The Ego Problem (what they're not telling you)

3 pieces of Jungian and spiritual wisdom to escape the trap

“The ego says ‘I will,’ the self says ‘thou shalt’”

– Carl Jung, ‘Zarathustra Seminar,’ p. 568

Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette (1885) Vincent van Gogh

“Kill your ego.”

Terrible advice. If you’re new to Carl Jung, I have bad news: many great quotes attributed to him can’t be sourced. One of my favourites being: “The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.”

I like to think he said it to a friend.

Self-delusion aside, it reflects his philosophy.

As a paraphrase, it works. There’s many things wrong with our world – our general understanding and misuse of “ego” is one of them. As the great Alan Watts said:

“The biggest ego-trip going is trying to kill your ego.”

Here’s 3 pieces of Jungian and spiritual wisdom to escape the ego trap.

#1: What is “Ego”?

Latin for “I.”

The conceptualisation of “me,” “mine,” and “I.” Your idea of yourself. It’s very hard to pin-point, because like how a physical eye can’t see itself, you can’t be aware the ego because you are it.

It can’t be experienced because it is the experience.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t notice its absence.

If you’ve ever had ego-death, you’ll know what I mean. Something warps in your mind, suddenly you become an alien to yourself. The thought “I” feels at odds.

“Me” disappears.

You realise there’s more to you: the Self.

#2: What is the Self?

“The Self is not only the center but also the whole circumference which embraces both conscious and unconscious; it is the center of this totality, just as the ego is the center of consciousness”

– C.G. Jung, ‘Psychology and Alchemy,’ para. 44

The above is one of the most important quotes of our age.