Question:
I am waging a constant war against my ego. I want to obliterate it completely, but as hard as I try, it keeps coming back. I have meditated, fasted, taken vows of silence - but after years of work the ego is still there. Do you have any advice on how to conquer ego?
Answer:
Fighting your ego is like trying to think about nothing. The harder you try, the further you get from your goal. As long as you are taking yourself so seriously, you are feeding into your ego. Even if you are fighting your ego, it's still all about you.
A desire to be spiritual can also be self-centered. Fasting can be just as self-satisfying as a good meal. As long as it is you who calls the shots and decides what is high and holy, then you remain under your ego's spell.
There is only one way you can truly transcend your ego: do a mitzvah. A mitzvah is a divine command as communicated in the Torah. Doing a mitzvah means doing something just because G-d wants you to, and for no other reason.
Whether the mitzvah feels good, like resting on Shabbos, or seems totally weird, like wrapping Tefillin on your arm; whether it is as easy as putting up a Mezuzah or as hard as respecting parents, when you do a mitzvah you go beyond the parameters of the human and touch the divine; you are doing not what you feel like, but rather what G-d requests of you.
The mitzvah life is about not taking ourselves so seriously, because we are only here to serve others - both G-d and our fellow human. Even self-improvement, in the mitzvah world, is only important because G-d wants us to refine ourselves.
Do a mitzvah today and focus not on yourself, but on your purpose. When you do, the weight of ego is lifted off your shoulders for a moment, and you are free.
I am waging a constant war against my ego. I want to obliterate it completely, but as hard as I try, it keeps coming back. I have meditated, fasted, taken vows of silence - but after years of work the ego is still there. Do you have any advice on how to conquer ego?
Answer:
Fighting your ego is like trying to think about nothing. The harder you try, the further you get from your goal. As long as you are taking yourself so seriously, you are feeding into your ego. Even if you are fighting your ego, it's still all about you.
A desire to be spiritual can also be self-centered. Fasting can be just as self-satisfying as a good meal. As long as it is you who calls the shots and decides what is high and holy, then you remain under your ego's spell.
There is only one way you can truly transcend your ego: do a mitzvah. A mitzvah is a divine command as communicated in the Torah. Doing a mitzvah means doing something just because G-d wants you to, and for no other reason.
Whether the mitzvah feels good, like resting on Shabbos, or seems totally weird, like wrapping Tefillin on your arm; whether it is as easy as putting up a Mezuzah or as hard as respecting parents, when you do a mitzvah you go beyond the parameters of the human and touch the divine; you are doing not what you feel like, but rather what G-d requests of you.
The mitzvah life is about not taking ourselves so seriously, because we are only here to serve others - both G-d and our fellow human. Even self-improvement, in the mitzvah world, is only important because G-d wants us to refine ourselves.
Do a mitzvah today and focus not on yourself, but on your purpose. When you do, the weight of ego is lifted off your shoulders for a moment, and you are free.