The limited ego is the mediator or gatekeeper between my deep internal state of being and the external world. Although the vibrational frequency of all signals that emerge from my deeper internal state may start out as positive, they lose power as they make their way through the limited ego filter/gatekeeper. Then I find myself unable to follow through on a pure, positive intention. The limited ego creates a sense of identity on the basis of physical aspects such as nationality, culture, religion, gender, profession, possession, marital status, and so on. Even traces of a limited physical identity will keep me seeking a sense of accomplishment and pride on the basis of what I do and what I have. I will then find it difficult to think of myself as a child of God. The limited ego cannot really love itself, so self-respect is continually undermined. The limited ego’s source of fulfilment is physical sensations. An attraction to the temporary pleasures of the world is strengthened and reinforced by the limited ego. Then I crave or rely on pleasure from worldly sources and the soul is unable to fulfil the spiritual craving underlying it. Limited ego stops me from having an intense desire for spiritual development and using it to overcome my attraction to sense pleasures. The limited ego constructs pride on the basis of acquired knowledge. It believes that to KNOW is to BE, that ideals are reality. The limited ego builds castles on the basis of very little and expresses itself as subtle arrogance in my thoughts, attitudes, and behaviour in relation to others. Then I am unable to have caring feelings for others. The limited ego prioritizes activities on the basis of a false scale of values. So, I am left having gained the world but losing my soul. The limited ego keeps me busy pursuing things that add no value to my divine development but convinces me they do. The limited ego shifts my perception of my environment, so I see value in activities that reinforce ego. Ask the self, “How many things do I still do or chase that do not add value to my spiritual development?” The limited ego makes true things appear false and false things appear true. The limited ego distorts everything I do to add emphasis/drama and make it more interesting. I begin to live inside the story it creates and am unable to accurately discern what is real and false in my actual environment. The limited ego isolates me from others and maintains an illusion that I am separate. This illusion allows the limited ego to judge and organize me and my life around things that interests it. Slowly I forget the natural beauty of the experience of the consciousness of ‘we’ or ‘us’ and dig an even deeper hole for myself to hide in. The limited ego creates a false sense of security in things that ultimately do not give me real support. The limited ego creates dependences on people, possessions, and positions for my sense of well-being. The limited ego leads me to believe that I am indispensable or essential. Fear of losing things that I am dependent upon becomes a subtle limitation and produces many mind games. Ask the self: “If I lost all the things or people to which I feel dependent, I would still exist. What would be my experience?” The limited ego restricts and interferes with my spiritual development because it knows/suspects that this will ultimately lead to its extinction. The limited ego convinces me to make excuses like ‘it’s human to make mistakes.’ The limited ego creates doubts about the possibility of self-transformation and undermines my discipline. Ask the self: “What are the excuses (selflies) that I frequently use so as not to make the necessary spiritual effort?”
Ken O’Donnell is an author and the director of Brahma Kumaris’ services in South America.