The Ego Ideal

This web page attempts to clarify the concept of the ego-ideal. The ego-ideal is the key to building a God-centered life. It serves as a compass or reference during one's interaction with the world.
  1. The psychiatrist, Nunberg's concept of the ego-ideal:
  2. Plato's concept of idea is what I understand as the ego-ideal:
  3. I use the following five ego-ideals as a compass or reference during my interaction with the world. These five ego-ideals are the Holy Grail, the pearls I discovered during purgation and mystical union:)
  4. The ego-ideal concept should be carefully distinguished from the concept of ideal. Here is a wonderful example of the ideal of integrity. It is only a reflection of the ego-ideal or Platonic idea. It does not have the creative power of the ego-ideal or Platonic idea.
It is important to note, and I cannot emphasize this enough, that - at least for the mystic - the ego-ideal does not reside only in the brain, it resides also in the heart and soul. It is body centered. It is influencing one unconsciously.

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