I'm lost! Can you, my dear kind friends, define “ego” Please!!!?

Read this poem: Feeling Lost the first step to finding

http://falconblanco.com/beiyin/poems/p38.html

I'm so sorry for your loss. It must really hurt. You might even feel like the other people coming don't deserve to be there, since they weren't "there" for your friend when they were sick. It's a shame that they weren't, and perhaps this funeral will serve as a reminder to all that we need to invest in our friends while they are still with us. It's too late to say goodbye when someone is already gone. However, you might also want to spin the situation around in your own mind so you don't become bitter. Not everyone is a good enough or close enough friend to invest the kind of time you did, but isn't it great that so many people are coming out to honor your friend?! It sounds like they were pretty special. Count yourself blessed to have been so close to a friend that was loved by so many. I'm sure your friend was blessed to have you stick with them through thick and thin. God bless you.

You've been asking a lot about 'ego' in recent posts, dear Bro! Hope everything is within control :)

Ego is good when it helps in presevation of self...when others are out to get you, crush you, oppress you...all for wrong reasons! But then I should be sure of my abilities before investing in such a stance. I wouldn't give in to pressure if it means compromising with my values. That can be considered 'stubborn' by many....and 'integrity' by a few.

When you stick to your stand only because of fear of losing face...then its unhealthy! But who's to decide? Its you and only YOU!

Edit: Good, bro! Just don't 'uproot' it completely...only the rotten part :) It could be a good companion if kept under control...

No, I couldn't take that trip to Bali. Pressing family matters cropped up :(

Maybe some other time, some other place :)

Edit II: Believe it or not, bro., if you don't like its companionship...the best surgeon to call is still "I"....No one else can do it for you....others can only hold you down. Ok, maybe anaesthetise too...but incisions will have to be made by you and you alone (that means I) :)

My understanding of the Freudian model of self is that the ego is the perceived representation of a self from the perspective of the individual, a self according to self. The id is the underlying drives in terms of a basic impulse. The superego is a representational self, the way we present ourselves to other people. "I" or "self" would really be a composite of several ways of relating to oneself and since not all the aspects of self are conscious it wouldn't really cover all the elements that go into making up a consciousness.

According to Buddhism there is no real, existent, unified self; it's only an illusion that such a thing exists, but that's another story. And it seems likely that it relates better to a deconstructive project to remove problematic assumptions than a conceptual model of being, although it can be read either way.

A psychoanalyst would say that your mind consists of Ego, Id and Superego. I would roughly define these as:

Id = instinct, desire, the animal part of you.

Superego = society, conscience, internalised parental prohibitions and limits, the civilized human part of you

Ego = the conscious mind integrating instinct and social demands, making compromises and choices. In other words, ego = the adult, conscious part of you that makes choices and compromises.

So it's less than the whole mind; not consience (that's superego); not the demon (that's Id), and not I-me-mine (which is more associated with Id)

Its a kind of WAFFLE.

No, actually in the spiritual sense its the sense of independent inherent existence that we all carry around.

When you asked yourself this question who were you asking? That is the spiritual "ego" or "I".

This idea is not a tumor its just how we are. Its the bottom line for most of our selfishness and selfishness is at the core of it all. One of the first things we learn as preschoolers is to share with others- give of thyself. Its also the conclusion you reach at the other end.

They are all somewhat right but you are right to not understand because you have experience the ego to understand it. so as you learn what it is you will begin to have experiences where you say, aha i get it. but you won't completely understand right away. As you begin to search for it and understand, you will see why its not always a good thing to have and you will start to see the limits of it and ponder whether or not to get rid of it.

EDIT: It is YOUR mind that IS the tumour and you have to get rid of the whole thing, but how can the ego throw out the ego. most people just give up on the issue

Yes, ego is I, Me, Mine; often the expression of arrogance, stubbornness, selfishness is also ego. Ego is not the conscience,- that is superego.Ego is part of the mind, not the whole of it. Mind consist of all thoughts, all emotions, all desires. Ego selects from mind those thoughts, feelings/emotions and desires that help self aggrandizement, glorification of the fiction ego has built! Ego becomes a demon when it identifies with only those in the mind that boost its esteem, leaving/ignoring aside all other material in the mind. In other words, mind totally identified with the ego is demon, mind identified with all that it experiences both of outside and inside world of us is God!

Are you talking about the ego on Freud's terms? If you are, the ego is sort of your rational self, i guess you could say mind. The demon is the id, the conscience is the superego. I think "I" would be sort of the whole self, the trinity of the id, ego, superego that make you who you are.

ego is part of how you think of yourself, but usually it is inflated and not a good thing...like so many people think they are so great and put down others!...ego is good depending on how you use yours!(like to be self confident is great and do a good job or succeed in your work and believe in what you do and hold true to your own deepest beliefs)