The ego has the need to control. It has the need to be right. Therefore; we can’t overcome the ego by controlling or suppressing it because it will resist even more. The only way to overcome the ego is through “letting go.” Awareness Training (meditation) is the practice of letting go.

As explained earlier the ego mind evaluates or judges everything that comes through the 5 senses. As the result of judging, the mind fluctuates by going up and down from "like" (pleasurable feeling) to "dislike" (unpleasant feeling).

Another fluctuation in the ego mind has to do with time. The mind constantly thinks of the past and future. The past is just memories while the future is a projection. In reality there is no time. The clock time that we have is only for functional purposes. It’s just something we have agreed upon in our society so we can meet at a certain interval.

Imagine if you were the only person on earth (there’s no one to meet), would you still need time? If you were asked “what time is it?” What would you say?

The only time that really exists is NOW--this very moment. So, your life is just a series of NOW. You can’t go backward in time to the past nor can you go forward to the future. You can only be in the NOW – this moment.

But the mind doesn’t see this so it fluctuates between the past and future and as the result of judging, it also fluctuates from "pleasurable feeling" (like) to "unpleasant feeling" (dislike).

Through the practice of letting go, the mind stops fluctuating and becomes still (simply aware of this moment without judging, labeling, reacting or interpreting). In this state, the mind becomes content with itself. Contentment is the true form of happiness where the mind experiences calmness and clarity. Insight and wisdom arise as the results. All stress disappears because it cannot exist in this state. Stress can only arise if the mind is discontent.

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