Most people don’t realize that the false narrative we have bought into—the story we’re living out that’s driving us from a core fear—can be understood if we search within. Every day we are trying to get something from others to meet the insecure need of our identity.

meaningful identity, belonging, and purpose found in materialism (I am what I have), consumerism (I am meant to acquire), perfectionism (I am what I do), rationalism (I am the final word), stoicism (I am unaffected by you), romanticism (I am my emotions), hedonism (I am my greatest pleasure), or postmodernism (I am what I say I am).

The ego is constantly in flux. Once you’re onto it—once you’ve discovered it in one aspect of your being—it will disappear, only to reappear somewhere else. It is very cunning, very subtle. In fact, as I see it, the ego’s illusion is one of the most impressive forces in all of nature.