The Higher Self vs ego can be seen as the battle between good and evil that plays out in your mind but good and evil are both constructs of the mind – a function of your ego.
The Higher Self vs ego can be seen as the battle between your conscious and subconscious mind but they actually both serve the ego.
The Higher Self vs ego can be seen as the battle between your Spirit which is eternal and your body/personality which is temporary.
This is much more accurate but it’s not really a battle at all because the endgame is fixed.
Your ego can not survive beyond this life while your Higher Self will go on through all Eternity.
The Higher Self is your Eternal Self.
It is a part of The Divine and is always connected to that Divine Consciousness that many call God.
To Be Or Not To Be?
One of the most fundamental questions you can ask yourself is whether you live from your ego or from your Higher Self?
It goes back to the great question Shakespeare asked: ‘To be or not to be?’
Do you make a stand and live from your Higher Self and in doing so endure the opposition from those who simply conform and live as they’ve been told to live?
While almost no one can ‘get rid of’ their egos, you can have a seismic shift in your life by living from your Higher Self instead of living from your ego.
Those who live from their ego are quite easy to identify.
They pursue self-importance, achievement, and domination and always place their own needs above others.
Those who live from their Higher Self understand that we are all One and they have compassion, understanding, and pursue what serves humanity and the love they feel for mankind and all of creation.
This does not mean that when you live from your Higher Self you can’t have success or achievement.
In fact, some of the most successful people are doing exactly that.
Because of the love and harmony in their hearts, and their desire to serve and to give they can not help but be ‘successful’.
Those who pursue success in and of itself often becomes a slave to their egos.
We see plenty of that in the world as well.
I find it fascinating how the cycle of life works. When you are born you are still deeply connected to your Higher Self. You quickly start learning HOW to BE a human being and your personality gets installed.
As people approach the end of their life they again start to outgrow the ego. Most older people start gaining wisdom and start seeing just how unimportant the needs of the ego really are.
Why Do You Even Have an Ego?
The higher Self vs ego is something you need to deal with all your life. Your ego is what allows you to function in this world.
You come into this world as pure Spirit in a body but you quickly start your education in how to be a human being.
Your ego gets installed almost from the instant you come into this world and your well-meaning parents start educating (programming) your mind on how to ‘be’ an effective human being.
Many make this out to be a bad thing and that the go is some sort of villain.
The goal is not to rid yourself of your ego
The goal is to rid yourself of the ego’s domination and its incessant demand to dominate every aspect of your life.
Your ego is an important part of functioning as a human being. You can not be without your personality, your mind, and many of your habits and subconscious functions.
What Is The Difference Between Higher Self And Ego?
There are a number of distinct differences between these two aspects of your consciousness. Below is a summary of some of the most significant differences between Higher Self and Ego:
| Higher Self | Ego |
| Eternal | Temporary |
| Who you really are | Who you think you are |
| Craves inner peace | Craves attention, adoration & achievement |
| Is connected to the Divine | Is connected to your personality & society |
| Wants to love, give and share | Wants to dominate, get and conquer (others) |
| Happy just being | Restless and always wants more |
| Needs or wants nothing | Can never have enough |
| Primarily concerned with purpose | Primarily concerned with achievement & legacy |
| Says: “Life is about WE” | Says: “Life is about ME” |
| Is always grateful | I always demanding and never truly happy |
| Understands that life happens FOR You | Believes that life happens TO you |
| Loves being in silence | Always have to be busy and distracted |
| Understands and ‘knows’ that your Spiritual side is real and true | Vervently denies all spirituality (and often favors religion or groups) |
| Everything is a miracle – lives in awe of life | Everything is a burden – nothing is ever good enough |
| Rooted in the spiritual non-physical world | Firmly rooted in the material physical world |
| Has no fear of death because it knows It’s only an illusion | Fears death more than anything else (because it dies with your body/personality) |
| I live in abundance | I live in scarcity |
| I create my reality | I am a victim of circumstances |
Is The Soul The Same As The Higher Self?
That little voice inside your head that tells you to do something or not to do something else. These are not your higher self or your Ego playing off against each other.
Both these voices are your ego.
Then there are also the conscious and the subconscious minds.
Many attribute the conscious mind to the ego and the subconscious mind to the Higher Self.
Again, both these faculties of your mind belong to the ego.
The Higher Self is BEYOND all these functions that are essentially rooted in materiality, personality, and functioning as a human being.
If you think back at your life – back all the way to your earliest memories all of it was YOU. Even though your body, your intellect and your personality have evolved consistently there was some part of you that never changed.
That is the real you.
That is your Higher Self.
It never ages, never changes and is that Divine ‘spark’ that is your very life.
So, what is the Soul then?
Soul and Higher Self are often used interchangeably but I think there is a subtle difference.
The Soul refers more to the connection between ego and the Higher Self. It is the Divinity in you that has taken on a form or a body in this life.
Your Higher Self is your Eternal Self that is part of Universal Consciousness.
When you die (from this life) your Soul returns to Universal Consciousness where there is no death. Your Soul never dies.
Regardless of the life or form, your Soul takes on, its connection to God or Universal Consciousness is the Higher Self.
How To ‘Get Rid’ Of Your Ego
The idea that you can simply get rid of your ego and live a blissful spiritual life is a deduction that can easily be made if you read spiritual texts in a very superficial manner.
Like I said before, the (spiritual) goal is not to rid yourself of your ego but rather to distance yourself from it and to always keep in mind that you are not your ego.
Being aware of your ego, its needs, and its ultimate desire to control your entire life can be enough for you to change.
Once you know that what you think you are is really your ego then you can start to identify it in your own life.
Picking a fight with your ego is in fact an act of the go.
Being aware that it’s there, that it wants to be important, and that it wants to be in charge is enough.
One of the most important pieces of advice that Wayne Dyer closed his talks with in his final years is that:
In every moment of your life, you have the choice to be a Host to God or a hostage to your ego.
What do you choose?
This is not something you choose once but its something that consistently choose, get better at and learn to live with.
As you grow spiritually you don’t get rid of the ego but as you grow the blossoms vanish of themselves as the Divine grows and becomes more prominent in your life.