Judgment Feeds the Ego and Discernment Feeds the Soul Image

The Ego Vs. Soul - What Do You Feed?

By Anaydia Earle  | Submitted On February 10, 2014

There are long literary pieces about the ego and the soul. Pieces that discuss which one you feed and which feeds you. In the bible, John 5:31 states that "If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true". While sharing my own experience, we also have countless books on the subject, one of my favorites being Altar ego by best selling author Craig Groeschel, who wrote "take your idea of your own identity, lay it down on the altar, and sacrifice it. Give it to God. Offer it up.Why? Because you are who GOD says you are. And until you've sacrificed your broken concept of your identity, you won't become who you are meant to be.

When we place our false labels and self-deception on the altar of God's truth, we discover who we really are as his sons and daughters. Instead of an outward-driven, approval-based ego, we learn to live with an 'altar' ego, God's vision of who we are becoming."

Who's to say what is right or wrong? I dare not, as that is all a matter of opinion. I will share my perspective, without judging any one school of thought. I'll share my perspective in a curious manner.

To start, would you agree that your soul is divine and the essence of purity, your sacred and true self? I see my soul as my imprint and identity. That which chooses to move a part of my body, and makes all of the decisions that my being follows. I see my soul as the spiritual brain, and life source that directs my physical brain and the mechanics of what I choose to do with my body. My soul being a proverbial muscle or, as some may see it, a light, that can be strengthened and radiated with positive energy from deep within. It can also be weakened through neglect or dimmed by its choices.

Attending to our soul is like caring for any other part of our being. It is nurtured in our childhood, molded and trained to love, to hate, to be numb, indifferent, or a mix of all. Or maybe it's never trained at all? Either way, it's our God given light which starts out pure. It is darkened at times, and like a white tee shirt that's been dragged in mud, and then scrubbed with bleach to remove the stains, can we also scrub our soul? So is it safe to say that like that white tee shirt, the purity of our soul is constant, although it may be stained at times? Like the Clorox we use on our white washables, can we cleanse our soul with cleaning agents like prayer, leading our actions with kindness and compassion? Maybe the filth we accumulate is rung out with meditation, practicing faith, and sharing genuine love for all whom we touch each day?

Then there is the ego. "Feed his ego" my mother would say. But just what is it and why do we need to keep feeding it? And what happens when we forget to feed it? Does it go on a crash diet? If not ready for the deprivation, does it rebel and binge on everything in sight that may give it pleasure, and that feeling of being full? Maybe then leaving it feeling stuffed, guilty, and then looking for the fourth and fifth serving ever so often, to keep it "Fed"? So before I share my take on the ego, here's a reminder... it's simply my perspective, sprinkled with a little curiosity as always.

Through my own experiences with the soul and ego, I have come to think that God gives us our soul, and the devil presents us with the ego. Yes I know I went there. No offense to those who love their egos or Beyonce who wrote a song about it. Everyone is love, and I certainly enjoy my Beyonce playlist! But truly, think about this one. What happens when we act soulfully versus egotistically?

I can only speak for myself. When I act with my ego, it's typically a reaction that is almost always negative or leading to a negative result. I then ask, is the ego even real, or is it an armor we build of ourselves based on our childhood experiences, past disappointments, and deeply rooted pain that we may not have known how to process? Maybe our soul was not mature enough, to understand how to handle pain and hurt at earlier stages in life? Does that then lead to the creation of our faux self? Is it our faux self that is conditioned to grow through external sources that are fleeting? If constantly fed, does it become the wolf within? Does feeding an ego really lead to the heart, or does it lead to repeatedly broken hearts?

Again, my mother would say, "We feed a man's ego to make him feel ten feet tall". My response to her, respectfully, is "Don't feed a man's or anyone's ego. It's a bottomless pit that does not grow us, does not lead with compassion and kindness, and is irreverent to humility". Instead, should we attempt to touch a man's soul through inspiring him to find his way to the sacrum of his soul? Should we empower him to connect to his most sacred essence, to his truest and highest self, the tenants of his everlasting light within? Is it only then that we assist him in going vastly past ten feet tall? We feed his soul which soars beyond the measure of inches and feet. We assist him in finding his highest self, which needs no external praise, as it is uplifted from within the realm of never ending light, love, wisdom, and kindness that radiates from within him. Assist him in nourishing his soul and watch his expansion from within.

With love,
Namaste!

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