The Self and the Ego

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No-Doubt Peaceful Warrior

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I have been bothered by self-doubt most of my life. I thank the 12 years of Catholic Schools as one of the major contributors to this deeply rooted lack of belief in myself. At the base of this belief runs a mixture of ideas that there is something not okay about who I am.

First off I want to say, I know this old message is a bunch of mind-noise BS but that doesn’t stop it from rising inside of me from time-to-time.

Through years of personal introspection and my work as a mental health professional, I have come to understand that the ego-mind uses self-doubt as a way to remain in charge. If thoughts of self-doubt are consistently part of my psyche, I am more readily under the control of my ego.

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Be Aware: There Is A James E Holmes In All Of Us

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The tragedy in Aurora Colorado was terrible. The people who survived that awful night in the theater will carry the trauma for many years. They, as well as the families, responders and community will all need help to release the trauma for their well-being.

James E Holmes is a fellow human being with the same potential as you and I. Somewhere along the way he went off course, down a very dark road. Here are six ways we can end up in a very dark place: 

1.  Anger is a powerful emotion. People who stuff anger can build up huge amounts of stored negative energy. If anger keeps building it will need expression.  Anger needs to be released in healthy ways.

2.  The mind can go off in extreme directions. Thoughts can grow more and more powerful inside. Thoughts can also rationalize terrible ideas. The mind needs balance and harmony.

3.  The ego is run by fear. It wants to be right. When the ego wants to assert more power and control it can come up with very unhealthy ideas to do so. The ego also often wants attention and can go in search of its “fame” in very destructive ways.  The ego needs to be acknowledged and kept in a more neutral place in our daily lives.

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Why If You Are Sure You Are Right, You Can’t Know The Truth

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We live in a world where opinions have taken over our news, our politics and too much of our national dialogue. Opinions are the work of the ego-mind. They are not the truth. They are just words people share in an attempt to be right or to gain power and control over others.

That may not be something most of us want to hear. We all have opinions. There is nothing wrong with our opinions except they most likely aren’t true. They are not true because they represent ideas formed in the past that have not been examined in the present.