Every religion, every religious philosophy on planet Earth, includes or is based on suppression of the Ego. Eliminating it entirely is the one vision they all share, as if that were possible; of course, it is not. The best that can be achieved is the instilling of fear, guilt, and shame—seedlings for neuroses and psychoses—if not because one has committed volitional offenses against God, then for an Original Sin, the sin of being human—try and weasel out of that one! In Buddhism, desire is deemed the root of all evil. In Christianity it is the “love of money,” on top of being a natural born sinner subjected to the influence of an internal or external Satan plus fallen minions.
NoetiTao™ is the exception. Ego is good; suppression is not.
The Holy Bible says we were made in the “image and likeness of God”—a twist-resistant scrap of scripture. The Hermetic saying is: “As above, so below.” The New Testament says it with emphasis on human efficacy: “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” In the Old Testament the revelation came to Moses in a word that translates to: “I am that I am.” Further study of the story of Moses, via the Torah and Zohar, makes it clear that Moses was being told that he had the power within himself to free the slaves from Egypt. Moses came to realize what it means to be the “image and likeness.” Sound blasphemous? Do the homework.
Sigmund Freud theorized a tripartite psyche/human mind composed of an Id (the “It”), a Superego (the “over-I”), and an Ego (the “I”). In his theory, the Id has no sense of propriety or Time. As the source of basic human drives focused on experiencing pleasure, the Id corresponds to the concept of “supraconscious” mind—or Carl Jung’s concept of a collective unconscious. The Superego operates in opposition to the Id. It is the source of internal conflict, condescension, confrontation—of contrast and confabulation; it is the Id’s adversary, the inner accuser that bedevils human decision-making. The Ego is the Id’s operational “arm,” the aspect of mind that dreams, shapes, and participates in the ground-zero world of waking consciousness.
The NoetiTaoist™ perspective is that the Id corresponds to the “I am” that extends Itself from “above.” The Ego corresponds to the “I am” that, “below,” reaches upwards for guidance, insights, and understanding. The Superego does its best to thwart that at-one-ment by darkening the glass between the seemingly two that are actually One. And the religions of this world effectively serve to reinforce that barrier. In his self-awareness, Moses dared to brazenly confront Pharaoh, rally the multitude of slaves, lead the parting of the Red Sea, and that was not the half of it. What an incredible Ego!
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