The Distinction Between the Ego and the Person
At our most recent gathering in the Wisdom School in Minnesota, Helen Daly, one of its participants was concerned that we not overlook or demean the role of the ego in the overall structure of the human person. I agree with her, and find that "ego bashing" can sometimes be a sport that the spiritual community takes delight in--though without one, no one could "sport" at all. So what is the role of the ego, and how does it fit into the overall structure of the human person?
To be sure, the ego is the "narrow bandwith" of the human self that is limited to (and limits itself self-understanding to) the social conditioning and expectations of the world around it. We define and identify ourselves by our ego-structure. We need, however, the ego as the "manager" to act as the interface between the soul and the external world around it. As such, it is only a tool, and sometimes an ally. However, for the "tool" to become the whole show, and dictate to the "hand" that guides it (the higher and deeper Self) would, in the end, be counterproductive.
The Higher Self is the "broad bandwidth" of the human person that includes its own celestial archetype (in the parlance of the wisdom tradition). In this understanding the ego does not "reign supreme" but is only a servant to a greater Identity, the Identy of the Whole Person, that includes all the dimensions of a human being. At the heart of reality is the entire Person with its many dimensions (including the ego-as-servant), but with the "master control" being in the hands of something far larger and higher than the ego itself. That entire Person is the concrete and not abstract individual, the unique gift the divine has made to the fullness of creation and to the entire Body, which is the Completed Human whose crown is the Anointed One.
To be sure, the ego is the "narrow bandwith" of the human self that is limited to (and limits itself self-understanding to) the social conditioning and expectations of the world around it. We define and identify ourselves by our ego-structure. We need, however, the ego as the "manager" to act as the interface between the soul and the external world around it. As such, it is only a tool, and sometimes an ally. However, for the "tool" to become the whole show, and dictate to the "hand" that guides it (the higher and deeper Self) would, in the end, be counterproductive.
The Higher Self is the "broad bandwidth" of the human person that includes its own celestial archetype (in the parlance of the wisdom tradition). In this understanding the ego does not "reign supreme" but is only a servant to a greater Identity, the Identy of the Whole Person, that includes all the dimensions of a human being. At the heart of reality is the entire Person with its many dimensions (including the ego-as-servant), but with the "master control" being in the hands of something far larger and higher than the ego itself. That entire Person is the concrete and not abstract individual, the unique gift the divine has made to the fullness of creation and to the entire Body, which is the Completed Human whose crown is the Anointed One.
posted by Lynn Bauman at 6:28 AM
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