Ego Death: Fact or Fiction?

by: Chasidy Ryan, RMT

I’m no Aristotle but I did read a lot over the years on metaphysics, spirituality and paganism. I myself believe in the existence of a higher power but have not yet been able to label it so I guess that makes me “Agnostic”. I have many Christian and Pagan friends who live a happy existence, yet I know others who are atheists and are just as content. I have tried to join a religion Christian, Pagan and even considered Buddhism but for the life of me I can’t commit. So for me this build the major question “What makes a human being decide to believe or not believe in any religion?” One easy answer would be faith right? But what are the origins of faith? It’s as mysterious as the human soul. There are even different variations of faith and though the definition Webster gives is substantial it’s still not enough. The best breakdown of faith I read was surprisingly on Wikipedia which is known to be inaccurate. It gives an in depth synopsis of faith in world religions, as well as the validity and criticisms of it.

I went on a secret quest searching for more answers on human faith. That same week I had an interesting conversation with a friend regarding the “Schrödinger's cat” thought experiment shortly after I began reading on it. I then came across quantum mechanics and its relationship to states of consciousness this quickly caught my attention. As I read on all the different states of consciousness one in particular caught my attention “The Ego Death” which is the state your conscious mind transcends over the ego becoming one with the true self and universe thus, finding the ultimate spiritual truth. Hindu philosophers Ramana Maharshi and U. G. Krishnamurti believed they achieved this through a trance-like meditation and fasting while others like Aleister Crowley believed it couldn’t be achieved without psychedelic drugs and his dark-pagan rituals.

Okay you’re probably wondering what this has to do with faith right? Well I read about a recent account of Ego Death phenomenon from a gentleman in London named Eckhart Tolle (best-selling author of "The Power of Now"). He says after years with suicidal depression he woke up one night and thought, “I couldn’t live with myself any longer. And in this a question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void. I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and the fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved”

According to Tolle faith starts with self-acceptance and if you’re not content with your true self then you are prone to illusionary and annalistic tactics in order to cope. Immersing yourself in negative ego traits such as fear, insecurity, arrogance and hatred can substantially hinder faith in yourself or center. Some common examples of living in the negative side of the ego are substance abuse, pathological lying, homicidal or suicidal tendencies. Medical researchers claim traumatic childhood experiences and chemical imbalances in the brain create these symptoms I mentioned and in extreme cases they can invoke one to harm themselves or others. Infamous serial killers such as David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), Richard Ramirez and Charles Manson have proven this to be true.

However, Ted Bundy who raped murdered and dismembered dozens of women underwent multiple psychiatric and neurological examinations throughout his stint on death row. The doctors found he had no evidence of any imbalances and had a normal childhood with nurturing parents. He was diagnosed as perfectly sane with a high IQ. Is Bundy an example of living on the negative side of the ego? He very well could be.

A great metaphoric example of the battle with the Ego for me is the Divine Comedy. Dante tells a tale of a man who indulged in his negative ego traits (the seven deadly sins) which landed him in “The Inferno” and embarks on a heroic journey toward redemption. If you read this story the number three is a very important factor. The three main characters Beatrice, Virgil and Satan are important archetypical representations of Dante’s ego. While most believe in we are dual natured the idea is not evident in this famous poem.

Christians believe in the holy trinity, Buddhists monks and Hindus believe in the three stages of enlightenment. Freud and Jung describe the human ego in three parts the Ego (the reality priniciple), Id (the pleasure principle) and super-ego (the hightened conscious guide). With the help of his super-ego (Virgil), Dante freed and let go his ego (Beatrice) and defeated his id (Satan) with the crucifix Beatrice gave him (of course representing faith) making his way to Paradise (The True Self) achieving Ego Death.

So this brings me back to faith. Can faith really defeat the ego? Is Ego Death just another metaphysical myth? It’s generally up to you and how willing you are to let go of something most hold so dear to them, grab self-doubt by the balls and start believing you’re an important part of this vast universe…food for thought :-)