Ego

A shape that keeps shifting

Oops, I’ve landed on Ego - it is just shy of one tile from enlightenment. It is also the trap - a trap door with a snake to take me down to Humility next week. So here’s the lesson, when you get closer to the top of the Gyan Chaupar board, this square serves as a reminder of the journey that you’ve been on and formed a version of yourself. You need dissolve it, or it may dissolve you.

Ego is often seen as something negative, something to get rid of. But perhaps ego isn’t the problem. Perhaps it’s just something that keeps needing to grow, change, and be reborn.

Our ego, or sense of "I", is shaped by our life experiences - our fears, identity, family stories, cultural expectations, and our need for safety or approval. It tries to create structure and certainty. But the truth is, ego is not fixed. Just when we think we’ve got it sorted, life asks us to shift again.

Every time our ego softens or cracks open, we often move closer to who we really are. It’s part of the process. The ego isn’t bad, it just needs to be updated regularly so it doesn’t get in the way of our deeper path.

When things start to flow and feel simpler, we usually know that we’re more aligned with our soul, not just operating from ego. This doesn’t mean life becomes perfect, but it does feel more connected. We stop pushing so hard. We stop trying to control every outcome.

The ego often wants to take charge. It says, “I know best,” or “I need to prove myself.” The soul, on the other hand, says, “Let’s take a breath and trust.” Learning to spot when our ego is taking over, usually through striving, control, comparison, or fear - is a useful practice.

None of this is about giving up or stepping back from life. It’s about recognising when we’re being led by pressure instead of presence. When we’re trying to prove something instead of simply showing up as we are.

So the real work is allowing the ego to keep adjusting, so it becomes clearer, quieter, and more in service of the bigger picture.

Mantra for the week:
"I’m not here to prove. I’m here to align."

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As usual, below are our 4 thoughts and 2 questions about Ego.

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4 thoughts on Ego

From Maxime Lagace

Dissolve your ego, before it dissolves your self.

From Michel De Montaigne

On the highest throne of the world, we still have to sit on our own bottom.

From Sigmund Freud

Where id was, there ego shall be

From Carl Jung

The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.

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Two questions about Ego

1. Where am I trying too hard to control or prove something?

2. What might change if I allowed more trust, even in small ways?

This week, I invite you to spend time with yourself, just be. Listen to what you are saying about you.

With the warmth of the summer sun,
Vineeta

If you’d like to explore these ideas through Gyan Chaupar — the ancient game of inner ascent — boards and posters are available at gyanchaupar.co.uk