This commentary is by George Plumb, a resident of Washington, Vermont, and a member of Buddhist Peace Action Vermont.
Vermont author Miles Sherts has just come out with a timely and informative new book titled “Ego Conspiracy — How Mindful Awareness Can Reveal a Hidden Truth.”
The reading is a major help to us in understanding the underlying problems that we are facing, ranging from the war in Ukraine to global warming and the rise of fascist leaders around the world.
Before I go into detail, we must understand what ego is. Miles refers to ego as “the idea of a separate self or personality that we call me.” We live with our ego, which makes us think of ourselves as separate from the rest of society. Without our ego, it seems hard for us to understand what is going on in the world around us.
It is not just powerful leaders who are controlled by their ego, as clearly evidenced by Putin, but each and every one of us. It is the illusion created by our ego that makes us act the way we do, whether it is responding to the people around us or dealing with major problems like racial inequality. We constantly say to ourselves, “I am right and you are wrong,” whether the other is an individual or a movement.
Sherts proclaims that our ego is not really who we are. It is basically the story we tell ourselves in order to maintain control of our lives. He states that this creates an illusion of self.
He proposes that, to change our thinking, we need to transition to reality, and that we do this by seeking a spirituality that binds us to all life on Earth. His practice is “mindfulness,” so that we are aware of our thoughts being thoughts and not reality.
He goes on to cite that Trump and many other leaders are energized by their ego rather than caring for all life on earth.
As a personal example of my ego in action, I have long been an advocate for stabilizing our population size to a sustainable number. But instead of saying I am correct in limiting my family size and you are wrong to have so many children, I would now say, “Let’s talk so that we understand my needs to limit the number of children I have had and your needs to have more children.”
Understanding our ego and how to deal with it is central to democracy. In a well-functioning democracy, decisions are made that benefit all people because the emphasis is on “we and not me.”
Miles stresses that we all have a need for belonging to a larger community and that, by doing so, we are part of something bigger than ourselves, rather than being an isolated individual. He also stresses going on a spiritual journey that takes us out of our usual paradigm. This includes enhancing our sense of love because when we love more, we are less involved in having our ego guide us.
We are certainly living in difficult times as we face devastating climate change, deterioration of the environment, and the rise of fascism in countries around the world, including the U.S. Understanding ego and how to deal with it is a complex subject but if more of us, and particularly our world leaders, learn to understand it, that will be a major help in solving these problems.
I highly recommend this book and urge everyone to begin a spiritual practice that results in better understanding of how to love ourselves and all life on Earth without being controlled by our ego, which is not who we are.
