Daring to Rest by Karen Brody

Author:Karen Brody
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Sounds True

The End of Ego and Rise of the True Self

Ego is the voice within that says “I,” “me,” and “mine.” It is the voice that tells us we are separate from others. We need ego to survive, but separation is what we must transcend to feel peaceful and whole. The ultimate goal of a spiritual path is to open the door to the oneness of all. When you are lying down practicing yoga nidra meditation, this is the tune-up you’re getting. You’re being guided to a timeless state of being where ego falls away. You could see this in Deborah’s story. For many months, she felt separate from others. This was ego at work. But the moment her wisdom body began to come into balance, she began to feel whole again.

The slippery slope with ego is that it causes you to beat up on yourself: I’m not pretty. I’m not enough. I’m not worthy. If you’re grieving and you feel you’re not doing it right, that’s ego. When a friend gets a great job and you hate your job and you’re jealous, that’s ego. Comparing yourself to others is a destructive form of ego. I can sometimes get myself in this loop, and so does every other woman who comes into my yoga nidra programs. We all say, “It feels icky.” This is because when we feel separate, we have a feeling of isolation. Many spiritual traditions, especially Buddhism, say ego is an illusion, a false way we identify ourselves. It’s really hard to comprehend this when we’re in the comparison loop or when we have had a bad experience, like getting up in front of a crowd and doing a bad job and then living in that criticism of ourselves and never going on a stage again. Ego can and does stop us from being brave. I see it all the time.

Compare this ego loop to how you feel after you practice yoga nidra meditation. Most women tell me they feel “completely open,” “honest,” “all love,” and “dreamy.” This is ego falling away. Every time you lie down to practice yoga nidra and are guided to the wisdom body, your mind is trained to become a witness. It also helps to melt—at least temporarily, when you first practice—the feeling of separateness from others. This is the beginning of freedom from the isolation and fear that ego fosters.

Once ego loosens its grip, our true, authentic self rises. We’re then able to use our wisdom to determine when ego is serving us and when it’s not serving us. Training your mind to become the witness of your life allows you to be objective about what the mind and ego tell you. Many of the reasons you thought “I can’t” fall away, and you begin to feel limitless.

I love this moment when a woman feels she can do anything. For years, Margreet, whom you read about in chapters four and five, was stuck in a mental loop of anger over her childhood, particularly her relationship with her mother.

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