Two uses of the word "Ego" ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Two uses of the word "Ego" 

"Ego" is used in two ways: To understand and effectively use the practice of witnessing the Four Functions of Mind (see the rest of this paper), it is important to note that there are two different ways of using the word Ego. To do this, we will use the metaphor of two houses.

Does "Ego" refer to the decorations or the house?

Two houses: Imagine two houses that are exactly the same, except for the paint and the decorations. 

• If we like the color of the paint on the house and the nature of the decorations, we say the house is pretty. 
• If we do not like the color of the paint and the nature of the decorations, then we say the house is ugly. 

Both are the same: However, both houses are actually the same as one another, underneath all of the surface appearances of paint and decorations. 

• The paint and the decorations: In our common language and in the field of modern psychology, the word Ego generally refers to our personality structure. Thus, in our house metaphor, the Ego of psychology refers to the paint and decorations, with less regard for the existence of the house itself.  
• The underlying house itself: In Yoga psychology, the word Ahamkarameans the I-maker and refers to the powerful wave of individuated existence that declares "I am!" When the word Ahamkara is translated into English, we use the word Ego. Thus, in our house metaphor, the Ego of Yoga psychology, or Ahamkara, refers to the house itself, not to the paint and decorations, which are considered to be false identities. 

Not just semantics: This important principle is not just semantics. When most of us hear the word Ego used to represent the word Ahamkara, we automatically, out of habit, project the wrong meaning onto the word Ego. If we only hear the word Ego, and have never previously encountered the word Ahamkara, we are even more blinded. 

Both uses of the word are valid and useful: This is not a claim that one meaning of Ego is right and the other wrong. Both uses of the word Ego are valid within their own spheres. The principle of Ego in psychology is useful, and the principle of Ahamkara in Yoga psychology is useful. Also, using the word Ego forAhamkara is also useful, so long as we remember the way the word is being used.  

(The significance of this misuse of Ego for Ahamkara is further explained in the next section, on purifying Buddhi.)

Change "I want" to "It wants"

Who is it that "wants" or "does not want"? We usually say, "I want this or that," or "I don't want this or that." When we understand the way the four functions of mind interact, we come to see that it is not "I" who has attractions or aversions. That "I" is like the decorations on the house. It it the false identity aspect of "I" who is doing the wanting. The memory trace in the chitta, colored with attraction or aversion is, itself, the one who is doing the wanting. Thus, we can say, "It wants this or that," or "It doesn't want this or that." It is the thought pattern itself that is wanting or not wanting, not I. This shift is extremely useful in witnessing the thought patterns so that colorings of attachment and aversion might be attenuated.