This is for manmustwac;
This video explains better what the ego is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCiuv55DmK4&feature=related

thanx

You are welcome.I hope the video clip explains satisfactorily what the ego is.You may have to continue with the next clip to get more info on the subject.

Very interesting! So not only do our concepts of God separate us from God , but also our concepts of Self separate us from our real self.

All conceptualising and perception, all cognitive processes, it seems, are just interpretations of reality and are thus not the truth in and of themselves. I like what Eckhart Tolle says about the ego being destined to dissolved. I only watched the first clip so I don't know if he went deeper into this statement in the other clips, but I'm curious to know how he teaches the dissolution of the ego. (not curious enough to watch more, apparently lol!).

@ jagunlabi

Are you a deist?

Pastor,you need to see the following two clips,atleast.That was clip 4,but you need to see clips 5 and 6.He did go deeper into the subject.

Pastor AIO:

Very interesting! So not only do our concepts of God separate us from God , but also our concepts of Self separate us from our real self.

All conceptualising and perception, all cognitive processes, it seems, are just interpretations of reality and are thus not the truth in and of themselves. I like what Eckhart Tolle says about the ego being destined to dissolved. I only watched the first clip so I don't know if he went deeper into this statement in the other clips, but I'm curious to know how he teaches the dissolution of the ego. (not curious enough to watch more, apparently lol!).

You know something,bindex,it is better not to use these labels.I prefer not to label myself as one thing or the other.Identifying with labels only plays into the hands of the ego.I don't like labels.

bindex:

@ jagunlabi

Are you a deist?

Pastor,i particularly recommend clip 5(the following clip) for you to watch.

Pastor AIO:

Very interesting! So not only do our concepts of God separate us from God , but also our concepts of Self separate us from our real self.

All conceptualising and perception, all cognitive processes, it seems, are just interpretations of reality and are thus not the truth in and of themselves. I like what Eckhart Tolle says about the ego being destined to dissolved. I only watched the first clip so I don't know if he went deeper into this statement in the other clips, but I'm curious to know how he teaches the dissolution of the ego. (not curious enough to watch more, apparently lol!).

It is very interesting and I relate to a lot of what he says.

Apart, maybe, from when he brings evolutionary theory in to explain the ego. I understand him to be saying that the ego evolved because there must have been an advantage in it, but now we are evolving back into an egoless state. I could have got him wrong, but that is what I understood.
When I think about that some more though, it seems like a valid argument.

I agree that immersing your mind in emptiness is the way to dissolve the ego.

Have you heard of the Secret Of The Golden Flower?

The entire Cosmos, all the myriad worlds, all of nature, all our lives, all emerge from and recede back into an unspeakably vast sea of conscious energy. This is Wuji– “the void.” From this void all things derive and back to it they all return. It represents an emptiness that is, nonetheless, mysteriously steeped full of hidden potential. Our minds can be likened to this primordial void, or are actually revealed to be part of it, when we learn to calm down and let our thoughts settle out until there is nothing but a kind of serene spaciousness. This is a state of mind pregnant with potential, just like the “emptiness” of Wuji. So long as our minds are cluttered with nervous, hyperactive thinking there is little opportunity for the birth of spontaneous insight. The world swirls around us. People come and go. Thoughts come and go. Hopes and fears come and go. We need to learn how to remain centered in this calmly open state of mind no matter what distracting concerns may confront us. When we center ourselves, by moderating mental activity, we make room for insights to instinctively arise out of this open, empty state of mind.


By turning the light around– reversing unfortunate conditioning– we free our true, natural selves from the unwholesome influence of ego. There is no impulse to transcend the physical world when ego’s prominence over our minds is checked. Health, happiness and all our natural faculties are restored to the extent that ego is removed. Life in the here and now is very important. It is not something we should neglect or sacrifice in favor of being somewhere else, some other time, or for some fantasy regarding what the future may hold. Transcendence, in terms of getting over ego is perfectly valid, but to think that physical life must be transcended is a grave error. Genuine spirituality cannot exist apart from physical life in the here and now. Do not waste time searching elsewhere.

So, turning the light around is all about identifying, deconstructing and dismissing ego-driven thoughts, images, habits, attitudes and behaviors. There is no program that can genuinely restore the vitality of a person’s mind or body without addressing ego and all the troubles it causes. Ego needs to be dislodged with a concerted effort or else it will just continue to cause ongoing troubles.

http://www.wokendreams.com/GoldenFlower/GoldenFlower2.html

The meaning of ego can be summarised in this short acronym: E. G. O.

E[/b]dging

[b]G[/b]od

[b]O[/b]ut


[b]QED  No long story.

Great thread! I read Eckhart Tolle's Awakening, and found it to be one that I gladly recommend just for what it says. He takes ideas that exist in Buddhism, Analytic Psychology, mysticism, and the esoteric amongst other streams, and combines them into a Transforming (Born again?) book a la level, Oprah.

I did keep getting the notion that he insisted the ego had to killed off, which didn't go down quite well with me. Maybe I should go pick it up again! By the way, do these Oprah's show in Nigeria by any chance?

The secret seems to be saying exactly the same thing Tolle is saying.The "Wuji",is that not what Jesus meant by the "kingdom of heaven"?

Pastor AIO:

It is very interesting and I relate to a lot of what he says.

Apart, maybe, from when he brings evolutionary theory in to explain the ego. I understand him to be saying that the ego evolved because there must have been an advantage in it, but now we are evolving back into an egoless state. I could have got him wrong, but that is what I understood.
When I think about that some more though, it seems like a valid argument.

I agree that immersing your mind in emptiness is the way to dissolve the ego.

Have you heard of the Secret Of The Golden Flower?
http://www.wokendreams.com/GoldenFlower/GoldenFlower2.html

Could be true,as long as the God you are referring to is not the butcher of OT.Because the biblical god has also edged out god ,which why he was such an egoic being.

OLAADEGBU:

The meaning of ego can be summarised in this short acronym: E. G. O.

E[/b]dging

[b]G[/b]od

[b]O[/b]ut


[b]QED No long story.

Have you read "The Power Of Now" by Tolle?If you have,what do you think of it?

buda atum:

Great thread! I read Eckhart Tolle's Awakening, and found it to be one that I gladly recommend just for what it says. He takes ideas that exist in Buddhism, Analytic Psychology, mysticism, and the esoteric amongst other streams, and combines them into a Transforming (Born again?) book a la level, Oprah.

I did keep getting the notion that he insisted the ego had to killed off, which didn't go down quite well with me. Maybe I should go pick it up again! By the way, do these Oprah's show in Nigeria by any chance?

jagunlabi:

Could be true,as long as the God you are referring to is not the butcher of OT.Because the biblical god has also edged out god ,which why he was such an egoic being.

That's what it is all about, how you can edge God out of your life and replace Him with Self. If you reverse the word self and then add h for him or her then you will understand how powerful it has become in people's lives.

By "self",you meant the "Ego".To be one with God is to see your fellow human being as one with who you are,no matter what race,creed or religion that person might be.One who is one with God,hence egoless,does not live in religious boxes and therefore sees no religious boundaries amongst humans.

OLAADEGBU:

That's what it is all about, how you can edge God out of your life and replace Him with Self. If you reverse the word self and then add h for him or her then you will understand how powerful it has become in people's lives.

jagunlabi:

By "self",you meant the "Ego".To be one with God is to see your fellow human being as one with who you are,no matter what race,creed or religion that person might be.One who is one with God,hence egoless,does not live in religious boxes and therefore sees no religious boundaries amongst humans.

By Self I mean to be selfish the opposite selfless. The perfect example is that of Jesus Christ the Creator of heaven and earth who became human to save us from the penalty of sin which was eternal death. When He hung on the cross His self was crucified, the Pharisees mocked that if He was truly the Christ that He should get down from the cross to save Himself. If Christ had saved Himself by coming down then He could not have saved us. His self was crucified so that He could save us. He could not save Himself and save others. It is either He saves Himself or He saves us which He did. Hence the commandment that we should love the Lord our God with all of our heart, minds and strength and to love our neighbours as our selves.

But the lie of the devil is for us to save ourselves by putting self first above all things and people. He first started by saying that we should make God in our own image and then to make our own laws that suits us regardless of whose ox is gored. That is, to achieve one's purposes and plans even if it means stepping on toes to get there. They edge God out of their plans and purposes and try to be good as long as it does not get in their ways. In short, it means selfishness.

jagunlabi:

Have you read "The Power Of Now" by Tolle?If you have,what do you think of it?

No jagunlabi, I have not read any other Tolle. I found most of the things he was saying in the one I read came from other books. Its a very good book I hear.

Interesting that you are trying to shoehorn Jesus into the position of the creator,because that in itself is an act of the ego,your ego,as you continue to identify with and fight for the ideology of the one group(christianity) that you belong to.
But let us for a moment accept that Jesus is the creator,why would he put himself through all that agony and die just to forgive?Why couldn't he just forgive?Why all the drama?You sin against me,i die for you,now you worship me.Is that the whole script?If this is what you have reduced Jesus to,then it is a very egoic image indeed.
I,personally, do not see that act as an act of selflessness,but rather a silly and needless journey through masochism.
But this is a whole different topic alltogether.What i just want to point out to you and other christians is that you all have made Jesus into the most egocentric being on earth with the way you interprete the gospels.

OLAADEGBU:

By Self I mean to be selfish the opposite selfless. The perfect example is that of Jesus Christ the Creator of heaven and earth who became human to save us from the penalty of sin which was eternal death. When He hung on the cross His self was crucified, the Pharisees mocked that if He was truly the Christ that He should get down from the cross to save Himself. If Christ had saved Himself by coming down then He could not have saved us. His self was crucified so that He could save us. He could not save Himself and save others. It is either He saves Himself or He saves us which He did. Hence the commandment that we should love the Lord our God with all of our heart, minds and strength and to love our neighbours as our selves.

But the lie of the devil is for us to save ourselves by putting self first above all things and people. He first started by saying that we should make God in our own image and then to make our own laws that suits us regardless of whose ox is gored. That is, to achieve one's purposes and plans even if it means stepping on toes to get there. They edge God out of their plans and purposes and try to be good as long as it does not get in their ways. In short, it means selfishness.

OLAADEGBU:

The meaning of ego can be summarised in this short acronym: E. G. O.

E[/b]dging

[b]G[/b]od

[b]O[/b]ut


[b]QED  No long story.

This aptly explains why the average pentecostal pastor is sooooo EGOistic. Obviously they have kept God out of their lives.

OLAADEGBU:

By Self I mean to be selfish the opposite selfless. The perfect example is that of Jesus Christ the Creator of heaven and earth who became human to save us from the penalty of sin which was eternal death.

This is another lie that a certain group of so -called christians bandy about[ i don't know if they are actually trying to dis-credit christianity] but there is nowhere in the bible that Jesus claimed to be God or the creator. He constantly acknowledged and prayed to God his father in heaven who sent him.

PS: The concept of trinity does not have any sound scriptural basis.

KunleOshob:

This aptly explains why the average pentecostal pastor is sooooo EGOistic. Obviously they have kept God out of their lives.

You may have a point there.

KunleOshob:

This is another lie that a certain group of so -called christians bandy about[ i don't know if they are actually trying to dis-credit christianity] but there is nowhere in the bible that Jesus claimed to be God or the creator. He constantly acknowledged and prayed to God his father in heaven who sent him.

PS: The concept of trinity does not have any sound scriptural basis.

This concept of yours is an evidence that you might have a cultic leaning or background.

KunleOshob:

This aptly explains why the average pentecostal pastor is sooooo EGOistic. Obviously they have kept God out of their lives.

This is another lie that a certain group of so -called christians bandy about[ i don't know if they are actually trying to dis-credit christianity] but there is nowhere in the bible that Jesus claimed to be God or the creator. He constantly acknowledged and prayed to God his father in heaven who sent him.

PS: The concept of trinity does not have any sound scriptural basis.

Kunle non beleif in the trinity is a very dangerous position for a christian.Even though the bible does not explicitly describe the trinity ,it was implied in several bible quotations.Once more you should know that not everything was writen in the bible,the Apostles established churches and ordained bishops these people passed a lot of teachings to us which were not included in the bible.This trinity beleif was part of these teachings.Remember also that Jesus was worshiped in several bible passagesand he did nothing to reprimand thse who worshipped him.

The trinity debate was long settled by the council of nicea,you should know that the resolutions of that council are binding on every christian.

chukwudi44:

Kunle non beleif in the trinity is a very dangerous position for a christian.Even though the bible does not explicitly describe the trinity ,it was implied in several bible quotations.Once more you should know that not everything was writen in the bible,the Apostles established churches and ordained bishops these people passed a lot of teachings to us which were not included in the bible.[/i]This trinity beleif was part of these teachings.Remember also that Jesus was worshiped in several bible passagesand he did nothing to reprimand thse who worshipped him.

The trinity debate was long settled by the council of nicea,you should know that the resolutions of that council are binding on every christian.

This is what I term as half truths and half false propositions.  The trinity which is also called the Godhead is not only described in the Bible it is explained throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  The word Trinity which was coined by man may not be found in Scripture but the word Godhead which means the divine nature of the tri-une God is clearly written in the authorised version of the Bible. (Acts. 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9)

John 1:1-3 states that [i]"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."

With the verse above, if you believe in the absolute authority in the word of God, you will realise that Jesus the Creator, is the Word.  The Bible is the written Word.  Read Col.1:15-20 for better understanding of who Jesus Christ is.

You will now see that this is not a matter of promoting your church tradition as every church has their own tradition so there no reason to massage your ego here.  The word of God is not equal to your (church) tradition but the very Jesus Christ who is the living Word of God.  Read what Jesus had to say about those Pharisees who placed their allegiance on the traditions of their elders above the Word of God in Matt.15:1-9.  So my advice to you is to throw your church traditions that has nothing to do with the Word of God away into the bin of forgetfulness and begin to obey the Word of the living God.

KunleOshob:


This is another lie that a certain group of so -called christians bandy about[ i don't know if they are actually trying to dis-credit christianity] but there is nowhere in the bible that Jesus claimed to be God or the creator. He constantly acknowledged and prayed to God his father in heaven who sent him.

PS: The concept of trinity does not have any sound scriptural basis.

1Timothy 3:16
(16) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

@Kunle,

Although there is no passage in the Bible that explicitly states the trinity,it was implied in several bible passages

JESUS IMPLIED AS GOD

Heb1:6
All God's angels must worship him

could you please explain how worship could be directed to someone who is not God?
Heb 1:8
About the son however God said "Your kingdom O GOD would last forever

How come God here addressed him as God?
heb1:10
You lord created the earth and with your own hands made the heavens

How come one whom is not God created the heavens and the earth

Philipians 2:6
He always had the nature of God ,but did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God.

This verse implied he was equal with God and was of the same nature with him.

John 14:9-10

Philip said to him show us the father that ia all we need.Jesus answered him,for along timw Ihave been with you and yyet you do not know me philip?He who has seen me has seen the father,why do you say show us the father?Do you not beleive philip that I am in the fathjer and the father in me

John 1;1 In the begining the word alresdy existed,the word was with God and the word was God
HOLY SPIRIT IMPLIED AS GOD
Acts5:3-5

Peter said to him,Ananias why did you let satan take control of you to let you lie to the holy spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property?Before you sold the property it belonged to you and after you sold it the money was yours why then did you decide to do such a thing ? You have not lied to men but to God.

How could ananias have lied to Gopd if the holy spirit was not God?

TRINITY IMPLIED
Gen 1:26
Then God said and now WE will make make human beings ,they will be like US and resemble US.

How come a singular God became plural?

I could go no and on but these would suffice for now

The Mystery of the Trinity

There is a story that St. Augustine was walking on the beach contemplating the mystery of the Trinity. Then he saw a boy in front of him who had dug a hole in the sand and was going out to the sea again and again and bringing some water to pour into the hole. St. Augustine asked him, “What are you doing?” “I’m going to pour the entire ocean into this hole.” “That is impossible, the whole ocean will not fit in the hole you have made” said St. Augustine. The boy replied, “And you cannot fit the Trinity in your tiny little brain.” The story concludes by saying that the boy vanished as St. Augustine had been talking to an angel

I would not go into this debate of trinity though i am glad you guys have admitted it was only implied and not expressly stated. What was expressly stated several times is that Jesus is the son of God and i accept that and would rather run with that rather than what some people want to force into the bible "by implication".

@ kunle

Discussion about the trinity cannot be wished away justv like that since beleif in it is very vital to your salvation.I would like you to respond to the questions I posed .and also comment on the experience of st Augustine

chukwudi44:

@ kunle

Discussion about the trinity cannot be wished away justv like that since beleif in it is very vital to your salvation.I would like you to respond to the questions I posed .and also comment on the experience of st Augustine

I think this matter deserves a thread of it's own.

The EGO is at work again.Two different versions of the same ideology battling it out for supremacy on who is right and who is wrong.
PARTY 1:Jesus is god
Party 2: Jesus is son of god.

Who can deny that Eckhart Tolle is wrong about the ego and the effect it has on the human behaviours?

jagunlabi:



Who can deny that Eckhart Tolle is wrong about the ego and the effect it has on the human behaviours?

Maybe the Ego can.

It always can,if not recognized,ofcourse.Good observation,pastor.

Pastor AIO:

Maybe the Ego can.