Releasing the Ego's Grasp
As we practice mindfulness - formally, as well as during regular activities - we repeatedly observe the arising of obstacles that can potentially keep us from feeling truly at home, comfortable in our own skin, in the "eternal now".
If we simply observe these obstacles, and let them be, they evaporate quickly and easily.
But if we engage them, we become lost - yet again - in "thought proliferation," a jungle of words - "the story of our lives."
So what is this weird energy that seems bound and determined to resist anything & everything the present moment holds? Adyashanti defines the ego as "the resistance to what is - an energetic 'no' to life." Western psychology recognizes the "noisy ego" as problematic, and the "quiet ego" as a healthy therapeutic objective. Eastern traditions see clinging to "I", "me" and "mine" as the basic cause of human suffering. Meditation teacher Ajahn Chah wisely suggests:
“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.
If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
And if you let go completely, you will have complete peace.”
More perspectives on the ego:
