Ego: Friend of Foe?

Since ancient times, all spiritual leaders have told us that there is a Divine in us that only shines through if we keep our ego at bay. How do we keep our ego under control? Does is even make sense to control it? I don't think it does. If we try to put ourselves (i.e. the us controlled by our mind/ego) down because some spiritual etiquette tells us to, we will likely as successful as pushing a basketball under water: it will come back with a splash!

Step 1 in this process should be to observe our ego at work. I think this is possible. After all, it is easy for us to spot when people we talk to have an agenda that they push trough: you suddenly hear raised voices, there is a tension in the air, you see frowns, small lips, etc. Not to mention that their line of reasoning suddenly looks forced. We can watch the same signposts in us when we try to have it our way. Using our observational skills, we should be able to observe our ego at work without judging it. Just observe over time if this fellow, your ego, is your friend or your foe.

Step 2 in this process should be to find out whether you like your ego at work. I find it a bit naive to say that once you step back and let the Divine path take over, you will get whatever you wanted to get and then some. Your old wants (power, money, sex, etc.) were created by your mind/ego; your new wants will likely be quite different if you get a hold of the Divine path. Just experiment and find out for yourself if you like what you see when your ego is kept silent.