The Three Beliefs of Ego: A Sufferer’s Guide to Freedom
This book by spiritual teacher and thought leader Aaron Abke has an auspicious opening. The author tells the story of how a melding of religious frustration, notoriety-seeking, and career confusion led to his spiritual awakening. He then shares how you, like he, can learn what ego-driven roadblocks are standing in the way of your living an abundant and joyful existence.
When I say the opening is promising, it is.
It’s an incredibly relatable story about how traditional religious institutions can become so far removed from Jesus’s teachings that not only do they lose followers, but they may also become increasingly disenchanting, negative, and, in some cases, corrupt. This was the cause behind Aaron’s moving away from organized religion and in search of a path that brought him closer to God and was free from emotional pain and suffering.
But his book contains many esoteric elements, and I struggled to winnow them down.
I often paused and wondered, “What is the message?” But I don’t want to detract from the author’s ability to write, coupled with his quiet nod to masters like Kurt Vonnegut and his favorite, Eckhart Tolle. I also want to be deferential to his intentional messaging. But once, I gleaned the key concepts I embraced, including his deep exploration of how ego—in its three dimensions—fogs our true purpose on Earth. We are here to serve in many ways. Once we understand and practice this, we will move beyond the prison of our own pain and suffering. Aaron returns to this powerful message time and again throughout.
In addition to the beautifully written final chapter, I especially enjoyed the one on emotions and their relationship with the ego.
He does a great job of explaining how we default to believing our feelings are products of our circumstances, when in fact they are signals of perception. He offers an Emotional Guidance System as a tool for exploring and redirecting thoughts. And for highly sensitive readers, who often include empaths and creatives, you’ll glean insight from his unique approach to thoughtfully managing a “rejected feeling.”
I applaud the author’s celebration and commitment to a God who is not twisted by humanity’s ego but is a loving representation of the True Self. Understanding the need for control, isolation, and sovereignty, and how these three beliefs can stand in the way of realizing one’s True Self, is the crux of this book. For that, I’m thankful I read it.
Book and Image Courtesy of New World Library
