The word “ego” is one of those words that is difficult to define, difficult to frame, difficult to put boundaries around, and difficult to get consensus on. Google, for instance, defines ego as “a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance,” whereas dictionary.com defines it as “the ‘I’ or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.” It is so open-ended that one quickly despairs of ever getting a truly precise definition. With that said, it’s high time to add Creator’s take on the word’s meaning! How would Creator define the word “ego?”

This is an important issue to have an understanding of, with precision rather than only a vague recognition there is something special and important about the ego, as much for what it does well and helpfully, as what it does wrong and harmfully. The sense of self is larger than the ego alone. The self is inherently made up of your conscious awareness as a totality, having a sense you are a discrete being, that you are separate from others, that you are a witness to nature. At the same time, you are a part of it, physically present, and vulnerable to what might happen in what you might encounter that has motives of its own and can interact with you, whether other people or even animals or insects. That sense of self is an extension of a vast soul and, as such, reflects many attributes, yearnings, and an overall agenda and purpose. Ideally, your presence as a physical human incarnated for the purpose of living another lifetime will accomplish the objective of growth and learning. As such, there is a strong passion and inner drive for that to be. People are not always aware of the details, but all was planned in the light before you arrived. The difficulty is being born in a state of ignorance and not truly understanding you are here on a mission and many, accordingly, become lost and drift along and never accomplish anything resembling the original intentions for that lifetime. Part of this, of course, is because life is not easy. The state of ignorance puts everyone at a disadvantage and causes many mistakes, misjudgments, wrong turns, wasted effort, lost time, and often being confronted with evil in some form to cause a setback that can derail a life if great harm is caused, or even end a life prematurely. Given the many uncertainties, tensions, sources of stress, and fear the average person is subjected to from infancy onward, the challenge is to even make it to the end without a breakdown of major proportions. You have been equipped with a portion of the mind that is inherently looking out for your best interest. It has a prearranged sense of importance that will look out for your best interests not just in responding to fear, as the subconscious mind is so very good at, but a part of the mind that looks for ways to get ahead, to gain an advantage, to excel. The ego will also compete with others if need be, and overcome them or outdistance them, outsmart them, outperform them, outdo them, and with little concern for what those being competed against might think about it. The ego will be more inclined to see them as an impediment or an adversary than acting with a sense of camaraderie, friendship, and kindness. So the ego is a limited vessel, a limited capability that puts the self, first. As such, it is kind of like having a suit of armor that is self-protective. It might be awkward to wear, inconvenient, even drag you down from the sheer weight and inconvenience of suiting up before you make an excursion where you are at risk, but a potential lifesaver if you are attacked and would otherwise be vulnerable and perish. The suit of armor gives you a fighting chance at least. The ego, in the same way, is more like a weapon in being quite focused on your supremacy. In a sense, it is your last refuge to maintain an advantage and hold your ground to stand up to those who would bully you or intimidate, and provide a wherewithal to weather the storm. In a sense, it is like having a tough guy persona you can step into and turn the tables on a would-be adversary by going toe to toe, and give as good as you get with whatever form of opposition it might be. In the rough and tumble of human culture and the world you inhabit, having a strong and healthy ego is a great asset. The standards commonly accepted are usually more demanding of being tough and strong than meek and mild, sensitive, and hesitant to shine one's light, let alone show off or dominate the room with a group of other people. The difficulty is that the ego, having such a narrow dimension, cannot replicate humanity and human reactions in a more rich and nuanced way to cover a wide array of circumstances, emotions, feelings, and actions reflecting the true nature of the divine human. You are more than a tough guy, more than a desire to dominate and best others, and to serve the self first and foremost and without hesitation. Those are impulses of the ego when tested in some way. That facility, again, is part of your normal equipment. It is sort of like why the rhinoceros has a horn. Having a built-in weapon comes in handy when one will be challenged by a rival wanting available females for breeding purposes and, as a biological imperative, a rhino who can stand their ground will win out and have a more productive life as a consequence. The same is true in an altercation with a predator species, like the lion, because that will level the playing field to give the rhinoceros a fighting chance to come away as a survivor when attacked by hungry predators. So in the same way, the ego is sometimes your best defense in surviving a confrontation in terms of whatever might be at risk—if not your life, most likely your reputation, your sense of self, and self-confidence. So to have a way to be strong and your own champion effectively, is a quite useful asset. The downside is it can be taken to extremes if one lives through their ego too much of the time and is not in a balance with higher intentions, more lofty perspectives, and loving vibration that will seek ways to do acts of kindness, be accommodating, friendly, and giving of the self. This the ego hesitates to do because it is not possible to have a full range of emotions and motivations through the ego alone, so it can be both a friend and an enemy to you as a human being.