Leggo My Ego!

I think I mentioned in a recent post that I have been reading a book called “A New Earth: Awakening Your Life’s Purpose,” by Eckhart Tolle. It’s a very good book and it really gets me thinking about a lot of things!

A year or so ago, I posted about how frustrated I was feeling about all the ridiculous media coverage about the Paris Hilton prison saga. Then it was other celebrities behaving badly. Now it’s Britney Spears, among others. The initial reaction (for me) tends to be something like, “Geeze! It’s all so stupid and annoying. Get it out of my face! I’m so tired of hearing about their crap on the NEWS! Leave it on the entertainment shows! The worse they behave, the move I hear about it. And the paparazzi. . . For crying out loud! Leave them alone! Let them be stupid in private!!“ It’s nuts! And it seems to somehow drag me into feeling frustrated. What is that about?

But now I’m reading this book (mentioned above) and I’m learning to see it in a new light! It makes me think about how we respond. It’s an enlightening process and I wish I could share with you all the “ah-ha” moments I’ve come across in the reading. But there are too many and I’d be practically reproducing the entire book! Just go get the book, read it with an open mind and see. There might be a tendency to feel a tad resistant in places. But that’s just the ego not wanting to release some entrenched ways of thinking and viewing things. Just keep reading!

For example, in this particular case — I’m reflecting on the whole issue of celebrities behaving badly, the media over-coverage of it, and how that tends to annoy me. I have to ask myself “Why does that annoy you so much?” I only wanted to sit, turn on the TV for an hour or so, and catch up on the evening news. And while I do get information on world events, I also get bombarded with a spectacle of (what I consider to be) idiot celebrity behaviors. The worse the behaviors, the faster it is broadcast! I didn’t ask for it. I don’t care about it, but there it is, in my face. At that point, I turn off the TV. But then it’s also on the radio, in the newspaper, and on the splash-pages when I bring up Yahoo, MSN or even the Comcast page. It’s everywhere!

Although I might not care to hear about it, apparently THRONGS of people do seem to care about it. Why? It’s like they can’t get enough of it! So the media goes for the ratings. Kind of sick? Yes. It’s like the proverbial train wreck that folks can’t take their eyes off of! It’s so horrifying to see, and yet we keep staring in disbelief. But I think we have all experienced it even though we might not care to admit it. I suppose it’s just human nature. But THAT– human nature is just it!

The main thing that the author, Ekchart Tolle talks about is the ego. He wants to teach us how the ego gets in the way of higher consciousness. It’s nothing new really. Buddhists have been teaching for centuries about letting go of attachments, and that attachments are the root of all suffereing. Eckhart Tolle has studied psychology and various world faiths, so he can put it in slightly differnt terms. He explains it beautifully!

In a nutshell he shows us that the ego gets attached to various things, situations, people, and concepts. The ego identifies with these various things and concepts and it hangs on to them for dear life! Then it operates as if those concepts or things are us, we, or I. Ego fights to keep those identities. We falsely identify ourselves with that. Then we are confused and we believe that we ARE those identities! But, we are not.

In considering all that, I go back to my earlier question about the crazy celebrity coverage. “Why does it annoy you so much?” Well. . . I suppose that’s because. . . it’s junk coverage. It’s not news, it’s invasive! It adds energy to thoughtlessness. It perpetuates a frenzy of negativity that gets splashed everywhere. It is not helpful to me or anyone else. Some of it is even inaccurate! I resent having it thrust upon me where ever I go. In my frustration, I begin to feel judgemental, even though I try not to be that way. Before I know it, I am inadvertantly helping perpetuate the negativity. I end up resenting that too. All that negativity, judgemental thinking, and resentment, turns out to be food for that ol’ ego!

But really, who am *I* to determine what they “should” or “should not” do. . . or that they are “wrong” in this, that, or some other? That is my ego that is attached to my idea of what is wrong or right or proper. I can only determine what is right for my own circumstanses. Even then, I might be too attached to ideas and concepts and become rigid in my thinking, thus creating my own life struggles!

If you really look at it, those celebrities are probably not trying to accomodate society’s clamor for “news” of bad behavior! First of all, they are not what the media displays them to be. Media presents what sells. . . a snapshot of the exterior of someone’s life and a superficial glimpse into a moment of a behavior and a life. Second of all, the celebrities are just doing, just being. . . they are just trying to go about their lives and ego pulls them astray. They make a bad choice, which in turn creates the drama that ego loves. The ego feeds on the drama and the frenzy. That further re-enforces the egoic insanity! It becomes a cycle and they end up believing that’s who they are. So then they continue to make more bad choices. And because they live under a microscope, it’s all documented and displayed for all to see.

It would be up to them to change their behaviors. But like so many people in today’s society, that’s either too hard, or they are cluless that they have that kind of power over their own lives! They make excuses and continue to believe the myth of the identity they have created and taken on for themselves, complete with self-destruction. Ego loves it, and so does the media.

Their cycle of ill-chosen behaviors and the media coverage perpetuates a form of what Mr. Tolle calls “a collective human dysfunction” — that would be all of our collective egos being attached to ideas, concepts, and false identities. In this case, feeding the sick gossip consumption frenzy. Our egos see it, react to it and cause the cycle to continue and even escalate. We’d be better off to mind our own lives and fix our own set of situations. Instead, we focus upon “them” and ”the other.” It’s easier and the ego loves that. . . it likes to make “others” so it can feel superior! It’s an illusion trying to survive by being better than ”others.”

Now here is a concept fo ya. . . from page 62 of my copy of Eckhart Tolle’s book, “A New Earth: Awakening Your Life’s Purpose”
“Nonreaction to the ego in others is one of the most effective ways not only of going beyond ego in yourself, but also of dissolving the collective human ego. But you can only be in a state of nonreaction if you can recognize someone’s behavior as coming from the ego, as being an expression of the collective human dysfunction. When you realize it’s not personal, there is no longer a compulsion to react as if it were.”

Wow!! It’s not personal! Ok, I knew that, but to read it in the context of the things he is sharing with us. . . it was an “ah-ha” moment for me.

Of course this is only a snapshot sample of the book. There are many, many more concepts he shares with the reader. It’s deep and I’ve so far had several ”ah-ha” moments and look forward to many more. That is, of course, why I read the book. I enjoy personal and spiritual growth.

There you have it. Just some thoughts I wanted to share with you. . . all 5 or 6 of my readers. hehe I thought you might enjoy the process. Thanks fo reading. And so my process continues — back to the book!

If you decide to get the book and read it, then happy, insightful reading to you!
Be Well!
~Paulena