Letting Go Of The Ego

[25:43] Have you seen the one whose god is his own ego? Will you be his advocate?

I’d like to talk about early death. It’s not the death of the body; and of course not the soul. It’s the death of who we think we are. The traumas we experience throughout our lives inevitably shape how we interact with the world even as adults, when we’re entirely removed from those situations on a physical level. The fear we felt back then lingers in our behavior, leading us to seek out those limiting actions which make us feel safe even when the threat may no longer be present. However, we don’t need to identify so strongly with our past experiences. It can be very difficult to move past trauma, but ridding ourselves of those exhausting behaviors and recognizing the newfound freedoms we possess can help us live our lives more fully rather than remaining trapped in the past. 

Google describes “Die before you die” as a metaphorical phrase that refers to a profound personal transformation where one symbolically lets go of their old self, attachments, and ego-driven

identity to embrace a new perspective on life, essentially experiencing a “death” of the old self to be reborn into a more authentic and present state.
It involves willingly letting go of old beliefs, habits, and patterns that no longer serve you. The idea is to transcend the limitations of the ego-self and attain a heightened state of spiritual enlightenment and inner peace.

[2:54] Recall that Moses said to his people, “O my people, you have wronged your souls by worshiping the calf. You must repent to your Creator. You shall kill your egos. This is better for you in the sight of your Creator.” He did redeem you. He is the Redeemer, Most Merciful.

This verse says kill your ego, not kill Satan. We know fear is Satan’s tool so what is the connection to ego? The ego fears death of itself. Of its identity. One of the worst things people feel is ‘worthless’. 

[25:77] Say, “You attain value at my Lord only through your worship. But if you disbelieve, you incur the inevitable consequences.”

Freud tells us that the ego is part of our personality, perhaps a necessary evil, helping us function in the reality of the world. But as psychologist Ian Cron once said, “Your personality shows up when your true self doesn’t.” The word personality comes from the Latin persona, which means a mask, like actors would wear in ancient Roman theatre. The personality, which includes the ego, is a set of posturing mechanisms, responses, and reactions to what the world expects us to be. In fact, Freud spoke of the ego operating from the “reality principle”, meaning it governs our responses based on what the outer world might expect or dictate. “All of us waste precious life doing things we don’t like, to prove ourselves to people we don’t respect, and to get things we don’t want.” (Ryan Holiday, Ego Is the Enemy)

In his Rules for the Discernment of Spirits, Ignatius says that when we find ourselves drifting from God and curving back on ourselves we actively need to take measures to shift the focus from ourselves to others.

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