The first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita focuses on the inner psychological and spiritual battle that we go through by trying to control our senses. While the Gita is written as an allegory, the story describes two opposing forces: our Ego Self and our True Self.
I’ve recently come to another ah-ha moment – how to identify when I am in my ego vs. living in my heart and allowing my true self to shine. I’ve always had an emotional personality. When I was younger, I expressed my emotions openly. As I’ve aged, I’ve learned to control my outward expression of emotions a bit more.
My ah-ha moment came when I began to notice some negative emotions surfacing in my gut that in turn got my mind replaying a past conversation like an old vinyl record that keeps skipping. I am sure we’ve all been there and done that. Suddenly a thought arose – ah, this is my ego self. I’m no longer in the present moment. I’m rehashing the past, the past that’s already gone and I can’t do a darn thing about. Once that realization occurred, I focused my mind on cooking. Preparing a meal with love, knowing I am going to share it with another person opens my heart to love. After a while, my mind let go of the broken recording and I found myself smiling and feeling joyful. Ah-ha, this is my True Self.
Each of use has an Ego Self and a True Self. The question to continually ask ourselves is – What Self am I today? What Self am I in this moment?
Namaste
Peaceful Heart Blog 