Name Your Ego

Have you tried sitting in meditation but too many thoughts rush in? Have you tried listening to your guides but you hear yourself, internally, saying “I’ll never hear them”? Have you wanted to receive something in life but a voice inside says you don’t deserve it or you’re not worthy? If you’re an energy worker and you put more importance on how you will be received rather than what the client outcome is, you may need to face your ego.

Let’s take a moment to put the ego into perspective. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, ego is defined as: 1. The self; the individual as self-aware 2. Egotism 3. Psychoanalysis the part of the psyche that organizes thoughts rationally and governs action

As human beings, we have experienced many emotions in our lifetime. Our environment, such as parents, teacher, fellow classmates, etc. can have a big impact on our ego. If the ego “is the part of the psyche that organizes thoughts rationally and governs actions” and is also considered “the self”, is the ego necessarily a bad thing?

If our environment was more emotionally and mentally toxic, we’ll probably experience the negative side of the ego more often. If we were raised more positively, our ego may come through more positively. This blog places emphasis on the negative aspect of the ego to help you recognize it when it arises and how you can take action with it.

To a lot of us, the ego seems so abstract. We have a cursory view of it. Let’s make it more tangible! First, name it. Yes, give it a name. Mine is Edgar. Give it whatever name feels right to you. It can be a very silly name or a common name. Whatever comes to mind and feels right, use it.

Take a moment, close your eyes if you’d like, and see if a visual of the negative aspect of your ego takes a form. There is no right or wrong here. However you see your negative ego is how you see it. Again, it may be something silly or it may be more serious in nature.

Acknowledge this aspect of your ego so it knows you’ve “seen” it. Tell him/her/it that now that you can see it, you’re going to start working with it and acknowledging it from here on out.

Now that you’ve named and seen the negative aspect of your ego, really starting paying attention to, and becoming aware, of its presence. This is where awareness of your thoughts matter.

If you’re about to apply for a job, for example, but your negative ego whispers in your ear “you’re not qualified”, stop and acknowledge it. Acknowledge this as the negative aspect of yourself, of your life experiences. You are not beholden to this part of your ego.

Look at your negative ego, call it by name and remove it. I like to imagine that I’m placing him outside my door while I’m working. Someone told me they put theirs in a box. Sometimes it escapes so they put it in a larger box, with tight strings wrapped around it. Come up with your own way to remove this part of your ego while you’re trying to accomplish whatever it is that the negative ego is interfering with.

Once the negative aspect has been removed, for the time being, the positive aspect of your ego can now be brought to the surface for you to use. Feel free to name your positive ego too! Mine is Lolita. She’s beautiful, soft, and graceful. It’s easy for me to see how Edgar overpowers her. Lolita keeps me aligned for my highest good. Lolita is my internal guiding light.

Now that you’ve seen and named both aspects of your ego, allow them to work for you. Once you’ve placed your negative ego elsewhere (outside or in a box or cave), allow the positive aspect to guide you to completion.

The more you pay attention to the negative words and thoughts running through your mind, the more you can tackle it. Don’t let your negative ego take over your life. Those thoughts, those words are just that. The beautiful thing is, thoughts and words can be changed. CHANGE THEM! Remove the negative and bring in the positive. Over time, you may notice that your negative ego has less and less impact, as you’re able to remove it quicker, and your positive ego has more and more impact. Make them tangible and let them work for you.

I ask you to try it. What do you have to lose…besides negative thoughts and actions or inaction?

All the best to you!