The Holistic Hippie Podcast

Episode 2: Understanding Ego

March 17, 2020 Episode 2
The Holistic Hippie Podcast
Episode 2: Understanding Ego
Show Notes

In this episode, I wanted to introduce the concept of Ego, explaining what it is and how we can use it to help us along our path of growth and expansion. Ego is a topic that will continue to be brought into future episodes & conversations, and so I thought it was important to introduce and explain it at length before continuing to reference it. 

Episode notes:

  • Derived from 19th-century Latin, translating as I (sense of self)
  • Sigmund Freud’s theory on id, ego, and superego looking at these 3 layers of self in that the id is our most primal, deep-rooted instincts to seek pleasure & avoid pain, stored deeply in the subconscious. Ego, he says, acts as a buffer between the id and reality, and the superego is ruled by social conditioning.
  • Carl Jung’s theory on ego merges with Eastern philosophies and says this “Anyone who has any ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself. But the ego knows only its own contents, not the unconscious and its contents.” Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self.
  • Eckhart Tolle, the author of The Power of Now and A New Earth, writes extensively about ego & quotes “Give up defining yourself – to yourself or to others. You won’t die. You will come to life. And don’t be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it’s their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don’t be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.”  Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
  • Basically, whatever comes into your mind when you are thinking of yourself, is your ego. The ways in which you define yourself, all of your experiences, your perceptions, the way you see yourself, the way you see others - your ego colours the lens of your perception. Your ideas about yourself, beliefs, ideologies, afflictions, desires, social status, fears, likes, dislikes - ALL EGO

Books Referenced:

  • A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
  • Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza
Support the show