21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

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external circumstances are accepted and maybe even celebrated rather than fought against. So modern interpretations of soulfulness/spirituality are often presented in terms of overcoming the ego.

Overcoming the ego though is not about striving or fighting to be ‘better’. It is more about shedding layers of false and unhelpful views of ourselves and of the world so that people are fully settled with who they are. Sometimes this process is referred to as ‘letting go’, or ‘surrender’. All manner of things may point the way towards this practice. It might be a phrase in a book, a picture, a film or the words of a friend. Somehow these things open doors that are not necessarily in our conscious thoughts. They let us see our reactions to things — how there is worry or anger over things that don’t matter.

Ego fears looking silly. Ego regards itself as wholly rational. It fails to see that emotions such as envy, pride and fear play a big part in its decision-making process or that genuine desire underlies its presumed rationality, but is itself suppressed. Nonetheless, some ego is warranted — this is what makes it such a difficult thing to deal with. It is not always appropriate to give in, be defeated or bend to the will of others. The trick of good diplomacy, of being gracious, is to understand when to stand firm, when to bend and when to break.

Theologian Grace Jantzen says this:

‘Desire is both the indispensable substantiation of rationality and its danger; it is the other of

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