Underneath all of the loud, invasive, and pushy mental chatter is a voice that’s quiet, subtle, and powerful beyond measure.
That quiet voice is our authentic, “capital S” Self.
The loud, obnoxious voice is our Ego.
The Ego is hyper-comparative, is easily manipulated by outside influences, and desperately seeks control over the mind.
The Self is comparison-resistant, requires a deep impression for change from an outside source, and (fundamentally speaking) is the mind underneath all of the noise from the Ego.
It is as though the Self is the news of the world and the Ego is the news network that reports primarily for ratings.
Let the Ego take control and you get never ending BREAKING NEWS cycles, short-lived (and quickly irrelevant) urgent stories, and “if it bleeds it leads.”
Let the Self guide you and you get deeply insightful stories, long-lived “evergreen” type content, and “the truth will set you free.”
The interplay between these two forces is ever-present and plays a significant role in how we experience daily life.
The Ego, when left unattended, will operate exclusively for ratings. And all ratings without a depth of content makes for a very superficial, flaky news network.
The Self, without the presence of an Ego, will operate exclusively for depth and truth. Which has its own drawbacks. Because all depth and no ratings (appeal to an audience) makes for a very small time news network.
The ideal is a type of harmonious relationship between the two.
We start by building a solid foundation of truth, identity, and understanding of the Self and then use the Ego (without letting it use us) to serve those truths in powerful, appealing ways.