Awakening Beyond Ego (Part 5 of 7): Transcending the Ego

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To awaken spiritually, one must transcend their ego, which is at the core of all confusion, fear, and suffering. Photo by Photo by RDNE Stock project

Journeying Beyond the Maze

As difficult as it may seem, transcending the ego is the most natural thing we can ever do.

At the most basic level, being free from the ego’s influence means returning to our true selves.

You see, the ego has woven layers and layers on top of who you really are that you eventually lose yourself.

You lose sight of the presence you are beneath all these layers.

In fact, you can almost think of the ego as an endless maze, designed to disorient and confuse you.

The ego surrounds us with “hedges” made up of limiting thoughts and beliefs, making it appear like there’s no way out.

But if we look above all these different hedges, we see nothing but open space.

We see nothing but the freedom of the endless sky above us.

The ego is like a maze designed to confuse and disorient us, as we struggle to understand the true meaning of our existence. Photo by Quang Nguyen

This sky is our essence, or consciousness, which surrounds the ego and dissolves any boundaries it has created.

However, when we’re in the maze, we don’t actually see that.

We’re constantly looking for a way out, not realizing there is this endless sky above us.

In other words, we accept the mental and spiritual boundaries that the ego creates, becoming sad, frustrated, and hopeless in the process.

But enough is enough.

Now is the time to transcend the ego.

It’s time to rise above the maze and drift into the open space that awaits us.

In doing so, we unlock more self-awareness and authenticity, opening the door to inner peace, improved relationships, and a deeper connection with the Divine.

In short, we can have a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

These are just some of the many benefits we can reap when we free ourselves from the ego’s grip.

Now, this all sounds great, doesn’t it?

But how do we actually do it?

How can we experience this transcendence in our lives?

Well, in this post, we will attempt to answer these questions and more, as we explore the different ways in which we can finally free ourselves from the ego.

As many of you probably already by now, this is Part 5 of the seven-part series called “Awakening Beyond Ego.”

In the first four parts, we learned what the ego really is, how it’s different from our true self, how we can become more aware of it, and how it manifests in our lives.

These are all very important topics to understand before actually trying to transcend the ego.

So, if you haven’t read those first four parts yet, or are struggling to remember some of the main points, I highly encourage you to read those posts first before diving into this one.

But now that we have that out of the way, let’s return to the million-dollar question at hand: how do we actually free ourselves from the ego?

Rising Above the River of Thoughts

Well, to start with, I encourage you to just simply observe your thought patterns without any judgment or desire to react to them.

If you remember from Part 3, this activity is the art of practicing meditation or mindfulness.

So, just allow your thoughts to come and go for a moment.

Don’t resist or cling onto them.

Don’t follow whatever path they’re trying to lead you down.

Simply let them be, and just watch them with curiosity and detachment.

In fact, here’s a little secret for you: the less you hold onto your thoughts, the more they will naturally slip away from your perception.

That is, they will no longer affect you as much, because you gradually realize that you are not your thoughts, but rather the one who is observing them.

The analogy that is commonly used to describe this is that of a river.

Thoughts are like a river, which we often find ourselves drowning in.

Thoughts are like a river. Some of us can drown in this river, while others can ultimately leave the river and “watch” it objectively. Photo by Pixabay

But the awakened or conscious person realizes that they are not their thoughts, and so they swim out of the river and sit on the banks.

From there, they can watch the river peacefully, knowing that they won’t drown in it again.

But in addition to symbolizing thoughts, the river has also been used to symbolize the natural current and way of life.

In fact, there is something beautiful we can learn from how gently and effortlessly the water flows around rocks to make its way downstream.

It never breaks the rocks.

Rather, it is trying to find the path of least resistance.

In this example, we need to be like the gentle and flexible water instead of the hard and rigid rocks.

But this easier said than done.

The ego has a strong pull on us, precisely because we try to resist the natural current of life.

We resist the “Is-ness” of this current moment, as Eckhart Tolle likes to say.

But see what happens when you stop resisting and just be.

What happens when you no longer attach yourself to your thoughts?

I’ll tell you: a miraculous experience unfolds.

Rather than identifying with the chaotic maze that is the ego, you begin to feel light and peaceful, as if you are floating in space but still very much grounded at the same time.

You are free from the ego, and very much alive, connected, and in full alignment with your true self.

In that split moment that you have freed yourself from thinking, you have also freed yourself from existence.

To notice one’s thoughts without judgment or attachment is a powerful way to transcend the ego, even if for only a moment. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

You have momentarily left the physical plane and entered the spiritual plane.

Eckhart has a wonderful way of describing this by stating that it is “Consciousness becoming aware that it is consciousness.”

In order words, you are Consciousness.

You always have been and you always will be.

But for a large portion of your life, you have forgotten this truth.

And so, when you are able to free yourself from your thoughts — even if it’s for only a short period of time to start with — you transcend the level of thoughts to become aware of the universal consciousness that is your true essence.

Without a doubt, this is a transformational state to be in, and one that we can extend for longer periods of time the more we practice observing our thoughts.

It’s like anything else in life: the more we practice it, the better we become at it.

And by observing thoughts with this level of awareness and detachment, it’s as if we stop running around the maze and climb it instead.

It’s as if we are ascending to the sky until we actually become absorbed in the sky.

Now, as wonderful as observing our thoughts can be, it is not the only way that we can transcend the ego.

The Fullness of Being Empty

Another powerful exercise for transcending the ego is the practice of becoming nothing.

Now, I know this might sound strange and unusual for a lot of us.

No one wants to feel empty in life, because we ultimately want to be someone in this world.

We want our lives to be significant, because we fear that it’ll all be a waste if it’s not.

And don’t get me wrong, there is some beauty and truth to wanting to live a meaningful life.

However, the ego distorts this truth to prevent us from become nothing.

It will keep trying to make us become someone in the world, which ironically hinders our spiritual growth.

Embracing “nothingness” can seem scary at first, but in a counterintuitive way, it actually helps us experience the fullness of everything, shedding light to the reality that we are more than just a mind and body. Photo by Ben Mack

Many wise gurus and teachers correctly point out that we are already everything we need to be, and that we don’t need to become someone or arrive at some future state in order to realize this — in order to experience true and lasting peace and happiness.

In fact, you’ve probably heard of the phrase “I Am” in many spiritual circles and texts.

The phrase is not “I Will Be” or “I Was.”

It’s “I Am.”

And notice how there is not anything after the “I Am.”

It’s not “I Am a Teacher,” or “I Am Male.”

It simply is “I Am.”

And this notion of “I Am” connects very beautifully with the concept of being nothing.

Because being nothing is really just returning to “I Am.”

It’s returning to a state of being before labels, thoughts, and identities were born.

In other words, returning to our essence. Returning to Consciousness.

In fact, there’s a wonderful story in the Book of Exodus about God using the phrase “I Am” when revealing Himself to Moses.

Moses had doubts about whether he could fulfill God’s mission, so God assured him that he will be guided on his journey.

And in that moment, God revealed the Divine Name “I Am Who I Am.”

God did not say, “I Am God” or “I Am the Creator” or anything like that, even though that’s all true.

God simply said “I Am Who I Am.”

In other words, there is no word, language, or thought that can capture who God is — that can capture what Consciousness is.

When we embrace the spirit of “I Am,” we connect with this divine consciousness and come to understand our true reality.

Now this all sounds good, but here’s the catch: the ego doesn’t like the phrase “I Am.”

It wants to add something after the “I Am.”

It wants the statement to be completed by a noun or adjective, such as “I Am successful” or “I Am rich” or “I Am knowledgeable.”

These titles, roles and identities are nothing more than the ego’s attempts to preserve and strengthen its influence on us.

It doesn’t want us to remember our true nature, because then we won’t need an ego anymore to tell us who we are.

We already know who we are: Consciousness.

But when we cling onto the egoic self — and all the stories and identities it continues to make — we enable the ego to survive.

We enable the ego to continue its illusions and manipulations.

Becoming nothing is really just another way of saying “I Am.” In other words, you recognize that no title, label, thought or concept can ever capture who you really are. Photo by Visit Greenland

Quite simply, the ego cannot survive when you begin to raise your awareness and ultimately realize that you are not the ego.

So, by practicing becoming nothing, we tear down all the false labels and ideas the ego has created and that we have accepted over the years.

We become at peace with what is, not trying to add or fill the moment with anything. Not trying to fill our mind with anything.

But don’t take my word for it.

Try this experiment for yourself.

Practice identifying with nothing and visualizing yourself as pure, open space and nothing more.

This might initially prove difficult, as you might have an urge to still be someone in the world and make something of your life.

But as you look around, you’ll realize that being nothing is not unusual at all.

Rather, it’s the natural way of life.

Our own universe, for example, is almost entirely made up of empty space.

Only 5% is actually made up of the matter we are familiar with, like stars, planets, galaxies and so on.

The rest is just pure emptiness. Pure nothingness.

Don’t you think, then, there is something we can learn from that?

Indeed, when we become empty, the ego has nothing to hold onto anymore.

Because how do you control nothing?

The truth is, you can’t.

The ego can only control us when we try to be someone.

When we try to be something or someone other than what we already are, which is consciousness.

So, practicing nothingness is a great exercise for transcending the ego.

Awakening the Inner Light

Finally, there’s the practice of actually connecting with our true self.

We explored the true self in more depth in Part 2, but it is essentially the opposite of the ego or false self.

The more we connect with our true self, the more the ego naturally diminishes.

It’s like the analogy I introduced in Part 2, where the ego is darkness and our true self is the light.

Darkness is nothing more than the absence of light.

It has no inherent properties of its own.

When we let the light of our true self shine through, the darkness of the ego disappears and is no longer there.

The light of our true self has the power to illuminate even the darkest landscapes the ego can create. Photo by James Wheeler

So, if connecting with our true self can help us transcend the ego, the next question is how can we actually connect with our true self more?

In Part 3, I mentioned meditation, mindfulness and introspection, which are all powerful practices to cultivate awareness of our true self.

But beyond that, connecting with our true self is really just a feeling — a vibrational energy that we will recognize when we truly experience it.

It’s like the saying, “when you know, you know.”

For me, this feeling transpires as a powerful rush coursing through my entire body.

I sometimes feel goosebumps and as if beams of light are pouring out from within me.

I know this might sound too poetic for some of you, but there’s really no better way to describe it.

After all, how do you describe something that is beyond words and language?

The truth is, you can’t.

All I can say is that I actually feel a guiding voice inside me — a voice that is wiser and calmer than the ego.

A voice that belongs to none other than my true self.

Once you discover and start following this voice, it will reveal the path of transcending the ego.

That is, all you have to do is arrive on the path, and your true self will show you the entire way.

It will guide you throughout your entire journey, just like God was guiding Moses throughout his entire journey.

That is how powerful our true self is…more powerful than anything our ego can contrive or conspire.

Planting the Seeds of Awakening

So, I hope you enjoyed this video and found it to be insightful and informative, especially as we approach the end of the series to finally discover the keys to transcending the ego.

Now, there is one practice for transcending the ego that we haven’t discussed yet, and that is embracing the present moment.

I wanted to cover this in a post all on its own, which is Part 6 of this series, because this practice encapsulates every other practice we have discussed so far.

At the heart of observing our thoughts, becoming nothing, and connecting with our true self is a deep connection with the present moment — the only moment that ever truly exists.

The past and future are nothing but thoughts in our mind — thoughts that the ego often manipulates.

But when we live in the present moment, we reclaim our power and find true freedom.