09-17-2011, 06:11 PM
The links between Ego and self esteem are directly related to the amount of energy spent on clinging to the familiar things around us, in order to feel secure. They are proportionally related, with each adjusting itself according to the magnitude of the other. This relationship between them creates the state we live in, called identity. Identity seems to us to be some permanent state within ourselves, that we can operate from, and while we do mostly operate and interact with the rest of the world from this state, it is not necessary to remain there permanently.
When we dream, our egos and therefore our estimation of ourselves switches off. This allows our identity to exist in a more independent state temporarily severed from the ego. It allows it to change itself within the context of the dream, and shift into unfamiliar territory. When we awake, the ego is activated again and the memory of the dream fades as the ego asserts itself.
My own experiences with waking ego death are interesting, in that there is nothing to differentiate yourself from the rest of the world, therefore it's possible to cut loose and experience a different, unified consciousness that runs through all things, from animals and people, to rocks and gases, all at the same time. Three dimensional restrictions imposed by the ego are lifted, and time and distance disappear. This leads me to believe that the ego, when active, glues all the bits we know as "Me" together, so it can regulate the behaviour of the lump of meat that carries my particular genome around. It has to generate enough self presence for "me" to preserve "my" part of the equation for as long as possible. If it didn't, I'd probably sit down, space out, and starve to death or something. Every waking day the ego has to be reborn. If it didn't turn off every time we sleep, it would grow to disproportionate magnitude, and then we wouldn't be able to communicate with any other relevant parts of the equation. (Each other) Don't know where I'm going with this now, because my ego is off tagging the other tabs in my browser, and expressing a need to assert itself somewhere else. But it reassures me that I'll be back.
When we dream, our egos and therefore our estimation of ourselves switches off. This allows our identity to exist in a more independent state temporarily severed from the ego. It allows it to change itself within the context of the dream, and shift into unfamiliar territory. When we awake, the ego is activated again and the memory of the dream fades as the ego asserts itself.
My own experiences with waking ego death are interesting, in that there is nothing to differentiate yourself from the rest of the world, therefore it's possible to cut loose and experience a different, unified consciousness that runs through all things, from animals and people, to rocks and gases, all at the same time. Three dimensional restrictions imposed by the ego are lifted, and time and distance disappear. This leads me to believe that the ego, when active, glues all the bits we know as "Me" together, so it can regulate the behaviour of the lump of meat that carries my particular genome around. It has to generate enough self presence for "me" to preserve "my" part of the equation for as long as possible. If it didn't, I'd probably sit down, space out, and starve to death or something. Every waking day the ego has to be reborn. If it didn't turn off every time we sleep, it would grow to disproportionate magnitude, and then we wouldn't be able to communicate with any other relevant parts of the equation. (Each other) Don't know where I'm going with this now, because my ego is off tagging the other tabs in my browser, and expressing a need to assert itself somewhere else. But it reassures me that I'll be back.
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