Intuition and The Ego

I hear a lot of people talking about this. I’ve noticed a common theme among these teachings that the ego is bad and the intuition is good. It seems to be a widely accepted belief that the ego is something that we have to transcend or conquer in order to live life as our highest self.

I have a bit of a different approach to this topic. I don’t see our ego and intuition as this picture of good versus evil, like the little angel and devil on our shoulder. I believe that the ego and intuition play equally important roles in our lives and helping us to reach our greatest potential in life.

If you are unfamiliar with this topic of ego and intuition, let me explain what it is that I am talking about. Basically we all have three “parts” to our being. The first being Source Energy or what some refer to as God. This is the part of us that is shared with all that is. It is the essence of the universe. The second part is our soul and the third is our ego.

Ego

When you hear the word ego you may think of someone who is egotistical or full of them self. However, this is not the context that I am referring to the word. Ego, as I am speaking of it, represents our human nature. It is our likes and dislikes, our beliefs, ideals, cultural conditioning, temperament, perspectives, personality etc.

Soul

The soul is our unique energetic essence. It exists inside and outside of the body. The soul, unlike the ego, is not confined to time and matter; Because of this, the soul is able to communicate with spirit and those that are a part of the unmanifested world or “the otherside”. It is our intuition that allows us to connect with the universal truths of the divine. Our intuition is our direct line to the soul. This is also the means in which our guides speak to us and help us to navigate through the different trials in our lives.

It is important for us to stay grounded in our body and conscious of our ego and also stay present and aware of our intuition. When we live in an ego state all of the time we become very fearful and attached to things that do not serve our highest good. The ego being rooted in the brain is always in survival mode. Our brain is an analytical computer that is always looking for threats, solutions and predictions. Detaching from our intuition often leads to a fearful mentality. We may see ourselves as victims of life or become power hungry because we fear there is not enough resources to go around.

It is easy to assume that being in a constant state of connectedness to our soul is the best way to counteract the ego, however this causes us to become ungrounded and detached from reality. Relying on the intuition for guidance is essential for growth and acting in the best intereest of ourself and those around us. However we have to live in this world and in these bodies and as much as we may wish to retreat to a mountain top somewhere and stay in a constant state of meditation, that just isn’t practical. We have to rely on the ego to get stuff done, to help us to manifest our dreams and goals and bring forth divine messages into the world.

The answer to living a life of peace, joy and love is staying connected to our intuition while also staying grounded in the body. When the intuition and the ego work together as a team we have the abitily to accomplish amazing things in the world. The ego and the soul were always meant to coexist in harmony.

It is the ego that allows us to observe the soul’s teachings. I like to think of the ego as the sun and the soul as the moon. The ego, like the sun, is aggressive masculine energy. It is action, manifestation, and desire. It provides the light we need to observe the world around us and the energy life needs to grow and multiply. The soul, like the moon, is feminine energy. It is gentle, passive and subtle. It controls the waters on earth just as the soul does our emotions and intuition. The sun provides energy and the moon provides balance. Without the light from the sun the moon would be dark. It would still be there, but without light it couldn’t be observed. Without the sun illuminating the moon in the darkness we would have no light to guide us through the night. So it is with the ego and the soul. The ego is what allows us to receive the guidance from the soul and use it to navigate through our lives.

So you see The Divine uses the ego to manifest. It uses the intuition to communicate universal truth to all of us. However, we do have to honor the fact that our ego is limited in it’s ability to interpret. It can only interpret divine messages using the experiences that we have had in our lives. This is why there are so many seemly different spiritual teaching in the world. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, different cultures, and even different time eras.

This is why it is so important to know how to tune into your intuition for guidance. When you are grounded in the body while staying present with your intuition you are able to discern what is universal truth and what is ego. When you use your intuition to observe the different spiritual teachings in the world you will find that a vast majority of them share the same core essence. They share the same universal truth. You only need to know how to strip away the layers of ego in order to see.

So how do you tell the difference between the voice of the ego and the voice of intuition? Learning the difference between the two can take practice. Especially if you have been ego driven for most of your life (which is the case for many of us). There are a few things that you can do to better connect with that still small voice within.

Meditation

Meditation is the most important tool that you can use not only for your overall wellbeing, but also for connecting with your intuition. I used to think that meditation was so difficult until I discoved that my understanding of it was not entirely accurate. I always assumed that meditation was the practice of not thinking.

I would sit down on the floor in typical meditation fashion and attempt to clear my mind. This always proved to be a futile effort. The more I tried to clear my mind the more jumbled and noisy it seemed to become.

I have since learned that there are many different forms of meditation and while the practice of becoming “no mind” or clearing your thoughts, is one of them, it is probably not the best one for a newbie to start with.

I have found that using the five senses as a meditation is the easiest one to start with. This practice is simply bringing your awareness to the present moment by noticing the different sensations in the body.

To do this meditation you will need to sit in a comfortable position. I don’t recommend lying down because you don’t want to fall asleep. You can sit on a cushion on the floor or a chair. Avoid leaning on anything unless you have back problems that prevent you from supporting your own weight while seated.

Bring your awareness to the breath. Notice the sensation of the air entering and exiting the body. Feel the sensation of the nose as you inhale and exhale. You can work your way through the body in any order you like, but I like to start with the face and move down to my toes. You will bring your awareness to each part of the body, the neck, shoulders, back, chest, belly, hands, legs, etc. With each inhale imagine you are breathing in a bright light into the body. Imagine that it is swirling around the area that your attention is on. When you exhale imagine the light carrying out any tension and negative energy.

You are welcome to use any visualization that best suits you. Some people like to imagine water instead of white light and some imagine a hot orb of light energy. It’s totally up to you. The important part is that you keep your awareness in the present moment. This doesn’t mean that you will not have any thoughts. You will notice your mind trying to wonder off but each time it does, simply bring it back to the present moment.

It will take practice for you to become comfortable in your meditation. The first several times you may feel like it’s exhausting trying to keep your brain from wondering off into other things. Picture it like training a dog to walk with you. In the beginning they will want to wonder off and go their own direction but you have to keep pulling them back onto the path again and again. Eventually they will learn to walk on the path with you and your walks together become more enjoyable. This is the same with your meditation. After you have practiced consistently you will notice your meditations becoming more and more enjoyable.

Stay Present

Meditation will greatly improve your ability to stay present throughout your day. When we are going through life in an ego state, we are in a constant state of distraction. The ego is bound to the confines of time. It is always analyzing and attempting to predict outcomes. This keeps us in a constant state of past and future. When we are in our “head” we are not in the present moment.

The intuition can only be heard in the present moment because the present moment is all that truly exists. Time is created by the mind. Life never happens in the future or in the past. Everything that happens will always happen now. We are always living in the eternal now.

Bringing your awareness back to the present moment is like doing mini meditations. You don’t have to set aside 30 minutes or even 10 minutes in order to do this practice. It is as simple as bringing your attention to your breathing. Any time you start to feel stress, fatigued, anxious, angry, impatient or fearful, bring your awareness to your breathing.

You can practice doing these little mini meditations throughout your day. When I started this practice I set alarms on my phone to go off periodically throughout my day. I chose the tone to be something pleasant like a single bell sound so that it wouldn’t become annoying. This bell would be a reminder to bring my awareness to the present moment.

As you do this practice you will naturally become more in tune with your intuition. You will notice how your thoughts change, your emotions become more balanced, and your relationships improve.

If you want to learn more about the amazing power of being present, I highly recommend that you read The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle. The concept will probably seem foreign and strange at first. However, when you finally get it, it will absolutely change your life.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Tuning into your intuition is something that takes a lot of practice. The intuition is not always easy to hear over the loud and often theatrical voice of the ego. Consistent practice will give you the ability to discern between the two. Be patient with yourself and remember that anything worthwhile takes time.

Make it a priority to set time for yourself to practice tuning in to the present moment. If you don’t have the ability to set aside extra time to meditate do your meditation in the shower. Set little reminders on your phone or make a mental agreement to check in with yourself when you’re at a stop light or each time you drink a glass of water.