Ask: Can you be in the world without ego?

           I am often asked if it is possible to be in the world (in consciousness) without ego. It’s a trick question from ego, which can only conceive of its own world (or consciousness). You cannot be in ego’s world without ego, of course. But there is no ego in Spirit’s world (or consciousness), what is called in A Course in Miracles the real world or true perception.

But I think what is often truly being asked is if consciousness, expressed as the appearance of a person, goes on without ego. And as you can see from the above paragraph, the answer is yes.

However, the answer may come down to how ego is defined. For some, ego and the person mean the same thing. But my experience has shown me to apply these labels to different things. For me, the term person refers to a body and personality, a neutral expression of consciousness. And ego is the asserted experience that ego and consciousness, represented by the person, are the same and are real. So, you can see how ego thinks consciousness cannot go on without it.

Ego asserts itself by seeming to live in, as, and through the person, so they seem to be the same thing, and it seems as though one cannot exist without the other. But ego is a thought system in consciousness; it is not consciousness. As an expression of consciousness, the person is not “run” by ego, as ego would have you believe. The person goes on automatically without ego.

Obviously, only Spirit discerns this. Ego never will.

Without ego, the person lives in gentle union with Spirit. Spirit does not identify with the person, so never confuses Itself with the person and does not live in, as, or through the person. Spirit merely allows the person to be, without judgment. So, when Spirit takes the center of consciousness and ego falls away (enlightenment), a very different experience of existence is expressed in consciousness.

Another way that ego conflates itself with consciousness is to project meaning (judgment) on what appears in consciousness, the material world. So, its projections and the material world seem to be one and the same. Ego’s focus is always on ego and consciousness—the material world, what is showing up in it, and its judgments (projections of meaning) on these, and therefore its experience of itself.

Spirit also experiences only itself. It looks to Its Source beyond consciousness, God, so It is not concerned with ego or consciousness. It is not concerned with the material world and what shows up in it. Spirit knows these are not real, so gently coexists with the appearance of a material world.

So, to answer the question, “Can you be in the world without ego?” you first must answer, “Who is the you in the question? Ego or Spirit?” and “Which world, ego’s or Spirit’s?” When ego is present in consciousness, ego feels very much in the material world. When Spirit is present in consciousness, Spirit is merely aware of the material world.

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