When we’re teenagers we develop our personalities and we learn how to take care of ourselves. One of the lessons of youth is that if we don’t put ourselves first and go for what we want, we will miss out on life and be left at the back of the line. When we’re young this is necessary because we haven’t learned about what we’re capable of. We first need to get to know and empower ourselves. Then once we’ve decided on what our career path is, and we know what talents and abilities we’re gifted with, we can start looking at the world and seeing where we can offer service.

This third density world requires us to have survival skills and to know which places and people to avoid. It becomes important for us to find a balance between taking care of our own needs and looking out for the needs of others. This is when the ego starts putting its foot in the door. Some of us find that there is so much evil and negativity around, that we decide that we might as well focus on benefitting ourselves entirely. We start relying on the pleasure principle, which states that human beings do whatever they can to seek out pleasure and avoid pain.

When you’re in survival mode for too long it gets difficult to see the oneness in everything. The illusion of separateness takes over your mind and you become identified with your thoughts and desires. Your own importance becomes inflated and you end up only looking out for number one. When this happens, the negative emotions of fear and guilt start increasing. You begin to fear what others think of you, whether you’ll have enough money, achieve your dreams, and ultimately whether you’ll survive.

In this state of mind, your sense of guilt grows because you know you’re not aiming to benefit the world around you. Everytime you have to step on someone else to go up the ladder, it adds a bit more guilt. When the guilt becomes so large that it threatens to eat you up you hide it deep down. You wonder why you struggle with intimate relationships and trust. Every time someone comes close to you and wants to show you love, you push them away because you know that the hideous pile of guilt that you’ve stored up is going to come out.

The Ego gets in the way of your success in life. Instead of correctly evaluating yourself and doing what needs to be done to improve and grow, you listen to the ego’s voice. It says you’ve already made it and you don’t need to improve. You believe the lie that you already have the knowledge and you don’t need to read books. Eventually you fail and someone who has done the hard work takes your place and because they were willing to listen to criticism.

In reality, your ego doesn’t even exist. It is more of a set of mental identities that we get programmed with. It is a way of thinking about our reality. We don’t have an ego, we perform an ego. We think along the lines of ego when we believe that we are lacking something. This could be a lack of finances, friends and companionship, fulfillment in life, or mental aptitude. The ego grows like a mushroom in the dark areas of the mind that fears lack. When we realise that the universe is one and everything is connected, it’s like shining a light in a dark place. There is abundance if we’ll only pay attention to the present moment and find the connection to it.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26 NIV

The ego is very cunning and may even try to deceive you into desiring abundance for the wrong reasons. It ridicules the idea of abundance because you don’t have a lamborghini or live in a six figure house. Abundance doesn’t necessarily mean money, although there is nothing wrong with money. Some of us will end up making a lot of money, and some of us will go through life earning a modest salary. The ego will now protest and demand only the best future for you because you’re entitled to it, are you not? Well, enlightenment is learning to be content and accept your circumstances. Be grateful for what you have right now, and you’ll show the universe that you have the right energy to be given more.

When a hungry wild dog sees food, it goes crazy and runs to eat it viciously because it wants to prevent other dogs from consuming it. It is in a state of survival and all it can think of is lack. If you have that attitude, you’re missing an important point. The analogy is that, by looking out for the other dogs your own needs will be met. If you try to help other people, relieve their suffering, and provide for their needs it creates a high frequency in your life. Your own suffering shrinks as your perspective changes and you realise that there is abundance after all.

A big bad ego will do whatever it can to convince you that you don’t need others. It will show you a fictional future and make you believe that you can only become powerful by controlling and manipulating other people. For those who rely on ego in life, there is really no alternative than to focus on power. The idea is that if you have enough power you can force others to give you what you need. If you are oriented towards service to others and realize that the ego is a lie you start focussing more on love.

Your life becomes filled with peace because you’ve abandoned the belief that you’re separate from others. When others are happy and successful, it does not stir jealousy within you or resentment. They are part of the Creator, and you are part of the Creator, and you know this deep down. There is no reason to ever be angry.