Ego helps us assert and maintain boundaries with others, but when there is too much ego, we run the risk of alienating relationships. By removing or diminishing the ego, we can be more in the present moment and act as channels of objective information coming from a spiritual source rather than only from the limited subjectivity of our psyche. This helps us to become more loving, supporting and understanding of a partner.
As a countermeasure to egotistical impulses, humility helps us to surrender our will to a greater good for the common purpose of helping others and being a catalyst for positive change in society.
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” -Author Unknown
To detach from your ego (not that I would know what that’s like, but I have heard it’s quite liberating), try the following exercises:
1) This prayer carries an intention of invoking the spirit of humility: “Please help me to be balanced and humble in all my interactions.”
2) A morning prayer to remove the ego is: “I offer myself to thee, to build with me and do with me as thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self that I may better do Thy Will. Take away my difficulties that victory over them may bear witness to those I may help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of Life.”
If you have survived a romantic relationship with a particularly egotistical partner, consider reading Narcissistic Lovers: How to Cope, Recover and Move On by Cynthia Zayn as part of your recovery. If you are looking to detach from your own ego, consider reading Sogyal Rinpoche’s Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.
For both men and women who survived one or more parent with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (even if you just suspect it may have been an issue and yet it was never diagnosed), there are several online support groups that can be found at http://www.
