Complaining and the Ego

by Darlene Barriere
(Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada)

Setting the Ego Aside

Last night was the 3rd online class with Oprah and Eckhart Tolle. For those of you who are not enrolled, each week deals with a new chapter in Tolle's book A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. The third chapter titled The Core of Ego was covered in last night's netcast.

One of our assignments for the week was to focus when we complain, including fault-finding, grumbling and making negative comments in speech or in thought.

It was another enlightening week for me as I prepared for this class on ego.

When I "complain" it is about my own personal expectations not being met. But what was interesting this week is that I was able to catch myself in the complaining mode. Catching myself in mid-stream gave me the ability to stop and recognize it for what it was: my ego taking over. My inner self watched as the scene unfolded. Any feelings of resentment were set aside. No emotions. No resistance. Just acceptance and inner peace.

I also recognized the ego in others. Not as a judgment. Not in feelings of superiority. Rather, a connection in the human experience. Each time I shared an experience with another person, my sense of connectedness became stronger, more unified.

Although we all have an ego, my ego and the ego of others is not who we are. We are not labels that define our actions and characteristics. We are not the past that we have lived. We are not the future we set out to achieve. Those are all thought-generated. We are much deeper than that. We share something intrinsic, something that I can only describe as a meeting of consciousness. Consciousness that can only be found in the Now, the present; not in the past or the future.