Q: I have been on the spiritual path for at least 10 years and I am so grateful for the transformation and the awareness that I have gleaned. I am recognising, however, that I still have deep in-printings from my past religious upbringing. I still find that the spiritual path and journey back to wholeness and restoration is a Spiritual warfare that I must conduct in order to be transcended and transformed back into oneness with love. I still believe that the Ego is something living that must be destroyed and defeated. However there's a new thought starting to arise in my mind that the Ego is just a thought and therefore isn't something that's living that must be destroyed and defeated. I'm still very conflicted and confused about this. Any guidance, help, and encouragement around this conflict and confusion would be greatly appreciated.
A: It is important to understand what is ego and what is not-ego, because what is not-ego does not fight with what is ego. The ego itself is an expression of fears of being separate from God, and as such it tries to make a God that is revengeful and punishing in order to generate further frustration, shame and guilt around the fears that keep it alive. At the same time, it pretends to be a "bundle of fears" that seem to make some kind of entity.
However, God (your essential Self) is all-accepting, all-embracing, and all-loving. As such, He simply allows the ego to project the fears of separation on the surface of the mind, because He knows that these beliefs are not true and illusory. By maintaining the Awareness of your own wholeness, it is clear that fear is only a temporary experience that does not really affect or change You. When seen for what it is, the fear effortlessly dissolves.
Also, the ego is not an entity - it is experienced one fear at a time, and as such is only ever just a thought.
So yes, it is not a battle - just allow these fears to come up and be released while simultaneously deepening your understanding of God.