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The Ego and Self: On Having the Last Word

By: Will Joel Friedman, Ph.D.


Faded photo of a lighthouse with the following text on top of it:  One night at sea, the ship’s captain saw what looked like the lights of another ship heading toward him. He had his signalman blink to the other ship: “Change your course 10 degrees south.”

What a shinning gem to discover this story! All the essential dynamics of the right-wrong game are here on grand display—the fixations, positions, power struggle, opinions, one-up and one-down hierarchical structure, arrogant false pride and misperceptions. While it takes two to tango, the ego’s game is unveiled by its growing impatience, reactivity and inflexibility. Reality’s trump card comes soon enough, revealing how the ego has nothing and, if it wishes to survive, must surrender. Carl G. Jung brilliantly observed, “There is a point at which the ego turns and bows to the Self.”

 

© 2009 by Will Joel Friedman, Ph.D.   All Rights Reserved Worldwide.


"I specialize in Presence-centered therapy balancing mind, body & spirit. Focus is on inhabiting this present moment, witnessing & releasing the ego-mind's unworkable patterns, desensitizing root emotional charges, and gaining tools to thrive."
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Keywords:
ego and self

Tags:
Ego Divorce Mindfulness Self Improvement Psychology Ego Psychology

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created: 5/17/2009 8:53:12 PM | last modified: 9/2/2010 4:24:50 AM