I love the egosystem and ecosystem idea, it's new to me but I'll be thinking about it a lot moving forward! I agree with what you shared here, Rose, I think the ego is an important mechanism of containing our sense of Self so that we don't melt into a big puddle, AND when we identify too much with the ego it can cause a rigidity and inflexibility that causes suffering.
It’s such a fascinating dichotomy: egosystem vs. ecosystem. I plan to write about it more (this post doesn’t do her work justice). But I’m glad you enjoyed the focus on the ego for now.
Such a thoughtful and interesting post Rose, thank you for sharing. I can see why you chose this as your favourite. There’s lots to contemplate. I have a name for my ego so I can recognise her when she’s acting up. and although she can be a bit mean, to me and to others, she’s got my best interests at heart, is fiercely protective of me and wants me to succeed. Great article
I really like the egosystem v ecosystem concepts you share here. And I agree with you - the ego has been made a villain in our culture - esp due to so much commentary on narcissism - but we need a healthy ego to lead us forward. I think we often mistake what that looks like and mix up confidence with arrogance. And other things like gender expectations/stereotypes play into how that is perceived too.
I'm so glad it resonated. And yes, we mix up confidence/a healthy ego with arrogance/an unhealthy ego. And I agree -- I think we have a lot of preconceived notions about who should exhibit their ego in the first place.
I'm no expert in this subject, but may I say, ego is our defence against The Other. It's how we keep ourselves different from the rest. It makes sense why major religions speak against it: the more the individuality and less the control under common rules. Perhaps, I should add authoritative regimes into it. Yes, they might hold a community ego, but not an ego at the individual level. You're right when you say 'It makes us human.'
I like your article! I would just challenge the idea that an ego-less person would be lazy, not concerned about their behavior or be unpleasant.
The truly ego-less person would perform every action out of love and connectedness, because they have no barriers of self or attachment. They would also have love for themselves.
I think we may differ in our definitions of ego here. If ego refers to attachments to self identity, I think the type of unpleasant person you described is still very much ruled by their ego. One case is if their sense of self feels superior to others. They act how they want because they view others as beneath them. Another case is if their sense of self feels inferior to others. They don’t have self-love and lack motivation to get themselves together. Either way, the person views themselves as separate from others.
If the ego is referred to as being the sense of “look at me, I’m so great”, I would agree that it can be helpful for the distracted, unmotivated person to have more of that attitude to make up for the lack of love for themselves.
I'm really happy to see another perspective on the Ego, since I wrote one myself a few weeks ago, and I've learned the clear distinction between the necessity of the psychological ego, as you indicated, and the spiritual ego, the dissolution as the next stage of our growth, transcending our identities. Thank you for sharing! 🙏
I love the egosystem and ecosystem idea, it's new to me but I'll be thinking about it a lot moving forward! I agree with what you shared here, Rose, I think the ego is an important mechanism of containing our sense of Self so that we don't melt into a big puddle, AND when we identify too much with the ego it can cause a rigidity and inflexibility that causes suffering.
It’s such a fascinating dichotomy: egosystem vs. ecosystem. I plan to write about it more (this post doesn’t do her work justice). But I’m glad you enjoyed the focus on the ego for now.
Such a thoughtful and interesting post Rose, thank you for sharing. I can see why you chose this as your favourite. There’s lots to contemplate. I have a name for my ego so I can recognise her when she’s acting up. and although she can be a bit mean, to me and to others, she’s got my best interests at heart, is fiercely protective of me and wants me to succeed. Great article
I love the idea of naming your ego. Will have to try — thanks for reading 🩵
I really like the egosystem v ecosystem concepts you share here. And I agree with you - the ego has been made a villain in our culture - esp due to so much commentary on narcissism - but we need a healthy ego to lead us forward. I think we often mistake what that looks like and mix up confidence with arrogance. And other things like gender expectations/stereotypes play into how that is perceived too.
I'm so glad it resonated. And yes, we mix up confidence/a healthy ego with arrogance/an unhealthy ego. And I agree -- I think we have a lot of preconceived notions about who should exhibit their ego in the first place.
Thank you for reading!
Makes a lot of sense. Without the ego, we can't *do* anything.
I'm no expert in this subject, but may I say, ego is our defence against The Other. It's how we keep ourselves different from the rest. It makes sense why major religions speak against it: the more the individuality and less the control under common rules. Perhaps, I should add authoritative regimes into it. Yes, they might hold a community ego, but not an ego at the individual level. You're right when you say 'It makes us human.'
I enjoyed reading the article :)
I’m so glad you enjoyed.
Love the line that “ego is our defense against the Other.” It reminds me how Sartre says that “hell is other people.”
It’s giving me ideas about fortifying our single self against the onslaught of all the others — more to come!
Interesting topic!
Precisely! Too much of it stifles us, too little paralyzes us. Ego is a balancing game ⚖️
I like your article! I would just challenge the idea that an ego-less person would be lazy, not concerned about their behavior or be unpleasant.
The truly ego-less person would perform every action out of love and connectedness, because they have no barriers of self or attachment. They would also have love for themselves.
I think we may differ in our definitions of ego here. If ego refers to attachments to self identity, I think the type of unpleasant person you described is still very much ruled by their ego. One case is if their sense of self feels superior to others. They act how they want because they view others as beneath them. Another case is if their sense of self feels inferior to others. They don’t have self-love and lack motivation to get themselves together. Either way, the person views themselves as separate from others.
If the ego is referred to as being the sense of “look at me, I’m so great”, I would agree that it can be helpful for the distracted, unmotivated person to have more of that attitude to make up for the lack of love for themselves.
I'm really happy to see another perspective on the Ego, since I wrote one myself a few weeks ago, and I've learned the clear distinction between the necessity of the psychological ego, as you indicated, and the spiritual ego, the dissolution as the next stage of our growth, transcending our identities. Thank you for sharing! 🙏