The Ego and a Lack of Freedom

The following is a little excerpt from a much larger piece I am currently working on.  This is the beginning, and the writing that comes after goes on to explain how we move out this state.  So keep in mind, this is a small piece of a much larger work.

Think about what is being said, and draw your own conclusion based on your own current circumstances.  It is a reminder that often when we believe we are making progress, we have not, we have simply exchanged one set of complications with another.

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When we begin to understand the ego, a whole new world opens up. Our ego is what keeps us tricked in the idea that we are just human, alone, and thus all we have left is our pride and the things we like in this world. But these things also cause us to suffer if we do not view them in the right way. It is what keeps us in our role of an actor on the stage, lost in our own performance. We may even begin to attain knowledge-what we perceive as wisdom-and may feel we are making spiritual progress, but then our ego kicks in and we start thinking “I am this” or “I am that” while other people who do not have our same level of understanding are now students and we are the teacher. Damn, with that you are really back to square one. You are lost in a role again, just now a different role. This is fine, as defining ourselves as one role over another can bring us more satisfaction than we had before, but it will not set us free.

~Cory Mitchell