neti neti Posted February 25, 2020 (edited) On 2/23/2020 at 5:25 PM, alchemystical said: If you had to blame anything for whats wrong with everything why then you'd be pointing at the stage yelling "Its behind you!" to the befuddled actor, draped in robes reciting lines in this masquerade of life as he stumbled around, seemingly unaware of the egos nefarious presence and influence. Its such a strange thing. Everywhere and nowhere. Seeing as one of the great signposts on the path is the meeting, acceptance and dissolution of the ego I'd be interested in hearing from any of you have have wandered along this far or beyond as well as any general tales, insight, wisdom, techniques and whatever else may relate to the topic because I feel this could be a very fruitful discussion. Why do we have an ego in the first place? What is its purpose? Will this be on the test? . Edited August 30, 2020 by neti neti 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neti neti Posted February 25, 2020 Here's a couple of my ancient musings on its dissolution... 187 and.. Quote "Once the phantom menace that is ego is exposed, the illusion of its annihilation is also. The tragic "death" of our on-stage character is a cosmic joke's punchline, the ultimate plot twist whereby ego is known to have only been oneself in disguise." 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted February 25, 2020 (edited) Pop quiz ? What is an ego ? a ) b ) c ) d) e) One of the three constructs in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche f) g) All of the above . Spoiler g ) a ) 'Ego' electric motorbike. b ) ego - a type of oxygen sensor ) . c ) Ego gene . d ) Ego zebra fish from Arabian Sea. e) Yep, there are 7.7 Billion of them out there - you aint so special ! f) ) Ego Lemos - East Timorese musician and activist . Spoiler Of course, we all think ego refers to ' OUR ego ' . , Edited February 25, 2020 by Nungali Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idiot_stimpy Posted February 25, 2020 Nungali, how does the dweller of the threshold compare to the ego? Are they both the same thing or quite different/incomparable? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rideforever Posted February 25, 2020 (edited) The human brain has apparently been shrinking for 20,000 years, maybe 10-15%. I wonder if that is the reason now that we have this problematic mind. Existence seems to feel that make us all think for ourselves didn't work, so why don't we try connecting all of them into one giant hive mind and see if that works better ... but we are left with the vestiges of something that thinks for itself - now we are trying to get rid of it in all sorts of way. I don't blame existence ... and I think it's find if you simply co-operate with the dumbing down. I don't know how many people are willing to push the other way. Something else I was thinking about recently is about species that co-operate or do not co-operate with evolutions. If nature gives your species wings ... or a "mind" ... there is no particular guarantee that the species is going to start using them, the species might simply reject it for whatever reason. It's a bad time to have something new. We are really busy, come back with the wing things in 100,000 years. Or just ... we can't be bothered we are happy as we are, even if we always argue. Anyway .. the species does have to co-operate with evolutions or they will die out. And new features may get started, and then die out later on .. due to "difficult conditions". I suppose I was thinking what are our responsibilities with our higher faculties. Learning to use this thing in the head is a brave approach. Another approach is cut it off. What does the mind give our species ? Well we know it makes us intelligent in the head, not like animals, but a higher kind of intelligence. And if we are to co-operate with nature to help this mind take root and find a home, we will have to use it. - Isn't science doing that ? Unless you do it ... you have to do it. Nobody can make your head intelligent unless you exercise it. Reading the results of other people's work does not count you may as well watch a movie. You have to think, reason, solve things. That's how the mind becomes intelligent. The more that data is shared on the internet and people don't solve problems themselves ... the more the mind is unused and instead the eyes are used to read wikipedia. Edited February 25, 2020 by rideforever 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
old3bob Posted February 25, 2020 (edited) ego can be quite the clever king rat working in the shadows, and such an ego does not like voluntarily looking into mirrors, thus someone else can normally point out such ego to ourselves much better than us spinning up a story about it.....btw, a mirror is one thing and can be looked away from but in the full bright light of day there are no shadows to hide in or places to look away from...and that is what a true guru does and why they are needed at times. Edited February 25, 2020 by old3bob 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted February 25, 2020 16 hours ago, idiot_stimpy said: Nungali, how does the dweller of the threshold compare to the ego? Are they both the same thing or quite different/incomparable? Mostly different . Different in that the 'dweller' or guardian of a particular path process or thing is seen as an external force and can mean a whole lot of different things depending on the tradition. And that ego is seen as an internal force that an mean a whole lot of different things depending on the tradition. Both have accreted modern pop concepts , the first , like many things , we blame the Theosophists . The second, Freud . Although the Theosophists use the concept of 'ego' in their system ; Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted February 25, 2020 10 hours ago, rideforever said: The human brain has apparently been shrinking for 20,000 years, maybe 10-15%. So ? 10 hours ago, rideforever said: I wonder if that is the reason now that we have this problematic mind. When wasn't it problematic ? 10 hours ago, rideforever said: Existence seems to feel that make us all think for ourselves didn't work, Ummm ... wot ? 10 hours ago, rideforever said: so why don't we try connecting all of them into one giant hive mind and see if that works better ... but we are left with the vestiges of something that thinks for itself - now we are trying to get rid of it in all sorts of way. I don't blame existence ... and I think it's find if you simply co-operate with the dumbing down. I see you have made that decision already 10 hours ago, rideforever said: I don't know how many people are willing to push the other way. Something else I was thinking about recently is about species that co-operate or do not co-operate with evolutions. Are you saying 'species' have a choice in cooperating with 'evolutions' ? 10 hours ago, rideforever said: If nature gives your species wings ... or a "mind" ... there is no particular guarantee that the species is going to start using them, Oooo ... ummm , maybe read up a bit on how evolution works . 10 hours ago, rideforever said: the species might simply reject it for whatever reason. It's a bad time to have something new. We are really busy, come back with the wing things in 100,000 years. 10 hours ago, rideforever said: Or just ... we can't be bothered we are happy as we are, even if we always argue. Anyway .. the species does have to co-operate with evolutions or they will die out. And new features may get started, and then die out later on .. due to "difficult conditions". I suppose I was thinking what are our responsibilities with our higher faculties. Learning to use this thing in the head is a brave approach. Another approach is cut it off. Cut off the head ? 10 hours ago, rideforever said: What does the mind give our species ? LOTS of stuff . Maybe you mean what does the human mind give humans that no other animals have ? 10 hours ago, rideforever said: Well we know it makes us intelligent in the head, not like animals, but a higher kind of intelligence. And if we are to co-operate with nature to help this mind take root and find a home, we will have to use it. - Isn't science doing that ? Unless you do it ... you have to do it. Nobody can make your head intelligent unless you exercise it. Reading the results of other people's work does not count you may as well watch a movie. You have to think, reason, solve things. That's how the mind becomes intelligent. I will agree with this bit ^ . 10 hours ago, rideforever said: The more that data is shared on the internet and people don't solve problems themselves ... the more the mind is unused and instead the eyes are used to read wikipedia. Yup , agree with that too . That is why talking up new activities , especially in old age , and ones that rely on forging new neural pathways related to hand eye co-ordination are good for the brain . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Limahong Posted February 25, 2020 On 2/25/2020 at 12:04 AM, ilumairen said: The ego (to me) is generally the lens through which (the generalized) we look at and interact with the world around us. On 2/24/2020 at 4:44 PM, idiot_stimpy said: If man is the microcosm, and the universe is the macrocosm, the ego is the imperfect creator of the microcosm, the demiurge the imperfect creator of the macrocosm. Ego and the environment? EGO &/vs ECO? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Limahong Posted February 25, 2020 20 hours ago, Nungali said: All of the above . Long long ago ~ I was full of ego. My favorite dance... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted February 26, 2020 The 'talent' over there is .... 'astounding ' Man ... you gonna shake ? Well shake it then ! ; WAIT! What's that guy doing @ 0:39 ! ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
