Removing the Ego

This aspect of the teachings of martial systems seems to be permeated throughout many of the ancient influences, i.e. Yoga, Buddhism, Zen, etc, as the effort to discard the "ego" and allow your true inner self to run things. I have given time to study the ancient classics along with other references to India, China, Okinawa and Japan, i.e. the cultural belief systems that drive martial arts in particular. All make reference to removing yourself from the ego.

It occurs to me that the strictness of this doctrine in the ancient references is similar to many of the doctrines, procedures, processes and political aspects where one is controlled and governed as a group with an intent to keep the yoke around the groups necks maintaining membership and dominance. This may simply be my ego and pride along with my cultural individuality speaking here but it is perceived by me in this fashion.

Getting rid of the ego is tantamount to trying to change the structure of our DNA. Yes, science can make some modifications but the essence of DNA is fundamentally struck in stone. We can work to remove the influences of the ego in certain circumstances but to get rid of it is like saying we don't need our blood to fuel our bodies, mind or spirits. We tend to die when the blood is removed, yes?

I feel that my paradigm is being shifted a might to actually train to overcome influences from the ego, pride and other monkey chattering stuff the mind uses in daily life. I attempt to achieve moments of present moment mind or what is often referred to as no-mind. This can be done yet discarding the ego and pride is not entirely possible.

To forgo the ego, even if possible, is removing an inherently instinctive survival tool that nature gave us and for good reasons. I feel the ego has assumed a greater role in the life of human kind simply because of progress and the industrialization of the world. Mother nature, in essence, has not changed our DNA so to speak to keep up with technological/industrial evolutions. We have exceeded our capacities as nature intended, for good reason as well, so that our ability to reach higher levels outside ourselves resulted in a type of dissonance within our mind, body and spirits.

The ancients taught a more extreme means of keeping folks towing the line that connects with the ego, a part of human kind that is not removable and only barely controllable so no matter the degree of effort and in a lot of cases suffering the persons are always driven back down to the beginnings keeping them yoked and controlled.

Martial Arts are meant, from my perception, to give us a means of handling or controlling our ego's so that we can survive and most ego training as it is defined is not a possible goal so the real goal is to "try" and "try" as much as we can within the limitations of our lives, our bodies and our minds as perceived and influenced by the times in which we live and are raised, the culture, ethnic and belief systems in which we lived and are living, our power relations with others, the group and society, the perceptions we have as to the perceptions of others regarding truth and accurate facts, our internal and external environments and our perceptions of movement; perceptions of body language; perceptions of facial expressions; perceptions of tone and intonation, etc.