Egoism and Egocentrism
_I: The solar plexus is defined by emotions, but above all by emotional bonds, the interconnections that a being has in relation to others. We have talked at the time that the links we have with the external world build what we call personality and that they constitute what we know as the Ego inside, the Self, what makes or differentiates one individual from another. We described at the time what the aspects of the Ego are, but I wonder now... If emotional ties are what generate the personality that nourishes the Ego, then is the Ego a construction of the soul?
_AM: The Universe is Vibration, and the waves of this vibration have given rise to energy. Therefore, from the point of view of what has already been created, we could say that the Universe is Energy. Everything is interconnected by energetic links because everything is energy. We call these interconnections magnetic links of positive and negative energy, but both are energy after all. That is to say, there are no energy links, but rather the same energy interacting with its aspects. Do you understand the difference?
_I: I think so. As we have described at the time in relation to the sea, the different types of energy are currents of warm or cold water that interact creating whirlwinds, waves, but despite dividing it conceptually, they are still the same sea, the same waters.
_AM: Exactly. It is the same water manifesting different aspects of itself, which interact to generate movement. Thus, what you call energetic links between different people are not separate ties that unite with separate individuals, but rather they are currents that interact with the same organism that has expressed itself in different parts. Like your own body, having different organs that interact with each other. The key is that every organ, muscle, nerve; Everything that is in you works harmoniously, it is not in teamwork, but in the notion that everyone is one: you. Each cell that has divided in your body does not interpret the other as a different one, but as an extension of itself. This allows them to interact without difficulty with each other. Therefore, it is not necessary for the heart to agree with the spleen to purge the blood, or for the brain to meet with the intestine to tell it what it needs. The interconnectivity of everyone means that everyone knows what is necessary for the whole, since they function as a unit. The concept of links between people is the same. Each person is a cell in a unique body called Humanity, and they interact with each other by nature; They are called to exchange data to expand, whether biologically, emotionally or intellectually. However, with the perception that the aspects of a being are rather the things that separate beings, humanity has created the concept of “emotional bonds” to understand the organic interaction of groups. Thus, each human cell develops a specific tool to carry out this interaction, in the same way that the proteins and enzymes of a cell are specified in specific tasks. We call that Personality. And the set of all these attributes of a cell is known as the Ego.
_I: We talked about the Ego not being something bad, but precisely that construction of attributes that allow an individual to interact with the other beings around them, like a kind of armor that separates us from others, strengthening what we are in a specific time and space. Thus, the Ego is understood as a mechanism of relationship and self-reference. However, ego concepts can be taken negatively. If the ego, then, is an energetic construction of the soul, what can the soul do to have a balanced ego?
_AM: Find the usefulness of your Egoism and Egocentrism.
_I: The two things that everyone tries to avoid, you say should be balanced rather than eradicated. No?
_AM: In a Universe that recycles energy, eradicating or discarding are absurd ideas. Ego means “I” in Latin and Greek. “Centrism” comes from “center”, meaning it means the ability of the Self to position itself at the Center of things. While “Ism” comes from the Greek “movement”, that is, the ability of the Self to move from one place to another, to leave the center to move around. Tell me, if you exist through the consciousness of the Self: what would you have to do if you eradicate both concepts?
_I: …Of course… I wouldn't have anything left. I would not exist. If I deny Egocentrism I am basically saying that what I should do is get out of the center, move to another position, and I would inevitably be Egoistic. But if I deny Egoism, what I am saying is that I should stay still in my center, in my axis, which would inevitably lead me to egocentrism. It is a dead-end system, it has no escape, it is paradoxical.
_AM: What a trap. No? That is to say, there is nothing you can do in existence other than being in the center or moving from the center, so the only escape is to stop existing.
_I: Of course… The emptiness would mean that it would not be in the center, or anywhere…
_AM: Therefore, when a person is in search of the real essence of existence, they must inevitably face Nothingness, the Void, since it is the only “place” from which a neutral perspective of existence can be taken. same.
_I: “Ceasing to exist in order to be.” It's quite paradoxical...
_AM: It's quantum. Do you know what “Quantum” means?
_I: Quantum mechanics? No, I do not know.
_AM: It means: “how much?”
_I: It's... A question?
_AM: Physics has no idea what the minimum amount of energy generated by the smallest radiations of existence is, it is not known, it cannot be logically measured. Then, the question was asked: “how much?”, which in Latin is said: “quantum?”
_I: So quantum physics, the basis of our current scientific revolution and the foundation of our intelligent technologies, foundations of the future, is based on the doubt and uncertainty of physics itself?
_AM: Exactly. The Universe is a paradox in itself. Therefore you cannot be decisive when conceptualizing something as bad or good, in everything and nothing. Let us return, then, to these two negative human concepts from which you paradoxically want to escape, and cannot do so. And we are going to understand it from the first cell that divided in your body through the process of meiosis. Meiosis comes from the Greek words “meion” (less) and “-sis” (action), that is: divide, subtract, split in the middle. It is used to refer to the division of a diploid cell (which has two chromosomes: from dad and mom), into other haploid cells (which have a single chromosome each). This is the origin of an individual and unique living being. The first cell is a whole in itself, it is a center, unique. For this reason, this cell is called Egocentric. When cell division occurs, the central potential moves and multiplies, generating the expansive movement that we will call Egoistic cells. Your life arose from egocentrism and was made possible by selfishness.
_I: It's like... Crazy, to think that every living being was born from self-reference...
_AM: And you can corroborate it based on something very natural: the only thing the organism seeks is to survive, to try to remain united and safe for as long as possible. Your whole body works in a selfish and self-centered way. Biologically, your body defends you from the external, and generates all needs in order to satisfy the Self: eating, sleeping, pleasure, fun, the 4 pillars of survival. Which basically requires a child and which is run by the older brain in the center of our head, which you call “reptilian.”
_I: We all have a reptilian inside that reminds us of basic needs and that makes us egocentric in the search to satisfy personal needs, and selfish in the intention of seeking to expand to obtain greater resources for oneself over others.
_AM: That is biological nature. Then, culture appears, the soul, the emotion, the notion that survival is ensured by working together, in a family, in a group, in a society, sharing values, bonds, in exchange. Thus, emotional bonds are another way in which the being survives with greater security, in which he realizes that what he previously did out of fear of dying, he now does for the love of living: he eats sharing with others, he sleeps with others. loved ones, finds pleasure in making love, and has fun with loved ones. This is when Egocentrism and Egoism come to take on a negative connotation, since it is said: “thinking about yourself will not help you get very far, you must think about others.”
_I: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
_AM: This is how the religious traditions that unify people as a single force are founded.
_I: But is that wrong?
_AM: Oh no, that's perfect. If it weren't for the fact that on that journey they destroyed the idea of the Ego until it was shattered, pieces, thus destroying the integrity and attributes of each individual that makes up the community. A body has achieved its great capacity to live thanks to the internal capabilities of each cell to awaken its own potential. That is when the next step begins: the mental or spiritual process of being. Here the Mind realizes that the soul has been dedicating its life to interconnectivity with others to survive, losing its own center and life force. Thus, the path of return to the center begins, the search for the axis of being, meditation, self-reference, this time with greater awareness, not from the basic reptilian needs, nor from the need to belong of the endocrine system, but from the capacity of the gray matter of seeing neutrality, of rationalizing the individual within the group. And to decorate it philosophically, she stops calling it “Egocentrism” and calls it “Essence”; She stops calling it “Egoism” and becomes known as “Empowerment of the Self.”
_I: But they are the same…
_AM: Of course they are the same, only in a higher octave of consciousness. Or rather two higher octaves (passing the biological and the emotional). There he finds the spirit, and recognizes Egoism as the pronoun: “I”, and Egocentrism as the verb: “I am”.
_I: We two… I am. So, both concepts that we usually debate in life are not impediments but stages in the development of the being.
_AM: Exactly. You cannot fight against your past or your present, you can only take them as bases, tools and supports for your future. The question would be: what future do you hope to build? Will you continue to base yourself on the needs of the body, or on the ties of the soul? Or will you go further and use those needs and bonds as tools for the awareness of your spirit?
_I: We are here for Consciousness, right?
_AM: Then return to the Center, and when you have relocated yourself to it, to the essence of your Self, expand it to the world in your spiral movement. Thus, from consciousness, you will free yourself from the heavy preconceptions of your Ego, to convert them into the qualities of your Being.
_I: I am Center, I am Movement.