Is the ego-less life for Darkworkers?

[Myth]

I have recently been quite interested in what people refer to as the dissolving of the ego - or more accurately observing ones own thoughts with indifference.

Recognising many daily thoughts for what they are - phantoms created by the ego. This is particularly true in the case of emotions such as hatred, anger, frustration, etc.

On the surface dissolving the ego seems like quite a "lightworker" path.. but is this really the case?

Dissolving the ego involves recognising these self-perpetuating thoughts as being something not part of your pure awareness - instead they are feel like self-serving thoughts which control and manipulate their host. In moments of realisation, therefore, one must actually reject the self, or at least the phantom of self, in order to appreciate these thoughts without judgement.

Note the phrase "rejecting the self"... difficult for a darkworker as our path cultivates a complete love of the self.

But perhaps the solution here is that there are two selfs, the true self and the ego? I don''t know, I''ve only just started to understand this stuff so it''s difficult for me to comment.

I''d like to know other people''s thoughts on this. Would particular, of course, appreciate input from out resident experts.

[Inkvizitor]

I''m not an expert in Darkworking, but I would like to share my thoughts on this.

My English is not good enough yet to discuss the precise means of such terms like ego, self, etc, so I''ll try to use the most common concepts. There is a part in every person that wants to kinda "hide in my mouse house from the big dangerous world and dive into TV and junk food". If you''ll let such desires to rule you, I believe you won''t get far in Darkworker path for sure. Lazy and fat tv-junkie - this is definitely not how a Prince should look like!

Darkworker uses self-love as a source of motivation to provide him(her)self with the best options available in life. And almost always some self-restraining, self-discipline and hard work required. For best life quality you''ll need great health -> that requires smart diet, and regular exercise. For best career you''ll need to devote time for education. Etc.

Those urges - I don''t think you should focus on dissolving them, or on dissolving the ego in general. Focus - this is a great word, used not very rare here for a reason. By focusing on self-love you will very soon get an insight, like "hey, this shit <insert here junk food, tv, mmorpg, anything> is too lame for me! I deserve the best, and this shit is a fucking dead end actually.". (There is a separate topic - you may not see the best because you don''t believe that you could really get it, but it''s beyond the scope of this thread). The point is that instead of wasting your time and energy on fighting with those urges, you''ll get energy and motivation for achieving what is really best for you by focusing on self-love.

[Illustro Cado]

In my own experience, every significant advance I''ve made has been a cycle of tearing myself down and building myself up. While I''m certainly not an expert my studies, observations, and experiences point to a paradox wherein self-annihilation is a necessary precursor heightened self-hood. That''s because of all the layers of misidentification we have to work through. When you remove one layer you''ll find another, and I imagine this process continues all the way to the sage level. Though the motivation is love of self, self cannot love itself fully unless it delves deep enough to see itself for what it is.

[Myth]

By ego I mean of the ego talked in Zen, Mindfulness, The Power of Now, etc.

The ego is source of a desire for revenge, and it is that with feels hurt when you think you''ve been "hard done by."

As a general rule, it''s something I avoid.

But I was wondering if it is congruent as a dark-worker to dissolve this entity entirely. I''m fairly sure it is, I''d like some clarification from Asmoday though.

[Illustro Cado]

That''''s understandable. Based on what I''''ve studied you''re right. If you go back to the old Hindu and Buddhist traditions they had an entire system revolving around the attainment of Nirvana through left-hand methods.

Edit: what I mean by left-hand methods is that indulgence is more often favored than abstinence. It''s not to say every whim is to be obliged but that you master anger by using it, you control your sex-drive by conscious lust, etc. Instead of ego dissolution via abstinence you get ego dissolution by exhaustion. Asmoday himself alludes to this when he mentions Vajrayana Buddhism in this article: http://darkworkers.com/2008/05/what-is-a-darkworker/

There''s no definitive answer as to whether or not cosmic oneness/ego dissolution is an acceptable end to darkworking but there''s absolutely no doubt that LHP methods have been adopted by such systems.

[Tympani]

I have vastly different thoughts on this subject than I had a few months ago, when I first read it. Before, I experienced a knee-jerk rejection of such a thing as an ''ego-less'' life. It seemed to me that I had already made many attempts along that vein, and I associated it with the "dying to self" that is present in the Christian bible.

Since then, I have come full circle in my beliefs, to the point where I see my Self as standing apart from everything I believe, and everything I do. I watch myself as thoughts come and go. I change creeds like a clotheshorse changes shoes, kicking them for not matching my intentions for the day, or choosing to go without, completely.

I laugh to myself as I watch my mental meanderings, and just overflow with love.

It could be that this is a form of ''ego-less'' life. Or, it could be that I am living an ''ego-more'' life. Either way, I highly recommend stepping back and getting a bigger picture of Who you really Are... because it is likely much more than a collection of traits that we usually define our ''ego'' to be.

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Cado, I am also familiar with the burn-down-and-rise-from-the-ashes approach. It has been my preferred method of growth since 1988. (I don''t think it entered my consciousness until after my second move, so I don''t claim it as being in my arsenal from the begining.) How is it going for you, now?

[CanadianViking]

Personally, I think the quest for an ego-free life is misguided, to say the least.
 
If you want to know what a world without the ego would look like, check out Anthem by Ayn Rand. The setting may seem a little far-fetched at the outset, but it represents the logical conclusion to a path of selflessness and ego denial.
I don''t think anyone, darkworker or otherwise truly desires a life such as that.

[Chaosphaere]

I don''t really call myself anything (and have my own construction - the chaos principle, primordial energy), but if I had to pick one, I''d pick Darkworker, because at least by admitting that I have an ego that needs care and feeding, I''m actually being honest and heck... even more likely to be a decent person.

IMO, some of the biggest cunts I''ve known in my life, have been self-described lightworkers.

[Entelechy]

The ego is the driving force of life. To truly live without your ego is virtually impossible.

However, becoming increasingly impartial towards certain things is very doable.