Oops I recognize this one The Ego’s Need…

Oops I recognize this one

The Ego’s Need to be Right

Complaining and reactivity are favorite mind patterns through which the ego strengthens itself. For many people, a large part of their mental- emotional activity consists of complaining and reacting against this or that. By doing this, you make others or a situation “wrong” and yourself “right.”

Through being “right,” you feel superior, and through feeling superior, you strengthen your sense of self. In reality, of course, you are only strengthening the illusion of ego.

Not infrequently, tribes, nations, and religions derive a strengthened sense of collective identity from having enemies. Who would the “believer” be without the “unbeliever”?

In your dealings with people, can you detect subtle feelings of either superiority or inferiority toward them? You are looking at the ego, which lives through comparison. Can you observe those patterns within yourself and recognize the complaining voice in your head for what it is?

~ From: Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle. http://www.eckharttolle.com/