The Ego Game

I was in a workshop. We had to work in groups. We were made to sit in circles. My group is just right in front, in the corner of the hall. A topic was given to be discussed within each group and at the end someone had to present the result of the discussion. The way we presented should be with mindfulness. Everyone was in silence, listening to the presenter attentively and appreciatively. It created a very good feeling and atmosphere. I presented on behalf of my group, then followed by other groups. I really enjoyed the atmosphere during this session.

After the workshop was over, I said to the facilitator “It was really good. Very nice experience.” She agreed with me and said “Yes. It was very powerful. I could feel a very strong vibration in the middle of the hall.” This last sentence of her gave me a feeling of not being valued because I was not in the middle of the hall. In fact, she didn’t say that to me. But it was funny how the feeling of being not valued was there. I knew that I had got hurt.

You might get hurt because someone did not value you, or respect you. You might feel someone even insulted you. This is an ego game. It is not you that got hurt. It is the ego that got hurt, not you.

What is ego? Ego is the false identity you have given for yourself. We give identities to the self differently according to our role (what we are doing), our responsibility, or our position – “I am a manager. I am senior. I am the boss. I am so and so.” Why false? It is not permanent, it can change. It is associated with your body, not with the soul. Anything associated with the body is not permanent. It’s the soul that is permanent and never changes. So ego, in fact, is the identity related to body.