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To: talk.religion.newage From: tyagI@houseofkaos.Abyss.coM (tyagi mordred nagasiva) Subject: "Negative Ego" (9408.egotism.tn) Date: 49940825 Quoting: |asanders@adobe.com (Alan Sanders) and |>Gordon |> Lazaris [pronounced Luh-ZAH-riss] says that it is "negative ego" that |> encourages a person to think of himself as a Messiah figure... | |What in the world would be "positive ego," considering that the ego |(the illusion of "I") is the source of all suffering? The ego has become the new scapegoat for social ills. There are many different definitions for the word 'ego', some coming from psychological models, some from religious. Typically the word is used to indicate a false (often socially-derived) self, and this is contrasted with some sort of 'true self' (sometimes 'Self'). This psychodualism tends to result from contrasting energies betwixt personal and social spheres. Another meaning for 'ego' (Jungian, at least via Woodman) fixes it as the seat of identity, strength and integrity. Those without egos are incapable of being responsible for their actions, instead reacting and acting within socially-programmed behavior-schemes. Buddhism, to which Alan Sanders may be referring when speaking of 'the source of all suffering', does have a rather 'anti-ego' tendency, though it is not a common assumption that 'ego is the source of all suffering'. Indeed, it is attachment to ego or non-ego (or to anything else) which leads us to suffer (dukkha). The way Buddhism *does* tend to manifest anti-egoism is in its postulate 'anatman'/'anatta', or 'no-self'. Far from being a rejection of egoism, it is a principle which results from having examined the nature of the manifested universe and seen what many Buddhists call its 'interdependent origination'. Anatman is actually best translated 'no-own-being', and this indicates that nothing retains a consistent and isolated identity apart from the rest of the cosmos. That is, while the ego may in fact exist (as a mask of the Buddha-nature), it is not permanent, nor is it independently real. Many ascetic religious traditions disempower the individual through focus upon 'the evil ego', and what this comes down to is a kind of cult- mechanic which subsumes the person's power to that of the group, often through the mechanism of shame, guilt or fear. One of the best indicators of a dangerous religious cult is that they criticize egotism and individual thought or behavior. This can also be seen in totalitarian political systems. The two are not very different, really. When Lazaris says 'the negative ego is what brings people to think of themselves as Messiah figures' he is probably speaking of the negative aspect of the ego, as he sees it. There is a very human tendency to locate power through re-identification, and this can be very effective, especially within a society which portrays the individual in deprecatory tones. The trap of re-identification is that, like taking too wide a step, we may not be able to followup with the other foot, providing substance within the glorious new identity. This is what is called 'delusions of grandeur', and it is a form of psychosis. To be honest, re-identification actually *includes* a temporary psychosis, yet if one does not step too far or if one keeps a primary identity to ground, then the process can be very helpful. 'Negative ego' in this case could either be the tendency to re-identify, which very many social organizations warn against (often wishing us to buy their programming instead of making our own), or the tendency to step too far, as when someone considers themselves the Messiah and proceeds to require special treatment because of this new identification. In fact it is quite possible to consider oneself the Messiah, though one must come to a complete understanding of this very complex concept and realize that the Messiah is a very special state of consciousness, and that many people may be able to attain to it simultaneously. tyagi nagasiva tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
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