Ego vs. intuition - the struggle inner voices

Each of us can connect with our intuition. Yet, sometimes it's not so easy. In everyday life, we encounter a whole host of voices: friends and family, our conscience, our ego... It's not always easy to recognize which is our "true," inner voice.

What is the ego?

In psychology, the ego is defined, among other things, as the part of us responsible for analyzing our reality and affirming our conception of our personal identity. The main function of our ego is to ensure that our basic needs are met: sustenance, protection, and monitoring the environment to ensure we are not in danger.

The ego analyzes the future and urges us to make plans, for things that will definitely happen or for those that can only happen potentially. It also reminisces about our memories and past Events. It seeks to determine whether we could have done something differently that would have improved the outcome of the situation or our future.

That sounds pretty good at first: The ego wants to ensure our survival. The problem is that nowadays we are no longer that dependent on our ego. Our caveman ancestors relied heavily on their ego and their survival instincts; after all, their everyday lives often consisted of fight-or-flight reactions (psychology calls this the "fight-or-flight response" or "fight, flight, or freeze response"). Nowadays, we live in a comparatively safe and organized world and actually need our ego much less. However, our brain (and our body's reactions) do not change as quickly as our environment. That is why the ego still dominates and controls us. The presence of our ego can lead to everything from stress and anxiety to depressive episodes.

What is intuition?

From a spiritual perspective, our intuition originates from our soul. The soul is an energetic organism that temporarily resides in our body and is connected to a higher intelligence. Our soul wants us to experience love, enjoy life, and grow. From time to time, it sends us messages to help us find our path and gently guide us toward our highest good. We perceive this as a gut feeling, a slight tingling sensation, or a little nudge. But our intuition can also reach us in the form of an inner voice that we hear speaking to us, or as inner wisdom.

It takes practice to be able to distinguish between the voice of ego and that of intuition. Therefore, today I'll show you five ways you can open your consciousness to your intuition and thus better harness your intuitive power.

PHOTO BY BROOKE CAGLE ON UNSPLASH

Learn to distinguish between ego and intuition: 5 ways

Accessibility and responsiveness

The voice of our intuition usually makes itself known immediately after we've entered a situation or after we've asked ourselves a question. However, the ego follows just seconds later: It doubts our decisions, overanalyzes the circumstances, and makes us question our reactions.

This may become clearer with an example: Let's assume I ask myself whether I should devote more time to my passion project.My intuition would immediately answer "yes." Just a few moments later, my ego would kick in and show me all sorts of reasons why this is a bad idea.

Sound and tone

Our intuition sounds gentle and loving. It always aims at our best intentions and focuses on love. Some spiritual teachings assume that all our decisions ultimately come down to the question: "Do you choose fear or love?" Our intuition would always answer this question with "love."

The sound of our ego, on the other hand, is loud, fearful, and arrogant. It would often choose fear, but only because it actually wants to protect us. Because it expresses itself so aggressively, it usually drowns out the voice of our intuition. This makes it so difficult for us to connect with it.

Location in the body

Our intuition originates from the center of our heart, in the middle of our chest, directly behind our sternum. Perhaps you know that warm, cozy feeling that spreads through your heart when you do things you love or spend time with people you care about. This is essentially your intuition trying to make itself known and telling you: "Yes, please do more of this! This is great! Keep it up!"

The ego resides in our brain, more specifically in the prefrontal cortex. This brain area is located directly behind our forehead and is responsible for planning, decision-making, and moderating our behavior. Intuition vs. ego is, in this sense, truly a matter of "head vs. heart"...

Content and subject

Here, too, the difference is quite clear. Our intuition addresses and provides us with information that encourages us to live our best lives. It focuses on things that allow us to feel and experience more love. The ego, on the other hand, provides us with all the information that is judgmental, analytical, and focused on lack. The ego is very biased and constantly wants to share its opinion.

To return to the example from before: My intuition would tell me: "Your passion project is part of your life's path. You can learn, grow, and develop through it. You'll also love yourself more and learn to accept yourself unconditionally, just as you are. It's best to get started right away!"
My ego would respond very critically: "What if it goes wrong? You can't handle it. It's better to keep doing what you're doing. It's much safer. Besides, thousands of other people are already doing it, so what difference would you make?..."

Phew, who among us isn't familiar with this inner conflict? It can be quite exhausting.

motivation

Our intuition's sole purpose is for us to enjoy this life and have fun. It wants us to feel joy and notice the love that lies in everything in life. Therefore, it gently pushes us in the direction that can give us just that. Your intuition wants to discover what you enjoy and what brings you the greatest fulfillment.

Opposite this—how could it be otherwise—is our ego. It essentially embodies our survival instinct on speed, and its drive is to protect us from all kinds of imaginary or real threats. It loves the status quo and is reluctant to try new things. The ego also always plays it safe and likes to make things comfortable.

PHOTO BY HAYES POTTER ON UNSPLASH

If you've noticed while reading that you don't really feel connected to your intuition, you can always start listening more deeply. Your intuition is probably just waiting for you to receive its guidance and turn to it more.
While writing, I noticed how loud my ego is again and again. I can be a real scaredy-cat, even when I know I actually have nothing to fear. I, too, should reconnect more with my intuition...

Unfortunately, it sometimes takes quite a while before you can hear your own intuition more clearly again. Therefore, it's important to repeatedly ask yourself, "What do I need today? What should I know today?" and then wait patiently for an answer. At some point, the answer will surely come. To do this, we need to turn down our ego voice and quietly listen to our intuition—because it wants you to hear it.

If you would like to learn more about mindfulness, healthy eating or sustainability, take a look here over.