THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | BUDDHISM

Negative Ego

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

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races