The ego is essentially with us forever, loud, persistent and trying to dominate. We all know the general sense of our ego, being the thing that tries to keep us small, not evolving, and navigating away from our higher selves. The challenge is it’s like a chameleon, shimmering in different outfits to distract us constantly. And what is it distracting us from? Our souls and hearts. They are without an agenda, and happy to be patient and wait for us to get in touch. I see my heart and soul sometimes as wise, generous and patient grandparents. Waiting for me to calm down, slow down and pay them a visit. They come with hot tea and comforting cookies. The ego is like the toddler in the family, always chucking tantrums. Hot and sticky and relentless, and always argumentative.
I like what Adyashanti says, that the ego is friction. It makes it easier to determine if we are moving from our hearts or from our ego’s when we line up the question; is there friction? If there’s friction, it’s ego.
One of my girlfriends that I love very much recently made a ‘rash’ decision (rash from the outside) not to move forward with a huge project. An expensive project and one that had a lot already invested in it. She described the breaking open of joy and lightness that occurred once she had made and communicated her decision. Before there was nagging friction. Then suddenly flow and peace entered her life. This is when we know we honoured our hearts and souls. She texted me to say she had a #jacquimoment because I absolutely love a seemingly rash decision that is based all on heart. That cracking open and floating feeling that comes from telling our egos ‘not now’ and just diving straight in, is such a beautiful experience.
Once we start to move from our hearts more and more frequently, the ease in which we can do this increases. Like anything, it just takes practice. Let’s all get a lot of practice in.
Written with love,
Jac x
L E T T E R from Jac – Navigating Life With Our Ego
