Editors Note: There is often some confusion between this definition of the ego and Freuds definition. This is addressed in The Confusion About Ego.

This is your consciousness and your awareness. It is beautiful, perfect, and peaceful. It is the I inside you, the “I” that controls your body, mind, and emotions. It is the true I am. It is what you were before life happened to you.

This is what covers your inner peace. Your ego has stepped in, and life has left its scars. Your peace and your beauty have been obscured by countless scars ugly marks that cover up your true consciousness.

(Now that Ive got your awe and attention with my stupendous Photoshop skills, I’d like to add that this is a seriously long post nearly 6000 words. It is also my favourite and most heartfelt so far, but youll get your moneys worth from reading it.)

Note: Ive also split this post up into pages, so dont forget to read the other pages!

The ego that obscures your peace

What are these blotches that mar your perfection?

They represent the little things that you take for who you are: Your likes, dislikes, loves, hatreds. They are the history that you can’t let go of. They are your memories, your hopes and dreams. They are your little habits, your hobbies, your mannerisms. All these, each one a mark, combine to make your personality, your ego, your identity.

But what is your personality? It is something that you have mistaken for yourself. Almost everybody does they dont know any better. Ask anybody who they are, and most likely they will tell you their name, their age, their job, their race, their gender, their history, dreams, likes and dislikes. They define themselves by these.

These are all part of your personality. But they are merely about you. But they are not you. They merely describe you, but somehow we have reduced ourselves to these descriptions, these little details. We have forgotten who we are; weve forgotten the true core and consciousness that has been covered by all these details. And its sad, because the core contains everything we seek everything we look for in the goals we chase unshakeable peace and joy.

Read this post, and then read all the previous posts even the ones based on modern psychology, whether they are on anger, sadness, forgiveness or happiness youll find this truth hidden in there somewhere.

Stop the thoughts before they overtake you. Stop the emotions before they take you over. Stop the ego from telling you that things shouldnt be this way. They all lead to one teaching stop the ego from marring your peace. Most methods, from old religions, to modern psychology, are based around this they just describe it in a different way. Either that or they are ignorant of the core consciousness and dont mention it.