http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/archive/archive_watchnow.jsp - link to the webcasts
http://images.oprah.com/images/obc_classic/book/2008/anewearth/ane_chapter3_transcript.pdf - link to the transcript of Chapter 3
http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/archive/archive_download.jsp - links to all the chapters in different modalities
“The Core of the Ego” Chapter 3
This webcast deals with the core of the Ego. I think it really helps to clarify what the Ego is and what the Ego is not. Tolle does not want us to dismiss the Ego but to become “conscious” or aware, present of the Ego. Create a space between the Ego and the self. A shift in consciousness.
He says that the Ego was formed when we were given the ability to think. The Ego then made decisions on what was good and what was evil and helped in the evolution of the human. And for millions of years that worked well. What has happened that the Ego began to believe it was superior and lost the ability to connect to the Source or the Oneness. Animals and nature have never lost the ability to connect to source.
We started to believe in the labels that Ego gives us. When someone asks you “Who are you?” we answer with the labels. I am a mother or a father. I am American, or British, or African. I am a business owner, or a waitress, or a computer programmer. And on and on. But who we are really, he asks. He says those labels are or can be a temporary state of being and not truly who we are. He says that many people after reading the book tells him, now they don’t know who they are. He says that he congratulates them because that is half the battle; at least they know who they aren’t.
Tolle says that the Ego has evolved to a point where it is addicted to unhappiness. It thrives on drama, complaining, and resentment, “I am right, you are wrong”. He says that most complaining is done, not in the hope of changing anything, but to reinforce what the Ego believes to be true. Resentment and drama, the same.
One segment of the Webcast was a man Mike from Sicily, Italy, who is a retired US Air force member. Mike stated that Tolle explains in the book that at times one has to defend itself against someone who is truly unconscious and wants to know if in the midst of war can one be spiritually awaken and what happens then. Tolle explained that spiritual awakening almost always happens in the most desperate of times, people of the holocaust or people who are in prison. He said that the 20th century and even now in the 21st century have been the most deadly and horrific of times due to war. Collectively, we did not question what our countries were doing. But he says that now, now that we are awakening, the masses are questioning and he says at some point and he doesn’t know when that will be, but that the masses will see the senselessness of war and then it will stop.
Another segment was a young woman who asked Tolle, if all of this life is an illusion then why should we make plans. She said that she was looking forward to her career, finding a spouse and having a family, but if it is all an illusion, What is the fun of it all? First he said, when he was in his 20’s he never would have understood this type of book, it would not have made any sense to him. He said that you can still make plans and be in the present. Don’t attach happiness to the future because the Ego can never be satisfied. It is always looking for the next event for it to be happy. So he said to be present and to appreciate the now.
Another great point he brings up concerning the ego is that “what you fight, you strengthen and what you resist, persists. He said that because the world in which we reside in consists of polarities, that the things we fight get stronger. He used examples of The War on Poverty, The War on Drugs, The War on Terror, they never work, they (whatever we declare war on) becomes stronger. Acceptance is the first course of action, making peace with what it is for what it is. From the perspective of acceptance, then we can find a way of change.
A woman emailed a question wanting to know, how she can be in a state of awareness when she is dealing with a sister with a drug problem, never knowing if the sister would be alive. She said how can you be in the “now” if you are in a constant state of worry. He said that Worry is just like complaining and resentment and drama because it does not initiate change. He says we tell ourselves that we have to worry because that is the correct thing to do or the moral thing to do, the Ego says “See how worried I am”. But that it does not do a thing in the big picture. He said the best way to bring about the change that you want to see is to be the change. He told her that when she is with her sister to be present with her and through the action of being present sometimes can be the catalyst for the addict to be present with themselves.
Speaking of addiction, another woman called in and said that she sometimes does things that she knows is not right for herself, such as over eating or drinking too much but she does it any way. That in turn cause anxiety and wanted to know how to stop these kinds of behavior. He said by accepting them and to make a meditation out of it can sometimes stop it. He said most times when people over eat or get intoxicated is because they are doing these acts unconsciously. My being aware and accepting the action can bring an end to it. Interesting, I thought.
Tolle concluded by saying “that the Ego is just a form of unconsciousness. It appears to be an entity sometimes. It is now threatening. Never regard it as an enemy or something that you need to get rid of. It’s only to be recognized for what it is”.
I am not doing the full justice that this presentation brought to the viewing audience and I hope that many of you will view the webcast. It really brought home the essence of what the Ego is and what the Ego is not and who we really are.
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