“Do you know what the Tarot Hermit card means?”
“I seem to relate to it.”
“In what way?”
“As a solitary seeker.”
“How can you consider yourself to be solitary while I’m in your life?”
“It’s possible to be alone in a crowd.”
“We are not a crowd.”
“What difference does it make?”
“To what?”
“Aloneness in thought.”
“What about aloneness in emotion?”
“What about it?”
“If we can feel alone in thought ..”
“You slipped ‘feel’ in.”
“Yes. They each are as one of two sides of the same reality.”
“The reality of ..?”
“Our state of mind.”
“I sense ego coming into the picture.”
“Yes. Ego is the central mover and pusher of our thoughts, emotions, and actions. We can’t think, do, or feel anything without our individual life force, ego.”
“There may be thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands, who don’t seem to be aware of this reality.”
“This suggests that you are aware.”
“Yes, but I have no power of persuasion to inspire others to shake off the illusion of ego as being something they can function without, and still be able to live in the physical world, beyond the control of some guru who is more aware than they are.”
“Yes. They would be as slaves.”
“Perhaps they are, now.”
“Yes.”
………
A simple seeker’s note to herself
How did Spirit manage to move from discussing the Tarot card of The Hermit to talking about Ego? How would they relate to each other, I wonder?
“What is the Hermit doing?”
“He’s moving away from some place, or someone.”
“Why?”
“How am I supposed to know why?”
“Everyone knows why.”
“They do?”
“Yes.”
“Please explain.”
“What?”
“What everyone knows, and I don’t seem to.”
“Perhaps you know more than you’re willing to accept knowing.”
“Such as …?”
“Such as a feeling of separation from some other people, and/or other places, and a need to move on.”
“What has that to do with Ego?”
“Everything.”
“Everything?
“Everything.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We can allow ourselves to believe that we fit into a particular situation and/or relationship until it begins to feel uncomfortable, and we begin to realize that it never was so. It was all an illusion. Our ego needs let us believe a lie.”
“And now, there’s nothing to say except good-bye?”
“It’s too late, even for that.”
“So, we just walk away?”
“Yes.”
………
Simple Seekers 
Gosh! Confusion about ego gets everywhere… Let’s not mix up the 2 definitions…:
Freud, the one the person is meaning, usurped the word (from the Sages perhaps! -see in a moment) And created a totally new definition, distinct from these Spiritual men and women!
It is our basic or total normal selfhood, including being and yes -maybe life-force, or tries to ride the waves of unbridled life-force (‘Id’)!
The other is the only one necessary for Spiritual Growth -unless the ‘Ego’ is too big…
This is size-less, character-less and not actually real: it is the NOTION that we have or -worse -we are a ‘me’-entity, separate from the rest of life. Sure, our bodies are, but our minds/souls/characters… We would not really think our hearts are separate from Life and others, whom we love, have empathy and compassion; are Moved by… unless of course, we are lonely!
The Sages tell us to INVESTIGATE this apparent entity, donlt give up and se that… it ultimately doesn’t exist. Being utterly Silent also renders its unreality!
Whereas the first ‘ego’ needs to be healthy and flexible, neither too bog nor to small, and to live a good, responsible and also fulfilling life! It is not something to be transcended as such…; the second ‘ego’ is just to be Seen, for it gets in the way of our otherwise enlightenment of Happiness, Wholeness, Aliveness, Genuine Clarity and Insight, Freedom and Peace
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Dear Jiulian, I’m pleased that you were interested enough in “How to Function Without Ego” to take the time to respond. You seem to have a healthy attitude toward your inner mental and emotional processes and the thoughts and emotions that harmonize or struggle to dominate each other, within your mind. It’s a healthy state of mind that can dare to question itself. And thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Love, Jean
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