Read part 1 of Trial and Error, Ego and Awareness
You exist only in the present moment. Your past is composed of memories, but you still access those memories in your present. Your past is only real – it only has existence to you – when you consciously focus your attention on it. It is your attention that gives your past its power, and it is also your attention that feeds your ego. You can choose to stop focusing so much attention on your ego and your personal history, and instead you can redirect that attention to identify more with your consciousness and your awareness.
In other words you stop thinking of yourself in terms of your memories, and you start thinking of yourself in terms of your consciousness. You have access to your memories just as you have access to the information on this web site, but your memories are not equal to you.
Defining “Who We Are”
For example, I can identify myself as Steve Pavlina, a guy who runs a personal development web site, a writer, a speaker, a husband and father, etc. That is my ego and my past. But those things don’t exist to me in this present moment as I type this. I do not think of myself in these terms as I go about my day. Instead, I regard myself simply as consciousness and awareness.
So the “I” with which I refer to myself is nothing but my own attention, my ability to become aware of things (including my own past if I so chose). And in that state, there is no ego and therefore no fear. I am not compelled to behave a certain way out of fear; I have the freedom to choose my response. I have the freedom to create a present moment that is disloyal to my past in a purely linear sense. I do not have to identify myself based on my history if I see that it no longer serves me to do so.
Facing Ego Limitations
My ego says that if I am a speaker today, I must be a speaker tomorrow. It says that if I make a discovery today, that it’s a shame I didn’t discover it sooner. Using my ego as a reference point is extremely limiting. The ego always wants to protect and preserve it’s current identity, but this gets in the way of raising one’s consciousness to the point where peace reigns over fear.
I realize this is a very different level of thinking than that at which this post began. But this is the level at which I had to begin thinking in order to feel totally free to create my present without feeling trapped by my past. Otherwise I’d always be tied to a history that was formed at a lower level of thinking (when I was younger and less experienced).
What would happen if we all stop worrying about protecting our egos and related both to ourselves and each other as fully conscious beings?
Letting Go Of Attachment
Think of how many problems in the world could be easily solved if those involved could release their attachment to the past and allow themselves to consciously co-create the present as they truly wanted it to be. This means using consciousness as the primary point of reference instead of ego. At this level we are free to experiment without fear of regret from our past. We can break with our past because it is not who we are anyway.
This is how I think of you as a person reading this site. I do not primarily regard you as a programmer or a marketer or a father of three. Rather, I see you as a fellow conscious being, one that happens to identify itself in these roles from time to time – and one that is also free to choose his/her own identity and roles. And on that level, we are already – and always – connected. The past and our egos are only illusions that get in the way of this connection.
Yes, you have a past. But your past only governs your present moment to the degree you focus your attention on it (such as by recalling memories and identifying with them). Ultimately, consciousness is stronger than circumstances. Regardless of your current circumstances, you always have the option of exercising conscious choice to create what you want in your reality. I think this is one of the key lessons we are here to learn as human beings – how to utilize the power of our conscious minds to create what we want.
Trial and Error, Ego and Awareness Part 2 by Steven Olson. About the Author: Read morePersonal Development Articles. Steven Olson also writes for Tatathemes.com
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