goes out to social events, or just admires Itself in the mirror all day.

 

Does anyone feel like there's a time in life for the ego? If not, do you feel your interest in ego-loss (which I assume a lot of us here have) is motivated by a hole in your personal life?

No

If you could have money, women, cars, be really attractive, whatever you run low on, would you trade that for an egoless mind?

Both

 

That type of ego isn't bad. But... Compare to an omlette. You have to break a perfect egg to make one. A beautifully wrapped gift. You have to open it to enjoy what's inside.

Out of a cocoon comes a butterfly. We have more to offer ourselves, inside ourselves, than our pre-programmed idea of self.

Ego loss allows us to look inside ourselves, unobstructed by our perceptions of who/what we are.

 

There's nothing wrong with that, but the general problem with an ego is when it starts takes up all of the persons attention. The spiritual practices that advocate trying to get rid of the ego are only trying to get you to do so you can free yourself from thoughts of past and future so they aren't completely dominating your present life. Especially negative thoughts.

As they say, contentment only comes now, striving and "becoming" doesn't really bring happiness but rather suffering and strain.

Being Ego-less does not mean you suddenly are detached from your everyday duties and responsibilities. If anything it's making you so your more focused on what actually needs to be done, right at this moment. Inch by inch and it's a sinch as they say, lol.

That's how it starts, the hole. You as a person start to realize and recognize the impact of suffering holding an ego has over your life, and so, you do something about it. You drop all the petty desires, the negative thoughts, regrets, drama, everything.

You can have that and be ego-less. It's when you start to think that all those things are necessary and all-important.. that your life loses it's depth. Reminds me of a quote from a non dualistic teaching called "tao te ching", you should read it.

Then that's the ego, that's attachment to past and future. Ego-less comes with a firm realization of the impermanencey of all forms, especially mental forms, like thoughts - emotions - feelings - etc. What are you going to do when death takes that all away from you? Time takes all of that stuff away.

Anyways I hope that clears some things up for you.

 

i think the only point of an ego-loss expirience, is to know what it feels like to forget yourself. when you forget yourself, you see everything else. that kind of thing is valuable if you are driven to accept the world as it is and not as your projections (based on illusion and insecurity) paint it.

 

My opinion would be a ego can be both good and bad.....Ego good= good thoughts, good feels etc...Bad Ego= egotisical.......Iam pretty sure my ego is good but i wouldnt know

 

Well, I think he is coming from the perspective that many confused spiritual seekers have - "The ego is in opposition to universal consciousness, therefor, the ego is in opposition to my goal and is bad".
And that thought, of course, is purely ego and very "mind-y" in nature. Not very helpful at all.

 

I didnt mean iit like that...I meant there are diffferent type of egos...Good ones and bad ones...Wouldnt the ego be like the personality and all that other stuff that makes up a human's mind?

 

Most people using this website loosely associate the word ego with the word mind.
But what I'm saying is that these type of people would consider ANY ego bad, because it is in obstacle to universal consciousness, which in their mind, is the REAL "good".

 

Ohh so most people are using lsd to destroy the ego?...What would be a drug to rebuild the ego?

 

Well, that's what they think they are doing, but the fact is that if you destroyed your ego, you would be a babbling, lunatic animal. Sub-human.
LSD doesn't really destroy the ego. It initially weakens it, a process leading up to a very short moment people call "ego-death", after which the mind resets itself, like a computer rebooting.

 

it isn't all about ego loss. ego loss is an important part, but it is only that. a part of the whole. the currents of liberation guide us upwards to god and unity with all beings, seeing no boundaries. while the currents of manifestation bring us downwards into definition and physical manifestation. they are both equally important. understanding and actualising the implications that they both have is vital to maintaining a healthy balance. the goal of these two currents is after all, balance. learning to find a middle ground and balance between liberation and manifestation is crucial.

with too much ego we stagnate and become trapped in the walls of definition. with too little ego we float away unable to express or manifest ourselves. the mystic unity between these two forces sees ego as a manifestation of unity.

"The understanding which alone gives value to knowledge is the understanding that, when we employ the formula "I am, therefore I can, therefore I will," the "I AM" with which the series starts is a being who, so to speak, has his head in heaven and his feet upon the earth, a perfect unity, and with a range of ideas far transcending the little ideas which are limited by the requirements of a day or an hour. On the other hand, the requirements of the day and the hour are real while they last, and since the manifested life can be lived only in the moment that now is, whether it be to-day or ten thousand years hence, our need is to harmonise the life of expression with the life of purpose, and by realising in ourselves the source of the highest purposes to realise also the life of the fullest expression."
- The Hidden Power, by Thomas Troward

 

I like the prospect of being without ego, I think if I said that I thought egos were "bad" that might not be an untruth. (really, nothing's "bad", but lets continue)

I find that if I were willing to give up the prospect of sex and relationships I'd have a much easier time being without my ego, yet I'm not even remotely interested in doing so. Whatever happens it'll happen though, and the real transcendance that you're looking for is being okay with the situation regardless of the situation, whether that includes an ego or it doesn't.

Maybe the ego is bad

But what's so bad about that?

 

A babling lunatic animal lmao, thats funny...So the ego is what defines the human being?...But I rememeber john lennon in a interveiw saying it took him months, almost a year, to rebuild his ego after lsd, then again he did trip alot.