Oh, how our ego loves to tell tales. With its sly reptilian ways, it regales us with continuous stories about our life. Through its silent voice, it decrees that we and so-called others are either wicked or worthy. Via the faculty of memory, it inflates us with pride about our successes; but then, in a moment flipped like a coin, reduces us to shame about our failures. In a dizzying twirl, it winds us up like gossiping toys about our neighbours’ sins; yet conveniently ignores our own. Through our belief in the ego’s reality, suffering arises.

In the blink of an eye, our ego shape-shifts from role to role. As the charmer, it coddles us with, “You’re the best–so good and lovely!” When it plays the stern judge, it holds the gavel high as we pray for a favourable verdict. Reduced to beggars, we wonder, “Today, will I be spared or thrown to the lions? But even if we’re spared, it soon jabs us with the next grave thought–“But what about tomorrow?” Behind our backs, the ego slaps its knee and howls, “Ha-ha, ho-ho, they don’t even know that Now is all there is!”

***

Dear Readers: If you’re begging to be freed from your ego’s harsh treatment, please consider the practice of daily meditation. Even five or ten minutes each day can be helpful. You might also consider asking: Who Am I?–really. Hint: The real You can’t be found through accretion. It’s only by removing all that we aren’t that we realize All that we “are.” Can you really be the person that’s perceived? If so, what is That which is perceiving it? We’re free when we realize that true Self is beyond the ego’s stories–both good and bad. (If you’re eager to recognize your divine nature, you might find the content of my YouTube video entitled “The Incarnate I Am” helpful.)

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2026 – R. Arthur Russell

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones), press here. My YouTube videos can be found at Think2wice@I-Am-Aware. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. “Thank You” & “Note to Publishers” 🙏🏻🧡