Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 1:01am
To ego or not to ego, that's a question?
Column: Spiritual Psychology
One of the greatest divides between Eastern and Western conceptions of self is how they perceive the ego. Western psychologies largely worship at the altar of the ego. Eastern spiritual conceptions of self, on the other hand, view the ego as a lower manifestation of a more inclusive higher consciousness. Ego consciousness is formed and defined by personal experiences, while spiritual consciousness is removed from personal experience, rendering it pure and untainted awareness. Here are clear statements that represent the divide between East and West (there are many similar ones from both camps) which punctuate the differing views of the ego:
Indian sage Sathya Sai Baba:
"When desires are ego-oriented, time and effort are wasted; duty is neglected; the body and its skills are misused. In order to restore peace to the individual and in society, the mind has to be purged of its attachment to the self [ego]."
Tibetan Buddhist Sogyal Rinpoche:
"Frantically, and in real dread, we cast around and improvise another identity, one we clutch on to with all the desperation of someone falling continuously into an abyss. This false and ignorantly assumed identity is 'ego.' ... [E]go is then defined as incessant movements of grasping at a delusory notion of 'I' and 'mine,' self and other, and all the concepts, ideas, desires, and activity that will sustain that false construction. ... So long as we haven't unmasked the ego, it continues to hoodwink us. ... [E]go and its grasping are at the root of all our suffering. ... "
Psychologists and psychoanalysts Esther and William Menaker:
"The miracle of man is consciousness; but consciousness can only be experienced and implemented by means of the ego. There is for man, then, no awareness without ego. Thus mind and its ultimate expression in conscious awareness and the symbols appropriate to this become a vehicle for a new way of dealing with the reality of the external and internal environment. Interposed between this world and man is a whole new world of his symbolic creation. It is over this world that ego presides"
The Menakers, early influential writers on psychoanalysis and psychological development, explicitly state the view that runs through all the popular psychologies: Consciousness and ego are one — there is no consciousness other than ego consciousness. The notable exception is Jungian psychology, which was marginalized as "kooky" up until recently, but now is taken seriously as our conception of self and reality has expanded.
Make no mistake about it, this divide in views of consciousness is monumental and needs to be faced head on if there is to be a genuine integration of psychology and spirituality.
In my just published book, "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free," Chapter 5, entitled "Beyond Counseling, Psychotherapy and Self Help," takes the reader on a panoramic tour of all the popular psychologies, exposing how they are married to a narrow personal experiential ego self that excludes any recognition of higher consciousness. I go on to illustrate how efforts at real change fall short with traditional psychological therapies because they work at the level of the ego, which is the problem. The ego with ME at the center — all roads in ego consciousness lead to ME — is built on ME distortions which dominate our thoughts — or as spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle puts it, "There is a me in every thought." Real transformation requires getting beyond the ego distortions to a higher consciousness (to which I give the neutral name "omni consciousness") that is conflict-free and outside the delusional self-referenced ego thoughts and beliefs.
Many efforts at integrating traditional psychological and spiritual approaches to healing overlook the fundamental divide that I'm pinpointing here. If you look closely at these "integrations," what you are likely to find is the merging of techniques — behavioral, analytic and cognitive techniques bundled with bits of meditation, chanting, affirmations, etc. This sleight of hand — psychology with a spiritual shine — does not speak to the central issue of integration: the locus of consciousness.
(How to genuinely integrate psychology and spirituality? More on that next week.)
— — —
In case you missed the last two related columns:
Escaping the prison of the self
If you saw the truth, would you go for it?
(My book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and other major book outlets.)
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches "Spirituality in Film" and leads "The Spiritual Forum" at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. His book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. He can be reached at {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr.
Indian sage Sathya Sai Baba:
"When desires are ego-oriented, time and effort are wasted; duty is neglected; the body and its skills are misused. In order to restore peace to the individual and in society, the mind has to be purged of its attachment to the self [ego]."
Tibetan Buddhist Sogyal Rinpoche:
"Frantically, and in real dread, we cast around and improvise another identity, one we clutch on to with all the desperation of someone falling continuously into an abyss. This false and ignorantly assumed identity is 'ego.' ... [E]go is then defined as incessant movements of grasping at a delusory notion of 'I' and 'mine,' self and other, and all the concepts, ideas, desires, and activity that will sustain that false construction. ... So long as we haven't unmasked the ego, it continues to hoodwink us. ... [E]go and its grasping are at the root of all our suffering. ... "
Psychologists and psychoanalysts Esther and William Menaker:
"The miracle of man is consciousness; but consciousness can only be experienced and implemented by means of the ego. There is for man, then, no awareness without ego. Thus mind and its ultimate expression in conscious awareness and the symbols appropriate to this become a vehicle for a new way of dealing with the reality of the external and internal environment. Interposed between this world and man is a whole new world of his symbolic creation. It is over this world that ego presides"
The Menakers, early influential writers on psychoanalysis and psychological development, explicitly state the view that runs through all the popular psychologies: Consciousness and ego are one — there is no consciousness other than ego consciousness. The notable exception is Jungian psychology, which was marginalized as "kooky" up until recently, but now is taken seriously as our conception of self and reality has expanded.
Make no mistake about it, this divide in views of consciousness is monumental and needs to be faced head on if there is to be a genuine integration of psychology and spirituality.
In my just published book, "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free," Chapter 5, entitled "Beyond Counseling, Psychotherapy and Self Help," takes the reader on a panoramic tour of all the popular psychologies, exposing how they are married to a narrow personal experiential ego self that excludes any recognition of higher consciousness. I go on to illustrate how efforts at real change fall short with traditional psychological therapies because they work at the level of the ego, which is the problem. The ego with ME at the center — all roads in ego consciousness lead to ME — is built on ME distortions which dominate our thoughts — or as spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle puts it, "There is a me in every thought." Real transformation requires getting beyond the ego distortions to a higher consciousness (to which I give the neutral name "omni consciousness") that is conflict-free and outside the delusional self-referenced ego thoughts and beliefs.
Many efforts at integrating traditional psychological and spiritual approaches to healing overlook the fundamental divide that I'm pinpointing here. If you look closely at these "integrations," what you are likely to find is the merging of techniques — behavioral, analytic and cognitive techniques bundled with bits of meditation, chanting, affirmations, etc. This sleight of hand — psychology with a spiritual shine — does not speak to the central issue of integration: the locus of consciousness.
(How to genuinely integrate psychology and spirituality? More on that next week.)
— — —
In case you missed the last two related columns:
Escaping the prison of the self
If you saw the truth, would you go for it?
(My book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and other major book outlets.)
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches "Spirituality in Film" and leads "The Spiritual Forum" at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. His book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. He can be reached at {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr.