Ego: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality.
This statement was made after further reading Eckhart Tolle's book A New Earth Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. Simply stated, it can have a profound effect for those who suffer chronic pain. The ego, conscious mediator between our persona and reality, is in effect the drive that can reduce or enhance daily flare-ups. After all, how often do you find yourself having self dialogue with your inner person when anxiety threatens? Often, painful flare-ups are the root cause of some of these adverse situations that have lain inadvertently in our paths.
When unpleasant conditions arise, pain begins to increase as our inner dialogue gains strength and takes over the moment. We begin self conversations that increase with frequency as the minutes pass.
"I must take care of this immediately so it does not affect me further."
"Excuse me, who do I need to get in touch with NOW, so this does not proceed further?"
"I hate this job, it riddles me with pain each night."
"Who are you and what gives you the right to speak to me that way?"
These thoughts begin to spiral in the dark parts of our mind until we get a full fledge script, well written, to take into the battle of true reality. We rehearse and rehearse what needs to be said to the culprit who sabotaged our day. Or we relive the struggles that occurred that day until we can put a finger on why we were so wrongly afflicted. On and on we pursue until that dialogue is perfected and ready to shield us from future attempts. We are angry, depressed, far resolved and oblivious to the pain it is also providing us. This double sworded connection to the ego can cut us in two if not deflected immediately. These painful reruns can be slashed from the presentation by one simple step:
Stand aside and be aware of what is happening. Realize it is the ego trying to gain ground on your behalf. This is not your true self as the ego feeds only on contempt. Contempt that will riddle and fill you with pain due to the intense amount of energy it takes to feed this thing.
By simply being aware of what is taking place, you can stop feeding that ego immediately. Oh, and yes, this takes practice. This act does not come with one sitting. Rather, it is a skill that needs to be honed. But, it must be presented consistently on every path you take, around every corner you stumble. Then once the ego is recognized for who he truly is, you will be able to stand aside and allow your inner dialouge to deflect and pursue other more promising themes.