Maturing Out of Ego

Why is it so hard to outgrow ego consciousness? Like other developmental phases such as infancy or adolescence, it is not only possible but natural to mature out of ego and the immense suffering it causes. In this retreat talk, Adyashanti has us first recognize how ego or self-image is just that -- an image we take to be solid and real. He then explores common unnoticeable workings of the “me identity” so that we may be free from its incessant and mesmerizing confinement. 

Topics Include:

• The Ego’s Role in Socialization
• All Self-Images Are Phony
• The Paradox of Ego
• The Nonexistent “Me”
• Everything Happens Spontaneously
• The Illusion of Control
• Getting Mesmerized by Thought
• The Letting Go in Seeing Truth

Quotes from this Download:
 
“The spiritual impulse is to grow out of self-image.”
 
“Enlightenment isn’t about adding something to your current condition; it’s about revealing something about your current condition. You don’t gain control over your current condition; you relinquish trying to control it. Then you’re not confined by it.”
 
“We think the enlightened ones can stop their mind. No, they can’t -- they’re just not trying to.”
 
“The easiest possible way isn’t really to let go. The easiest way is to notice what’s happening, because then the letting go happens all by itself. Seeing the truth of things engenders the letting go, the awakening.”
 
“Every part of your experience is just happening, just spontaneously arising. The seeing of this is also part of the spontaneity.”

Please Note: This recording was originally published in the download set: Silent Retreat Vol. 57: Garrison 2017 ~ Talks

Recorded in Garrison, New York on April 10, 2017.
© 2017 by Adyashanti. All rights reserved.