Some of the byproducts of ego: anger, jealousy, lack of confidence, taking things personal, making assumptions, violence, criminal acts, mental and physical abuse, discrimination, damaging relationships, judging, can’t let go, stubbornness, disappointments, anxiety, fear, depression, dissatisfaction, etc. 
The more we feed our ego, the less peace and joy we have in life.

If you feel that your ego has caused you sufferings and you want to liberate yourself from the everlasting Ego-System to find peace in life, try these steps to contain your ego:

1. Understand what ego is.
Anything you say and do that does not result in a positive outcome for others and it's only for your selfish fulfillment then it's very likely originated from ego.  When you choose love instead of fear and do and say everything with the best intent for the highest good then that is from your higher self. 

2. Be aware of your own ego and others’ ego.
You are not the only one that has an ego. Egos recognize other egos so your ego can trigger other people's egos. Do not engage with other people's ego because it will also trigger yours, which will turn into an ego-battle that no one ends up winning but the ego. 

3. Separate your ego from your higher self.
If you follow the first 2 steps, at some point your higher self will expose your ego. You’ll see the truth and once you do you cannot unsee it. This can be a very uncomfortable and maybe even painful step for you at first because you’ll be shocked by your own ego and its ugly nature. You might even resist your higher self's instructions to do the right things. Nevertheless, in the end you will notice the change within after you go through this process. It’s important that you accept your old self with no exceptions and understand the old version of you is dying. You’re being reborn so there’s no need to continue to feel ashamed and hold on to it. Stop judging the old version of yourself and your ego. Understand that your ego is an essential part of your human experience. Without it you cannot be human and learn the lessons you are here to learn. Thus, you cannot use force to overpower ego since that itself comes from the ego. Be gentle to your ego instead of resist it because what you resist, persists. 

4. Stop setting expectations from others and stop trying to live up to other people’s expectations. This is all about you trying to secure ego feasting. 

5. Pay attention to your feelings, emotions, actions, reactions, thoughts, and words(F.E.A.R.T.W). Why did you say or do that? Was it from your ego or your higher self? 

6. Before you say and do anything ask yourself if it’s from your ego or your higher self? Does it serve a higher purpose and benefit others or is it just to feed your ego? Often times you might catch telling yourself this is the right thing to do. However, deep down you feel otherwise. That gut feeling is your inner guidance from your higher self that's telling you not to do it. You need to learn to pay attention and listen to your intuitions instead of being influenced by your external environment or society's conventional beliefs. Do not ever feel pressured to say and do anything. What others think of you will not hurt you as long as you don't allow your thoughts to hurt you. 

By taking these steps your ego will be starved and contained. Your life will not be overran by yours or anyone else's ego. You will feel like being in the driver's seat steering the direction of your life. However, keep in mind that although your ego sits in the backseat it can still be a backseat driver from time to time and maybe even taking over the driver seat once in a while. That's okay because containing ego can take a lifetime to master and you have plenty of time to work on it. At least now you are aware of its existence and finding ways to make peace with it. Remember to be thankful and loving to your ego. It's there for a very good reason. 

​- FeelaSoulphy

​Our ego causes so much of our own and each other’s sufferings, yet we have very little awareness of it. Many great wars in our history were started by one individual’s threatened and fragile ego that ended up causing millions of lives. We’ve been stuck here for millennia because we have built an Ego-System deep in our culture and our society that ensures us to continue to feed each other’s ego without interruption. Just look around you, the commercials we watch daily, tv shows, movies, social media, sports, politics, our leaders, parents, workplace, friends, schools, relationships, and our interactions with each other. They’re mainly designed to satisfy one thing, our ego. Majority of the things we say and do are coming from ego instead of our higher self. We rely on our ego to “survive” in this world and we profit from continually feeding that ego. There’s no end to this vicious cycle unless we become more aware of it and try to contain it. In the next post I’ll share a few tips on how to contain your ego and end some of your sufferings. 

​- FeelaSoulphy