What are the disadvantages of the ego, from your point of view?

The ego tells you who you are. Didn't the Greeks say "Know Yourself" and Shakespeare "To thyself be true" etc. It's only when you reach a refined level of development that you need to reconsider the whole ego concept. After all I bounce off walls I don't pass through them so there is some degree of interaction of something in me with my surroundings. There are limits. Its a useful working model up to a point but its not a good idea to negate the ego before you have a big healthy one!

Disadvantages? It stunts spontaneity, it over-intellectualises our experience of life, it alienates us from others and life itself.

It is a component of the psyche according to psychoanalysis along with the id and super ego, it has it's place and wihtout it we would not be complete, therefore there is no disadvantage.

Of course too much ego - in the common vernacular results in pride which can be seen as a disadvantage.

"Egocentricity means confusing what we see and think with reality. When under the influence of egocentricity, we think that the way we see things is exactly the way things are. Egocentricity manifests* itself as an inability or unwillingness to consider others' points of view, a refusal to accept ideas or facts that would prevent us from getting what we want (or think we want). In its extreme forms, it is characterized by a need to be right about everything, a lack of interest in consistency and clarity, an all or nothing attitude ("I am 100% right; you are 100% wrong."), and a lack of self-consciousness of one's own thought processes. The egocentric individual is more concerned with the appearance of truth, fairness, and fair mindedness, than with actually being correct, fair, or fair minded. Egocentricity is the opposite of critical thought. It is common in adults as well as in children."

This describes many of the "religious" people I know. Many of the conservatives.

Not so much, the atheists I know. Ironic, isn't it?

Our Egoism, or our desire to enjoy ourselves, is the source of every bit of suffering we have ever experienced. This internal quality distorts the reality set before our eyes, and defines everything based on it's attributes. We can't know anything outside of our subjectivity, nor can we relate to anyone outside of this relativity. Our Ego gives us the impression that we exist temporarily, within a physical body. We have no sense of others within this body, and everything we can ever experience within the Ego, is nothing more than a feeling of pleasure or pain depending on what we want. Check these links out:

http://www.perceivingreality.com/

http://www.questionyourreality.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHn2zFU6-zY

The ego is motivated by pride and selfishness, and will not cause humility, which God will accept. Pride causes destruction ( Proverbs 16:5 and 18 ), while humility gets God's attention.

The ego is no problem, the problem is our conception of the ego - specifically our conception of an inherently existent (permanent, unitary, independent, etc) ego.

All our problems ultimately stem from this misconception.

Ego is where in your life everything is about you. From your perspective. You can't see that this a cooperation system in entirety. People see a forest and think $$$$$. But we have a symbiotic relationship with trees, when they breath out, we can breath in. No trees, no us. But ego can't see that, it only sees $$$$$. ;)

Practicing Shaman... quantum physics rocks.

None! as my ego is doing great things , and I know as the greatest authority of things, pertaining to me, that there is nothing wrong with my ego as it is the greatest ego I know of !

Ego is the false sense of self.

Why would we want an impostor?

Love and blessings Don

NONE! My ego is great! It's the best there is and nothing you can do or say will change that!