"We initially attempt to live life on our ego's terms. We get to exercise our wills in order to manifest our preferences and meet our needs. We are able to employ boundaries, protecting our safety and what we love. Sooner or later, we may learn that our egos can take us only so far. There can be a realization of life's immensity and how much is beyond our control."
"A popular bypass is the spiritual bypass. This bypass creates an illusion of control, which the ego finds very appealing. Some of the spiritual bypass's exhortations include, "You can attract everything you require - people, money, and advancements," "Create the appropriate sense of inner peace and joy, then what you desire from the external world will appear," "The universe will arrange itself in accordance with your intentions.""
""The universe will arrange itself in accordance with your intentions." Unfortunately, when the best intentions do not result in the universe responding favorably to the ego's bidding, we easily fall prey to the words of a false prophet, "You're simply not doing it right." Joseph Campbell offers reassurance that it's not about us having better intentions. "The fates lead him who will; him who won't, they drag.""
Ego-driven living begins with exercising will, manifesting preferences, and establishing boundaries for safety and love. The ego eventually encounters limits and recognizes life's immensity and lack of total control. The ego then constructs bypass strategies aimed at avoiding messiness, insecurity, and vulnerability. The spiritual bypass promises attraction, inner peace, and outcomes aligned with intention, creating an illusion of control that collapses when intentions fail. The intellectual bypass prioritizes thinking over feeling and fosters dissociation, reducing empathy and connection. A psychological processing bypass avoids real-world risk and can stunt growth by preventing authentic engagement.
Read at Psychology Today
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