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    Friday, October 17, 2008

    The Ego Mind

    The Ego Mind – What is it, and why does it control our existence?

    The Ego mind is at play in every aspect of one’s life. Often time people become defensive when they here the word, “EGO” – I don’t have an ego, they say. How could you imply I’m egotistical – I’m a nice person, I’m down to earth, I’m caring, I’m open and honest, and I give to everybody. I am not egotistical.

    The Ego mind is more than a high sense of self. True, the word “Ego” is commonly used to describe ones sense of self-importance, experience, or materialism, but Ego, it is in everything we do and think. Ego is comprised of both body and soul.

    The Ego is engrained in our psyche, Ego is who we are whether we are consciously or unconsciously aware, the Ego exists in every aspect of our everyday life from how we engage with others, the multiple roles we play, (mother, father, siblings, professional title, etc.) to what we become identified to, places, people, and things.

    “I” the subject or object of self-consciousness; The Ego. The “I” or self of any person; I as thinking, feeling, and willing, distinguishing itself from the selves of others and objects.

    • I can’t believe I was treated that way
    • I am offended you would think that of me
    • I’m a father
    • I’m a mother
    • I’m a VP
    • Those are my belongings
    • That is my house
    • That is my car

    How often do you catch yourself uttering the words, “Trust me” or “ Believe me”? Why should anybody trust and believe you? Doesn’t everybody have their own ability to think and experience life through their own eyes? Why is your trust or belief far more important than another person’s experience? And what happens when they don’t trust or believe you? Are you hurt, offended? Is your ego bruised because they didn’t trust or believe you?

    What happens when the economy is on the brinks of a recession and you lose your job? You and thousands others are searching for a job. Those that are fortunate will settle for what they could find to make ends meet, but you – you have become identified to your last role, the role of a Vice President, but there is no Vice President roles available in the market. What do you do? Do you settle for a new role maybe a Director or Manager, or is that beneath you?

    What happens when someone takes something away from you, a personal item, or maybe someone destroyed your vehicle, or broke into your home and stole your personal possessions that you are attached to. How do you feel? Do you become enraged, full of anger?

    The Ego mind is everything you do, you could deny it, but the fact of the matter is your Ego could work against you if you have no sense of self, or it could work for you if you if you become aware of it.

    The ego mind is very powerful – Life Coaching could be the key to unlocking your self-awareness.
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    Posted by Bruno LoGreco at 7:54 AM
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    6 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Good point. Thanks.

    October 17, 2008 at 1:09 PM
    Mona said...

    ah so true! yes, awareness of your ego (self) can free you...well said bruno.

    i also like eckhart tolle's definition of the ego in his book "a new earth"..."ego is no more than this: identification with form, which primarily means thought forms" he says that ego is the current state of humanity.

    October 18, 2008 at 11:04 PM
    San said...

    It's a challenge to move out of roles. Believe me.

    :-0

    October 20, 2008 at 12:51 PM
    Bruno LoGreco said...

    Hi SGTBM! You are welcome! :)

    Great book by Eckhart Tolle - Did you read The Power Of Now? I feel he described the ego in detail in The Power Of Now. Thanks Mona!!

    LOL @ SAN :)

    October 20, 2008 at 4:05 PM
    Anonymous said...

    A less confusing way of talking about the ego mind is to use the Buddhist reference term "the conditioned mind". This eliminates the knee-jerk reaction many people have to the more common usage of the word ego. You can be the kindest, most compassionate person in the world but you cannot deny that your mind is conditioned. You're born a "tabula rasa" and society, your family and your own self-created belief systems create the conditioning that imprisons you.

    October 21, 2008 at 3:35 PM
    Mona said...

    no i haven't read the power of now...perhap i will one day (: i've heard good things about it...

    October 22, 2008 at 8:41 PM

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    Ten Powerful Self-Coaching Tips

    By Bruno LoGreco

    Are you living the life of creativity and happiness that you've always dreamed of, or are you allowing your fears or other outside factors to influence you?

    Following the path that your heart's desires requires courage and might require a shift in attitude. There are several methods you can use to act as your own life coach and start working toward the life you dream of.

    Ideas for self-improvement

    You don't need to change every aspect of your life at once in order to improve your attitude and outlook on life. Self-improvement can feel daunting if you try to change everything at once.

    A good way to embark on your journey of self-coaching is to make one change and see what kind of impact it has upon your life. The following tips are designed to help you improve your life and become your own life coach. Try out one of the following tips at a time to positively impact your attitude and daily life.

    1. Find some ‘you' time. Everyone needs time alone to meditate and recharge. You may think you don't have extra time in your day. Start with 10-20 minutes to use for meditation or silent reflection.

    2. Ask yourself what you truly want in life. Are you living your life according to your true dreams and desires? You may be unaware of your desires that lie hidden beneath your surface needs and wants, so take the time to find out.

    3. Write everything down. Even if your thought seems silly, write it down! You may be surprised by the inspiration and ideas you can come up with.

    4. Journal daily, but with a twist. Instead of just writing about today, try writing about yesterday.

    5. Keep track of the "happy moments." Each day has potential for many small moments that bring joy and happiness. If you don't make a special note of them, you may not even recognize the small joys in your day.

    6. Choose one task each night to complete the next day. This way, you have focus, and you accomplish at least one task. Tasking and taxing yourself with effort is important in reaching goals.

    7. Smile when you wake up. Smiling is contagious. By smiling you improve your mood and can potentially improve someone else's day as well.

    8. Give thanks each night. Gratitude will improve your outlook on life and help you see all the good and wonderful moments of your day.

    9. Try something new. A new experience fuels creativity and your enjoyment of the day.

    10. Create at least one memorable moment each day. Make each day unforgettable, even if in a small way!

    Taking the next step with a life coach

    Self-coaching tips are great ideas for helping you improve your life. However, you can take your life to the next level with a life coach and mentor. A professional life coach can help you set goals and help you move forward with your dreams. If you're looking for the right path toward happiness, a life coach can help you discover the path your heart truly desires.

    Want to learn more about self-improvement? Bruno LoGreco is a Life Coach Toronto and mentor. Visit BrunoLoGreco.com and find out how to unleash your potential for success and happiness.

    The Success Indicators on Your Life Path

    Many people seek out a particular goal in their life path and are content when they achieve it. The chance to broaden their horizons or learn new things within an existent structure is not as appealing to them as it is to some others. This is an issue that arises in many individuals because they mistakenly think they have achieved what they wanted to in their lives. The plethora of environmental noise around them begins to infringe upon their goals and forces them to lose sight of what they truly wanted.

    A good way to think of this problem is to envision a large square box. This is not just any box though. Rather, in this case, your box has been divided into three separate, but equally shaped rectangular boxes, all stacked on top of one another. Each of these rectangular boxes is a highly important expression of your life goals -- individual levels of success. Within each of these levels of success is an indicator that tells you how close you are to becoming successful in this area of your life.

    Every area of your life that you identify as a potential path for success can be further divided, containing the many different events and obstacles you will encounter as you strive to reach your goals. Think of each sector of your life as being divided even further, with three new sections within one of the three stacked boxes (sectors). Within each stacked box are three separate sections, divided by dotted lines that make up the life path you will follow. These dotted lines are not the same as the solid lines dividing the sectors -- they are a path that you have envisioned since childhood -- a series of goals and pathways to success that you want to follow.

    As young people, these life paths may not be fully formed. Or they might be crystal clear in our minds--long, straight life paths from the early days of college and adult living to the ultimate goal of success that you have always strived for. You can see exactly what you need to do to reach each success indicator and achieve what you have set out to accomplish. And you probably did just this. After all, your goals as a youth were to be successful in the same way that you saw thousands of others live their lives. You wanted to reach your success indicators and experience the measure of success by which you would measure you life for decades to come.

    However, nothing is ever as simple as we envision it during youth. There are countless factors that interfere with your ability to clearly see those success indicators and life paths to success. These factors, or "Environmental Noise," can be detrimental to even the most focused of individuals. Think of what would happen if you dumped the contents of downtown New York into your box and tried to maintain your focus on those goals. Would you even be able to see your life path anymore?

    Everyone must travel their life path with environmental noise inundating them from all sides. It begins to become cloudy. The dotted lines, our life paths, begin to look like the straight lines and the success indicators start to be confused with any number of different distractions.

    And then something will happen and you will realize that you are in fact nowhere near the original success indicators you set for yourself. Everything has changed and yet you are stuck in a way. You are deep within the center of the middle rectangular box and you have no idea which way to go or how to get back on track. The noise only grows louder and you grow dizzy trying to regain your focus.

    It is in this instant that you must clear the noise and return to the basic, almost instinctive mode of thought you experienced as a child. What did you want from life? Where did you want to go? What do you need to get to that point? What was my life path? All of these questions must be asked without the distractions of the world around you muddying up your thought process. When you can revert to a very simple perspective of the world and only spend time thinking of what you want from life, you can be that much more successful.

    You can succeed in life despite the environmental noise, cruising down your life paths and moving through your rectangles with ease, but oftentimes you need a helping hand to clear away the noise and look at life with fresh eyes. There is nothing wrong with asking for help to weed out these distractions and remove the clutter from your life sectors with a professional life coach.

    Is your life path inundated with environmental noise? Learn how you can lift the noise and begin reestablishing your success indicators today. Visit www.brunologreco.com a Life Coach Toronto today.

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    Top 10 Benefits to Journaling

    By Bruno Logreco

    There are countless reasons to maintaining a journal. The top ten benefits of journaling may differ from person to person. However, there seems to be general themes that are attractive in the collective unconscious. Many people are looking to daily entries of their personal experiences to reap some of the following rewards.

    Maintaining a journal is a natural way to exercise the brain. People who make regular entries are taking time to develop writing and communication skills that are very valuable in everyday interactions. This mental exercise also helps to allow your thoughts to flow freely.

    Creativity is a second benefit to consider. This is an important aspect of journaling. The right hemisphere of the brain is associated with visual, imaginative and intuitive facets of thought. When you take time to write, you free the right hemisphere. The ideal entry will be one that puts the inner editor on hold. Thoughts and ideas should flow freely and naturally.

    The uninhibited nature of this form of writing serves a third benefit of developing self awareness. People often create different faces to meet various circumstances. We tend to recreate in distinct situations including the work environment, the community and even when at home.

    The process of keeping a journal helps you recognize the various aspects of your unique personality. The growing self awareness is a powerful force that can lead to even greater benefits in the future. Gaining insight into the self is among the most important aspects to maintaining a journal.

    The fourth benefit is the ability to set priorities. Once you get a grasp on the thoughts and emotions that are filtered through your personal experience, you begin to gain control of them. The process eventually leads to a greater understanding of what is and what is not important.

    The ability to re-see the past is another great benefit of keeping a journal. The pages can be revisited with a fresh perspective. It can be very surprising how much your understanding of an event changes over a relatively short period of time. Some writers find great moments of epiphany when rethinking and rereading entries.

    Journaling is a fantastic problem-solving resource. The approach of using entries to come up with various solutions to troubles is a little different than approaches for self awareness and growth. Many people choose temporary brainstorming techniques that serve to give viable solutions to problems.

    The seventh benefit of journaling is variety. You can choose what kind of entries you want to make. Common choices include brainstorming sessions, automatic writing and reflective notes. Personal journal entries can be made upon inspiration, when you first wake or right before you fall asleep. Some choose to do a combination of these.

    Purging is the eighth benefit to this practice. Many people find it helpful to place negative thoughts and feelings down on paper. Once the negative energy is placed on the page, they are free to let it go. This practice also works well when dealing with anger towards another individual. Purge the negativity and work towards a constructive approach.

    The ability to communicate with others is another benefit of keeping a journal. Those who work with life coaches can find a wealth of resources for sessions. Journaling can help you tap into your fears and dreams, helping your coach gain insight through entries that you choose to share.

    The tenth benefit is improvement in your overall health. Journaling reduces stress. It provides time for you to meditate. The process helps to make the positive forces in your life surface and it helps to bring the harmful elements into light. The result of personal journaling is a new perspective on how you can take control of many aspects of your life.

    Want to learn how online journaling can help you reach goals and problem solve? Learn more about life coach Toronto at brunologreco.com and journaling at iijournal.

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