Then we read the following and gave our opinions
What's
the difference between an ego and a soul? Egos are our
self-importance; they’re the part of us that tells us we matter.
The bigger or more intense our egos, the more important we believe
ourselves to be. Without egos, human beings cease to be individuals.
They cease to have a reason for being. Egos give us the ability to
have purpose – a purpose that is, in a large sense, selfish. Being
partially selfish is only natural for people and, I'd argue, entirely
necessary. If no one were selfish, then no one
would care enough about anything enough to create change in the
world. This is the complexity of life that all living things
inevitably discover. All animals need some variety of an ego in order
to be moved to do anything; however, because we all need each other
to continue to live on, having an ego alone is not enough. We can't
just care about ourselves, and ourselves alone, because if we do,
then we will end up hurting ourselves – something that the ego
itself doesn't want to allow for. We not only need other people, but
other living things in order to stay alive, our egos require a
counterpart. They need an accomplice that will help them stay
balanced. And so we have a soul. While our egos allow us to focus on
us and us alone, our souls allow us to keep more balanced. No human
being can survive alone. Therefore, our egos don't want us to be
alone. They recognize the fact that we need other people and other
living things in order to survive. This – as many of you have
surely experienced – can cause us to fall into confusion. We feel
opposing urges and have trouble sorting ourselves out. This only
really happens when our egos overpower our souls. Our souls, in
opposition to our egos, are our ability to connect with other living
things – with the rest of the world. Our souls are what allow us to
feel we are part of something else, something bigger than ourselves.
More precisely, a soul is what allows us to connect with other living
creatures. It's what allows us to understand the importance of life
itself and is what keeps our egos from tearing us apart. The human
soul is what tells the human brain that other people matter just as
much as you do. It is vital that all individuals nurture both their
ego and their souls, as without one, the other only harms us. You
can't live entirely for other people just as you can't live entirely
for yourself. You need to keep your ego and your soul in balance.
Most individuals lead unbalanced lives. Many will delve into their
souls and lose themselves and their egos. However, most don't have a
problem limiting their soul exploration, but rather have a problem
with curbing their egos. Truth be told, the trick isn't to focus on
curbing your ego, but getting back in touch with your soul – well,
not so much your own soul, as such a soul I don't believe to exist.
What you can do is tap into the soul of the universe and become a
part of all that exists. Your ego is your very own, but your soul is
the essence of life itself – a river that flows through every
living thing. Tapping into the soul of life isn't quite as difficult
as it seems; we all do it to some degree or another. Most of us
simply don't do it often enough. Here are a few ways to help you help
yourself get back in touch with the rest of the world: Interact with
others in a positive way. If you're going to be part of something
bigger than yourself, then you need to interact with people other
than yourself. The real trick is to leave your ego out of it as much
as possible. Of course, this is incredibly difficult. Especially for
those who listen only in order to respond. If you want to get in
touch with your soul, then you're going to need to care about people
other than yourself. You may never be able to feel deeply for others,
but you have to be capable of seeing things from their perspective.
Have a conversation. Help a random stranger. Reach out to people who
seem like they need it. Go out and become a part of other peoples'
lives. Understand the state your planet is actually in. Planet earth
is our life support. It is our home. It is our history, our legacy,
our only way to survive. Planet earth is only good to us as long as
it is inhabitable. Once it can no longer sustain life, it will become
just another rock floating to space. Many people believe many
different things about the state of the environment and the
ecosystem. You can have whatever opinion you want, but make sure you
first have the facts. Yes, facts can be hard to find even in this day
and age, but if you search, you will eventually find what you're
looking for. Do your best to interact with nature and figure out ways
you can help maintain it. You may not feel like you yourself hold any
responsibility, but keep in mind that everyone having exactly that
mindset is what is damaging the planet as we speak. If no one cares,
but instead we allow egos to take over, then we will all suffer.
Having a soul means having an appreciation for all living things.
Period. Make your purpose in life something that benefits both others
and yourself. We are designed in such a way as to have our egos and
souls balance each other. If either gets the upper hand, the other
diminishes and we suffer. If we are too egotistical, then we lose
sight of life. If we are too selfless and spend too much time being a
part of something bigger than ourselves, then we lose ourselves and
cease to exist. We need to be both selfish and selfless in order to
live correctly. We all need to find a purpose in life as our egos
demand it. However, as many have already come to learn the hard way,
that purpose can't be entirely selfish. Our egos, as stubborn as they
are, recognize that while we matter, we are not all that matters. Our
purpose in life must reflect this. We must pursue things that benefit
both us and other living things. This is the ideal that we must all
try and aspire to. Anything short of this is plain wrong.
Autotheism
At the most mundane level it is the belief that we are responsible
for our own reality. The belief that the way we think and interpret
the world has a profound effect on what our reality becomes. At the
most mystical level, it is the development of the understanding that
we are our own God and always have been. That we are the creators of
our own Universe. That the still small voice which speaks to us in
the darkness comes from within, and is not only God but Us at the
same time. Autotheism is not Solipsism. The difference is primarily
in so much that although Autotheism recognizes that that we project
our own unconscious onto everyone and everything around us, and our
relationship with it is for the most part a relationship with a part
of ourselves, Autotheism asserts there are in actuality other minds
behind these projections which do have their own independent
existence.
Autotheism
recognizes belief as the foundational element of any subjective
reality. In so much as belief is acceptance, the very acceptance of
one conviction over another modifies our own worldview and
interpretation of it's events. This in turn effects our emotions,
attitude, actions and our deliberate inaction... and ultimately our
realities.Considering this for a while can lead one to a sense of
selflessness. This is not a selflessness that is self-deprecating,
but neither is it one that places one self over another... it can
also be described as a sense of equality with those around you.
Equally free to be whomever they feel driven to be.
There
is so much space in an atom that if you make a golf ball the size of
the nucleus in an atom, the electron cloud would be 1.5 miles away.
