Ego Deflation at Depth
When the ego weeps for what it has lost, the spirit rejoices for what it has found. — Eckhart Tolle
In my experience, few things are more necessary for the spiritual journey than ongoing ego deflation at depth. It is the fast track to getting up close and personal with the living God.
The art of the fall has two primary functions. First, it unravels the ego and creates a pathway to the heart. Second, it provides lived experience to draw upon for our own benefit, and importantly for the benefit of others. The most useful spiritual guides are folks who have found the humble-hearted place, usually because of multiple experiences of the blessed art of the fall. Humility grows from the seedbed of ashes. It is seldom achieved without wildfires.
One fall is rarely enough. The ego is an incredibly industrious little devil with an amazing ability to regenerate itself. It wakes up early — if indeed it ever sleeps — and accompanies our thoughts throughout each day. Its main driver is pride, and its greatest asset is self-centeredness. The sharpest tool in its toolkit is self-deception. It hides behind a symphony of me, me, me.
It is the verdict of the ages that those most profoundly caught in the trap of egomania are the least able to see it. Ego is the veritable unseen enemy. Its capacity for more knows no bounds, turnings my wants into must haves, no matter what cost. And costs of an ego on the rampage, in my experience, are very expensive indeed. The ego is a child of chaos, a miner of separation, and ultimately, it disconnects me from all the good in life.
Ego-deflation is difficult. As it is written, “pride comes before the fall.” And the prideful ego is never in the business of embracing falls. Perhaps this is because it’s only after the falls, in the art of spiritual surrender, that self-centered pride gets exposed for what it is and overcome.
Understandably, most of us are extremely reluctant to embrace anything that looks even remotely like a fall. But life being life, it serves up some serious falls for us, anyway. These falls, if properly perceived, are the very things that open new pathways away from the hidden ego, into the heart space of humility and grace.
It is said that the spiritual path is a journey from the head to the heart. The modus operandi and dwelling place of the ego is in the head. Conversely, the dwelling place and modus operandi of the Spirit is within our hearts. Mystics throughout the ages have welcomed and even run towards the inevitable falls that come with life. They do this, because the art of fall can transform us from ego-centric people into humble, soul-centered, heart-centric people. After the falls there are always new arisings. “Out of the ashes, the phoenix appears.”
A central pillar of my mystic life is to walk humbly throughout each day with the living God. The Persian mystic Rumi said: “Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.” The biggest shifts in my feeling and outlook on life have occurred when the art of the fall has moved me beyond the control of my ego, into the unshackled expanse of my heart. In the art of the fall, comrades, humility and love rule the day, and the ego-self holds no sway.
— Cormac Stagg, author of The Quest for a Humble Heart