ego

This aspect of Sol niger can show itself when consciousness becomes unconsciously critical. Alchemically, the heat is turned up too high, and the ego's skin is burnt, blackened, or tortured with stinging criticism, producing shame and threatening bodily integrity. Hillman describes a similar process of mortification-when the ego feels trapped or

Dr. Stanton Marlan • The Black Sun: The Alchemy and Art of Darkness (Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology Book 10)

we might regard ego from soul's perspective where ego becomes an instrument for day-to-day coping, nothing more grandiose than a trusty janitor of the planetary houses, a servant of soul-making.

James Hillman • The Essential James Hillman: A Blue Fire

The fire symbolized in Mercurius can be interpreted as the unconscious manifesting in our being through a vital impulse or élan vital that drives us toward our process of individuation, that is, toward the development of our authenticity, of the unique individual that we are. This internal force is not merely an uncontrolled energy, but an... See more

Alchemist • Carl Jung: Mercurius, the fire of transformative potential

The ego, in Zen terms, is the habitual tendency to stand apart from experience and say, “This is happening to me .” It’s the narrator, the manager, the one trying to secure control, meaning, and permanence in a world that refuses to provide any of those things.

The problem isn’t that the ego exists. The problem is that we believe it’s who we are .

The Backyard Buddhist • The Death of Ego and the Persistence of Self

Our ego spends so much energy creating a fragmented identity—constantly categorizing, dividing, and keeping us trapped in dualistic thinking. Jung called this “directed thinking” (CW 7, para. 483), where the mind separates everything into binaries: self and other, good and bad, light and dark. This way of seeing the world reinforces our sense of... See more

Jennifer Leela • Carl Jung’s Path to Spiritual Awakening: A Journey Toward Wholeness

In Buddhism, what’s annihilated is not you but the deeply ingrained illusion that there’s a solid, independent, permanent “ego” at the center of experience. What’s discovered on the other side of that illusion isn’t nothingness, but a far more intimate, responsive, and alive way of being.

The Death of Ego and the Persistence of Self

Under those conditions, the ego is primarily concerned with predicting every outcome of every situation, because it is overfocused on the outer world and feels completely separated from the 99.99999 percent of reality. In fact, the more we define reality through our senses, the more this reality becomes our law.

Joe Dispenza • Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One

The Ego, Jung tells us, is that part of the psyche that we think of as "I." Our conscious intelligence. Our everyday brain that thinks, plans and runs the show of our day-to-day life. The Self, as Jung defined it, is a greater entity, which includes the Ego but also incorporates the Personal and Collective Unconscious. Dreams and intuitions come