The ego is not evil. It has only become conditioned into a fear based control mechanism, which needs to be realigned to serve its’ higher purpose - to serve your higher self.
Ego denotes individuality and this can be a double edged sword. When ego, based on conditioned fear, is used to divide and conquer, to create competition, to be better and have more than another, ego then creates a separation between itself and the rest of creation; a division from the whole, and within self, has been created, for we are all essentially one energy expressed in different forms. When the individual can express itself uniquely with an understanding that it is part of a greater whole, then it is functioning toward it’s true purpose and fulfillment. Such is how different and unique musical notes can come together to form a beautiful symphony.
Just as there is one rainbow (Non-duality) with multiple expressions of color (duality), there can be a collective (non-ego) consciousness with individual expressions of identity (ego). The whole AND the expressions are important! We are all part of the rainbow, while expressing ourselves as unique colors of this one total expression.
DUALISM - The life process of creation and existence, expressed and perceived as duality and together forming the whole - I and the whole, mother and father, dark and light, death and birth, moon and sun, water and fire, etc; and for the topic of this article, individuality and the collective. The dualistic perspective contains ego individuality, separate from, and interacting with the collective whole.
NON-DUALISM - The philosophy of life as one all encompassing energy field, collective consciousness, non-separation, non-individuality, non-ego, oneness. There is no process, or the only process should be to shed the identity of self/ego and merge into oneness of being.
*Often there are two spiritual camps - the dualists versus the non-dualists, who argue there point of view over the state of being, or the process of attaining enlightenment.
How about if duality and non-duality are the same? ONE coin with TWO sides. Non-duality contains duality and vice versa. When heads fights with tails, there is separation within duality - ego has gone wrong. When heads and tails appreciate their differences while understanding they are on the same coin, there is balance within duality - ego is functioning correctly. When both sides of duality are balanced, we achieve unity and balance - non-duality and oneness.
Ego is important as long as it is aware of it’s being part of the whole, and this is where the ego has gone awry. The ego has been vilified, because the ego has vilified itself, by being conditioned and by turning on the collective and the unified energy that we are all composed of. The purpose of ego expression is to HELP each other through different expressions, NOT to divide and conquer through different expressions.
There is a purpose for ego, which is to help the collective. The importance of individual ego expression can be seen in the many different functions expressed through this individuality. Tree huggers, hug trees, and do not save dolphins. Dolphin savers, save dolphins, and do not hug trees. They both serve different and unique purposes. One can say that they are using there unique ego expressions to help the collective, and that these unique and different ego expressions are necessary. If we were all the same, we would all be doing the same thing. What would happen to the dolphins in this example if we were all tree huggers?
The same can be said for any individual expression of being, from being a chef, to a teacher, to a philosopher; to being a singer, dancer, or sanitation worker. All roles are important and vital for the whole, and should be respected for their contribution to the collective. Unfortunately, due to fear of being unloved, of not having enough (love), humanity has attempted to fill this void with materialism and material wealth. This has resulted in division, a divide and conquer, and an I am better than thou mentality, as well as in the rewarding of certain roles over others, based on wealth accumulation, even though all roles are just as important to the functioning of the whole. This has been the ultimate disease of humanity, the use of ego as divisive and conquering, rather than as a way to assist the whole. The ego has been polluted by the misidentification of it’s true purpose; the ego, has been polluted by the created and fear based conditioned reality of the matrix, which encourages the I am better then thou mentality, rather than an appreciation of all its’ unique and purposeful expressions of one being.
EGO REALIGNMENT
There is another expression of duality which is vitally important, which has been misunderstood, and must be rebalanced. The duality of surrender/action.
In surrendering to one’s higher self and purpose, ego is realigned with the collective whole and creative energy of all being - oneness.
Ego has become an ambassador of action and control, mostly through the experience of fear based conditioning and trauma. Ego must be rebalanced through surrender. It is OK to have an ego, as long as the ego has been realigned with the collective purpose. How does this happen? Through surrender.
In order to transform the ego from a defense mechanism against life, to an ambassador to life, one must surrender the ego defenses in order to purge and cleanse that which no longer needs to be held onto (Meditation Article). When one begins to purge and clean, one is reconnected to that which existed before and after trauma, which is love, for self and for others; one is reconnected to the whole.
Once one feels love, of self, of the whole, and to the whole; one can then truly express themselves through corrected and ego realigned action, uniquely and beautifully, in the way which the whole has intended; without fear, without judgement, without competition, for there is an understanding that every different and unique expression is just one piece of the puzzle fitting into the greater master-plan.
Surrender to higher self is necessary, before one can take proper and purposeful action. Surrender to ego realignment is necessary, before the ego can function as a perfect, unique, and beautiful expression of the larger whole, of which we are all created. The ego then becomes an expression of oneness rather than separation.
-Michael Garbe