Handling the Ego Thoughts

Today we let no ego thoughts direct our words or actions. When such thoughts occur, we quietly step back and look at them, and then we let them go. We do not want what they would bring with them.  And so we do not choose to keep them.
ACIM-W-254: 2:1-4

Wow!  That is the secret isn't it?  We just need to let the ego thoughts pass by without any identification or clinging to them.  We do not need to set up barriers of resistance, we do not need to deny them or struggle against them.  We just need to let them pass by.

Ego can be tricky...it manipulates and draws us in. It pretends to be on our side and it pretends to be us. So how do we recognize the ego thoughts so we can let them go?

You know they are ego thoughts when:

• They are full of judgment determining what is right or wrong, good or bad
• They  point outward for happiness...they tell you that this 'thing' outside you is what you need to be happy
• They pull you from the moment into the past or future
• They have familiar voices...like those of people you may  have known
• They point outward for blame... they tell you you  are a victim to something or someone. "It's not your fault!  It's theirs!"
• They are often stamped with "Urgent!  Respond Immediately!!!"
• They encourage you to protect yourself with defenses or to attack someone or something else for your own protection
• They are full of "I", "me" and "mine"
• They tell you how important it is to be 'right'
• They convince you you know more than you do
• They either redeem or shame
• They tell you you are 'special' or not 'special enough'
• They tell you in order to be 'special' you need to love and be loved by a 'special' few in 'special' relationships
• They are unpredictable and fickle...leaving you confused and 'unstable'...one moment happy, the next moment not
• They react to life circumstances
• They like to be shared with as many people as possible.  They want to be heard.
• They are full of drama and story
• They are full of complaint and grievance
• They snicker at any idea of you or others  being more than a mind or a body
• They are unkind to you or others
• They are numerous and repetitive
• They have a tendency to be negative
• They often push us to do, to numb
• They make promises of how things will be better 'when'
• They are determined and persistent
• They want to control you and others
• They are made of "should', "Gotta', 'Have-to", 'must'
• They are also made up of 'can't', 'always', 'never' and 'not good enough'
• They pretend to have power over you making you feel like you are 'stuck' and powerless to change them.
• They depend on your five senses to validate them
• They multiple quickly and spread malignantly
• They do not leave you peaceful for long, if at all.

So what do you do when you recognize a thought entering your mind as an ego thought?

• Still yourself
• Take a deep breath and focus on that breath 
• Simply call each out "Oh you are one of those ego thoughts  trying to pull me in again."
• Then  smile and say, "No thanks!  I don't want what you have to offer."
• Step back and let them pass by.
• Once they are subdued...your mind will quiet tremendously.
• Spend more time in silence...hearing what you really need to hear.

Let every voice but God's be still in me. -ACIM-W-254

All is well!