Ego & separation

“Since then I have met… many people who are always busy, busy, busy, trying to fill every possible moment with work or activity or mind-numbing entertainment – anything to prevent that dreadful moment of silence when they can no longer drown out the cry of their soul. They may succeed, but only for a little while, because the soul is strong. It roars like a restless lion, rattling the bars of the cage the ego has built for it.

As long as the ego insists on breaking the world into separate pieces, setting one against the other, there can be no peace outside, and therefore no peace inside. The soul knows its true identity is bound up with all other souls and the Soul of Souls. As long as it is imprisoned in the ego, the soul moans and cries and is in pain. You feel as if you are at war. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, is also the word for completeness. The soul is never compete or at peace in the ego. Although the ego thinks it is complete, self-defined, and self-confined, that is an illusion.

The irony is that he who things he is complete and independent of others, lives an illusion and is truly incomplete. However, he who knows he is incomplete and interdependence with others is upon the path toward our completeness.

Hearing the cry of the soul is the beginning of freedom.” pg 121

Endless Light by David Aaron

Ego, Separation, Klipah, Dualism

“According to the Kabbalah, the theme of the soul’s journey is discarding the hard shell, the klipah, and breaking free from the ego. This process must happen. The question is, will the soul gather its own strength and choose to transcend the ego, or will the external stimuli of pain be necessary? The ego says, “It’s my life and I’m doing it my way.” Pain challenges that. It reminds us that there is a power beyond ourselves that we cannot ignore.” p. 122

Ego = dualism, separation 

Stephen explains that the term ego is loaded, too many resonances, battling everyone terms when we use it – stoics, Christians, psychologists, it means so many things and is not necessarily the perfect fit when discussing the self. When Rabbi David Aaron is talking about it, though, to me, it means separation.  I know this separation and the pain that he talks about that brought me to my knees, and which ultimately led to me transcending my “ego” and finally merging with His will.

“Ego is the illusion of having an independent self-separate from God.” pg. 124

“Pain is an alternative path, compassionately offered by God to help us transcend the ego and reach our highest goals.” or our highest selves pg 122

When we are met with pain/tribulation we have a choice as to how we respond. 

Endless Light by Rabbi David Aaron