Introduction
 

The Enlightened Ego reaches for the core of what it means to be a human being. Evolutionary biology teaches us that we are simply a highly evolved and sophisticated primate. Spiritual teachers contend that we are spiritual beings temporarily inhabiting these human bodies as a required course in the school of spiritual development. Are we just living out our biological imperatives or is there a deeper meaning to our time on Earth? Is the fact that we are capable of self-reflection about our true nature just another step in our biological evolution or are we on the verge of a breakthrough to a new level of consciousness? 

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The Enlightened Ego provides a stepping-stone toward revealing the meaning and purpose of the human experience. The goal of this book is to bridge the worlds of science and spirituality regarding human nature. We will examine the motivations behind our hopes, fears, and behaviors, and support the reader in transcending painful contracted patterns. The ego, that little understood mysterious force inside each of us, is the central topic we will explore in this pursuit of understanding our true nature.

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Whether defined by Sigmund Freud or modern-day spiritual gurus, the term ego has become a chameleon, taking on whatever meaning the user wishes to impress on it. The idea that humans have an ego has become ubiquitous in modern culture, yet what the ego is and why we have one remains a mystery to most. While psychology and human biology have gradually found tentacles of connection over the last century, the ego has largely escaped scientific scrutiny. For thousands of years, spiritual teachers have attempted to help followers transcend the ego on the path to enlightenment, but exactly what they are transcending remains somewhat of a black box of various opinions and ideas.

 

Despite what many of us might believe, the ego is not an elusive adversary hell bent on keeping us out of heaven. In fact, the ego provides a clear and vital function for humanity’s journey on planet Earth. This function can be understood from a rational, scientific point of view and therefore appreciated for what it is: the single most important factor in what makes us human and the driving force in determining our future as a species.

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The best way to understand the ego is through the lens of evolution. This is because our ego is not an accident. It evolved along with our brains to advance the survival and reproductive success of our fragile human bodies in the harsh environments of our evolutionary history. Through natural selection, the collection of thought processes and emotions we typically attribute to the ego evolved to maximize our evolutionary fitness. 

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The ego adheres to the harsh mathematics of survival and reproduction. The ego cares nothing about human happiness or suffering, other than as tools to reach its evolutionary purpose. Left to the devices of the ego, we are destined for a life dominated by fear, defensiveness, selfishness, and greed, with happiness being only a transitory reward for reaching our subconscious evolutionary goals. These ego traits were critical for protection from danger, for gathering the resources needed for survival, for negotiating tribal societies, for mate selection, and for child rearing. They were required for survival in our hunter-gatherer evolutionary past, and they remain with us today. The genes of those who were not successful in these tasks were lost to the trash heap of evolutionary history. 
 

As long as we are humans inhabiting this planet, our egos are indispensable. We are bonded to them for better or for worse. Conventional psychology is almost entirely dedicated to improving our ego, or personality, to enhance functioning in all aspects of life. Common psychological issues such as anxiety and depression, as well as relationship problems, can be traced back to the ego and wounds to our sense of self. Working through these past wounds and releasing painful emotions is necessary and important to leading a successful life.

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Attempting to disregard these egoic wounds in the name of transcendence is a form of spiritual bypassing. However, only focusing on egoic wounds still leaves us ignorant of our true nature. So how does one contend with psychological wounds while also following the path of transcendence to enlightenment?

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The path presented in this book embraces the whole self, which encompasses both our egoic self and higher self, in service to personal and spiritual growth. By acknowledging our egoic tendencies on a day-to-day basis, we can recognize that ego is an illusion and not the whole truth of who we are. Striking a balance between these two selves propels us toward true personal and spiritual growth. We can acknowledge and then transcend our ego to live life from an enlightened state of being.

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This book draws on the fields of neuroscience and evolutionary psychology to examine the ego from a scientific point of view and shows how the ego serves a useful purpose in the survival and continued evolution of mankind. The ego evolved to provide a function in support of the survival and reproduction of our human bodies, very much like any other bodily function. The Enlightened Ego puts the ego in perspective as a necessary tool for physical existence. Viewing the ego from a scientific perspective facilitates the dissolution of many fears, superstitions, and misunderstandings that plague our comprehension of human nature. 

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After examining the ego through the lens of science, The Enlightened Ego then draws on the fields of transpersonal psychology and spirituality to explore how human experience can in fact transcend ego. Our egos do not encompass the whole of human experience. Many spiritual seekers have found a path beyond the ego, one that embraces a more expansive self that can escape the egoic trance.  Beyond the ego lies a higher self that can see through the illusion of separation and from which we can live life with unconditional love and in unity with all living beings. The path to enlightenment does not repress or deny the ego, but instead integrates the ego’s purpose into our realization of the larger truth. 

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The Enlightened Ego catches the wave of enlightenment initiated by modern spiritual visionaries such as Eckhart Tolle, Adyashanti, Tara Broch, and Jack Kornfield. While these teachers clearly transcended ego and are exemplary spiritual leaders, they typically do not have scientific backgrounds and speak of the ego in general terms without a clear definition. The view of ego from the perspective of neuroscience and evolutionary psychology is an advance in the field of psychology and will be of interest to practitioners in the field, regardless of their spiritual orientation. Followers of the contemporary spiritual New Thought movement will gain a deeper understanding of their ego from The Enlightened Ego and therefore have deeper insight into their human nature and the path of transcendence that lies before them.