Releasing the ego's grip. In this podcast, Eckhart talks about the pitfalls of the ego and the need to feel superior.

He explains, we seek an identity through external distinction like wealth, fame, even our nationality,

to dispel the anxiety that were not enough.

He says the focus on image creates a false sense of self.

He shares examples from his own life. He shares it growing

up his family struggled financially, which left him with low self-esteem. He asked

why bad things always seem to happen to him,

to bolster his feelings of inadequacy.

Eckhart says, he pursued intellectual achievements,

which came easily, but his sense of superiority

soon vanished in the wake of his negative thinking.

Eckhart says for a time he sought refuge in complaining and victimhood.

But after he experienced an awakening, the old patterns gave way to something greater and his self-hate evaporated.

He explains he finally understood the meaning of Buddha's teachings about suffering and the

end of suffering and how liberation emerges when we release the ego's

grip.

A huge part of identity is collective, let's say you derive your identity from your nationality or your nation.

There's nothing wrong with that. You can love your country. This is nothing wrong with that.

But what about feeling superior through being a particular

nationality that is the ego comes in there. We happen to be in America we could be

in any country that say, I'm American,

obviously superior to everybody else, implication.

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