Breaking Free from the Ego: A Course in Finding and Freeing Yourself

By Trina Carroll-Houk

"Breaking Free from the Ego: A Course in Finding and Freeing Yourself" reveals the secret to happiness and fulfillment which can only be learned through personal experience. Fortunately, Trina Carroll-Houk has had that experience. She can teach you how to break free from what's holding you back from living a life of inner peace. To live a rewarding life, we need to break free from our ego, and that doesn't happen by accident. It happens with intention.

Learn how to discover your true identity and embrace your inner spirituality. All of life's problems are created in the mind—yet the solutions are found beyond the mind! This book will teach you the evolutionary process of living in a higher dimension of consciousness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098347901

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Breaking Free from the Ego: A Course in Finding and Freeing Yourself.

Copyright © 2020 by Trina Carroll-Houk

All Rights Reserved. This book is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric, or medical advice, nor diagnosis or treatment. If you have any questions or concerns regarding a medical condition or mental health disorder, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this book.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-09834-789-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-09834-790-1

Breaking Free Boundaries, LLC

For all who seek the Garden of Eden

Preface

All problems are created in the mind. Unfortunately, most people live life in their mind rather than experience life itself. This is where our suffering originates. What would it be like to be free from the limitations that keep you stuck? This book will open the door to a life of freedom, clarity, and inner peace.

As a spiritual teacher and counselor, I specialize in personal and spiritual self-awareness to help people overcome unnecessary suffering caused by our identification with the ego. This is the cause of many health issues we face today. In this book, I will offer a process for understanding, supporting, and ultimately diminishing the ego self that split us in half long ago. This separation is what causes our feeling of lack and why we experience the feeling of not being good enough.

The purpose of this book is to teach you how to break free from what’s holding you back from living a life of inner peace. It will guide you toward living and experiencing your life through the one true spiritual self that is your authentic being. The process encourages growth from the conditioned unconsciousness of the ego self to the unconditioned consciousness of the true self. It’s an evolutionary process of going beyond thought towards a higher dimension of consciousness (i.e., post thought). This is the process of becoming spiritually aware, thus reconnecting with the consciousness of God. You will learn how to quiet your mind, so the ego won’t take you over anymore. The Breaking Free (BF) Process and Growth Opportunity (GO) exercises offered in this book will help you learn and apply what’s needed to break free from the egoic mind. This is how we interrupt the ego to live our life in inner peace. Therefore, when answering the questions presented in the chapters, try to experience your answers by going beyond the words rather than thinking about them. Know that the content in this book is a way of pointing to the truth of who you are. Thus, the pronouns used here will occasionally lend themselves to a shared life, mind, and oneness.

Most of us show two sides of our self. Our authentic self is usually more private, while the false ego self is the more public side that’s a mask of fearful protection to cover up and hide the true self. Depending on the circumstances of our personal growth and development, our true self may stay hidden because our false self may not feel safe enough to allow the true self to come out of hiding.

The Breaking Free Pyramid Model uses the fourth and highest stage of development at the top of the pyramid to represent the spiritual area of our true authentic self (see Figure 1). The key to a peaceful, fulfilling life is to be so self-aware that we know and experience all 4 boundary parts of ourselves on the pyramid. Once we are aware of the ego, we can recognize when the fabricated parts of our self show up and are in charge. In this way, we can overcome the fear of the false, fabricated self that causes the suffering in our lives by taking authority, transforming and transcending what’s false. Both the true and false self, also known as the 4 boundary areas, make up our life and our identity. Three of these areas are fabricated and one is authentic. The 4 areas are mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual (Figure 1). As a result of this split in our identity, we experience pain and suffering in 3 areas that represent the ego: physical, mental, and emotional (e.g., abuse, depression, disease, distress, hardship, mental rumination). These 3 resource areas cycle from one to another, often with little relief. To counteract the repetitive, ego-generated thoughts we’re plagued with continuously, this book will be somewhat repetitive to help break this cycle. Thus, some of the content will be offered in many ways for greater understanding, retention, and change to ultimately break free from the ego. Know that there is an infinite number of ways to practice breaking free from the ego mind. Because everyone’s path is unique, the range of exercises and opportunities suggested here is intended to support you along your particular path.

Breaking free from the false parts of our identity is our purpose here on Earth. Using this book as a deep study into self-awareness and as a growth opportunity can help you overcome the conditioning of the ego mind. Changing your mind, old habits, and conditioning does take commitment, but there’s nothing like the freedom it brings. You must be willing to go beyond the boundaries and limits of the ego self to break free. I challenge you to overcome what’s holding you back from living your highest purpose. Together, let’s forge ahead to make the change we want to see in the world. It begins now.

~ Trina Carroll-Houk

Figure 1. The Breaking Free Pyramid Model

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part I

Discovering Identity and Authority

Chapter 1

You Are Not Who You Think You Are

Our Predicament

The Problem

The Solution

Hope in the Breaking Free Process

Identity and the Roles We Play

Chapter 2

Personal Boundaries

Investigating Boundaries: 4 Areas and 3 Resources

Authority in Ownership and Responsibility

Clarifying Inner and Outer Boundaries

False Beliefs and the Search for Truth

Chapter 3

Breaking Free Process and the Pyramid Model

Breaking Free Pyramid Model

1. Mental Step and Stage

2. Emotional Step and Stage

3. Physical Step and Stage

4. Spiritual Step and Stage

Chapter 4

Our Origin, Separation, and the Split Self

Origin from Birth

The Separation

Our Choice in Eden

The Mess We’re In

The Split Self

Our Psyche and the Three Parts of Freud’s Ego Characters

The Evolution of the Split Ego Self

Chapter 5

Recognizing and Knowing the True Spiritual Self

Defining the True Spiritual Self

Recognizing the True Spiritual Self

Characteristics and Traits of the True Spiritual Self

Part II

Overcoming Obstacles

Chapter 6

Recognizing and Knowing the False Ego Self

Defining the False Ego Self

Recognizing the False Ego Self

Characteristics and Traits of the False Ego Self

Exploring the False Ego Self

Observing the Ego Bully’s Voice and Applying Meditation

Chapter 7

Resisting Reality

Resistances to Obstacles

The Mind Formula

Dualism

Ego Committee Members

Committee Member Example: Guilty Gail and the Pain of Guilt

Chapter 8

Understanding Thought

Four Levels of Thought

In Thought

Below Thought

Above Thought

Focused Thinking

Widening the Gap Between Thoughts

Thought and the Dimensions of Time

Investigating Our Thoughts and Inquiry Work

Inner Peace

Chapter 9

The Busy Mind

Nature of the Busy Mind

Cycling Pattern of Thoughts and Our Resources

Normal and New Behavior Processes

Normal Behavior (5Rs1)

New Behavior (5Rs2)

Behavior Cycles and Comparisons

Finding Your Voice of Authority with the Ego

Finding Your Voice with Others: Considering a Request and Saying No

Chapter 10

Inner Pain and Suffering

The Painful Cycle

Types of Inner Pain and Suffering

Attachments and Identity

Painful Extremes in the Cycling

Loving the Unacceptable to Balance the Extremes

Loving the Reality of What Is

Part III

Breaking Free

Chapter 11

Loving Yourself

Integrity: Healthy Boundaries, Relationships, and Telling the Truth

Investigating Core False Beliefs

Self-Esteem, Self-Acceptance, and Taking Things Personally

Depersonalizing: Approval, Special Relationships, and Transactions

Real True Love

Knowing and Loving Who You Are

Overcoming the Fear of Letting Go

Chapter 12

Applying Key Practices to Breaking Free

Breaking Free Process

Breaking Free Key Practices

A Deeper Look: Using the Twelve Key Practices

Breaking Free Process and Practices

A Pathway to Inner Peace: Unconditional Happiness

Breaking Free

Part IV

Going Beyond

Chapter 13

Awakening to Reality

Awakening from the Dream

Evolving into the Seat of the Soul

New Consciousness and Old Unconsciousness

Shifting Seats and Changing Channels

Chapter 14

Paradise Regained

Our Life Purpose

Our True Identity

Our Return to the Edenic State of Being

My Story

References

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Company

Introduction

Do your thoughts and emotions control your life? Do you experience pain and suffering? Are you stuck, overwhelmed, or stressed? What if there was another way to live…without suffering, without dependency, without the voice of fear and doubt? In this book, I describe an overview of what helped me discover who I truly am today as well as an overview of the Breaking Free (BF) content and process I teach in my practice (see Figure 1 in the Preface). The steps I share here are the steps I took to break free from the egoic thoughts and emotions that held me back from living a life of inner peace.

This book was inspired by God. It represents the work to which I have been called. In it, I share with you my story and experiences from my breaking free journey. It is my greatest desire that you too will discover your true identity, learn how to live in inner peace, as well as break free from the pain and suffering that holds you back from reclaiming the abundant life that’s waiting for you now.

If you aren’t living your best life, if you feel like there’s something missing, or if you can’t seem to find your path, this book is for you. That’s where I was not so long ago. I’ve spent most of my life living in a false psychological world, feeling dependent on someone or something to make me feel whole—that is, to feel like I was good enough. I had no idea that everything I ever desired was inside me, and if I did the inner work to reach it, it would all flow out of me like a well that never runs dry. It’s true. I was filling up from the outside and investing there rather than on the inside. This is where my story begins.

I spent most of my life priding myself on being a thinker and doer. Yet what I had to do in the end was break free from both. You see, I had identified with the ego. My ego mind was running my life. There’s no way I would have dreamed that the answer I was seeking all along could possibly be to stop thinking and doing so I could learn to be. Who would have ever believed that? Well, it’s true and it’s not a belief either. I had to learn how to slow down and give up my busy mind along with the driving force of the ego in its false beliefs and false identities to break free. I was living in a conditioned, psychological place of thinking thoughts that kept me stuck. On the outside, I looked like I had it all together, but little did anyone know how lost I was on the inside. It was the pain of a devastating divorce that shook me to my core and turned my life upside down. The unbearable pain and the grace of hitting bottom brought me the gift of readiness I truly needed to surrender. I was finally ready for change in my life. I was no longer willing to live a life lost in pain, suffering, or delusion.

At the point of total surrender, I reached out to a counselor, and she suggested a recovery support group for codependency. That was my start into a twelve-step program and my self-awareness journey to freedom. As the years went by, I continued to develop my inner self by adding areas of growth to my personal recovery plan. I learned quickly that what was holding me back was much more than codependency and far more common in others as well. I needed a spiritual awakening from the ego mind to recover and reclaim what I had lost long ago.

As I grew in the recovery of my true self, I started volunteering to teach others what I had learned, as the Twelfth Step suggests. No more confusion or dependency, and no more doubt. Yes, what I had learned and wanted to share was this state of ego sobriety that set me free. Know that the Twelve Steps for recovery from addictions are for everyone and especially those who wish to break free from the ego.

Over the years, I earned several certifications to add to my professional degrees in order to improve my level of spiritual and personal growth as well as the instruction I offered others. Eventually, I left academia to start my spiritual teaching and counseling practice. I was then able to focus on writing about what I had experienced as well as what I was teaching my clients. This Breaking Free Process I’m offering here in this book is what I use today in my practice.

I will share with you the story of how I broke free, and will explain the major components in the process to break free from the ego mind. We’ll start with the problem, solution, facts, what matters, and how we got into this predicament in the first place. In the following chapters, you’ll learn:

You are not who you think you are.

Personal identity in the resource boundary areas is false.

Our identity in roles, things, or people isn’t true.

How to take authority using healthy inner and outer boundaries.

To use the BF Process and Pyramid Model.

To discover and recover the unconditioned and conscious spiritual true self.

Our origin from the beginning and how we got in this predicament.

How this separation into a split self and the many parts of the psyche happened.

To recognize and know the true self as well as the ego self and its committee characters.

A formula to better understand how the mind works.

The problem that holds us back as well as the solution to break free.

To overcome the ego-created obstacles of resistance and dualism.

How to investigate thoughts in order to neutralize them.

To recognize the busy mind and how it functions.

How to quiet the mind by growing the gap between thoughts.

To step out of the psychological dimension of time into reality…from conditioned unconsciousness to unconditioned consciousness.

To recognize false beliefs, thoughts, and cycling patterns.

To understand normal behavior and apply new behavior.

What pain and suffering is, where it comes from, and how to alleviate it.

How to love our self unconditionally as well as the reality of what is.

To apply the Key Practices to break free.

What awakening is, from a dream into reality.

How to identify the BF Process and the pathway to inner peace.

What your life purpose is here on Earth.

Who and what you are, as well as who you are not.

How to regain the Edenic state of being.

BF Material for Support

Be sure to take a look at the following support materials for this book content and the BF Process.

Material List: BF Book, BF Process, BF Pyramid Model, BF Key Practices:

For an up-to-date list of additional materials, visit my website: www.breakingfreeboundaries.com.

Introduction to: Growth Opportunity (GO)

Throughout the book I have offered sixty opportunities for growth to expand the reader’s understanding by applying ways to use the material discussed in each chapter as well as ways to use the Key Practices in the BF Process. I have listed them according to the chapter number and numerical order as they appear in the book, e.g., 3.1 refers to Chapter 3 and Growth Opportunity number one. Consider taking the time to apply the practices and exercises to your life so you will experience real change. Know that the repetition used in this content is offered to counteract the repetitive nature of the ego, thus providing a way to break free from conditioned and unconscious patterns in life. Furthermore, there are multiple ways to express this path to freedom by facilitating the way out of the ego’s state of unconsciousness and into the unconditioned consciousness of God. The intention here is to share the way out of unconsciousness in as many ways as possible, to reach as many people as possible. When studying this inner work, remember to focus on experiencing what you read. Be alert to your answers when working through the chapter content and growth opportunities, rather than spending time in the mind. The goal is to wake up out of the mind into an unconditioned, conscious state of being. Going beyond thinking and the words by applying the inner work will lend itself to lasting change we want to see in ourselves and in the world.

Part I

Discovering Identity and Authority

Chapter 1

You Are Not Who You Think You Are

During the past several decades we’ve never been so prosperous, yet so unhealthy and unhappy. More people than ever before are stressed, depressed, and anxiety ridden. In fact, at the time of this publication, people around the world are in crisis mode waging a war against the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of us are experiencing some of the greatest challenges we have ever been through. Collectively, we’re facing much fear and uncertainty, death, loss of job or home, social injustices, crime, protestors, financial loss, health concerns, eviction, division like never before, and more. Regardless of our present life circumstances, we do not have to live at the mercy of these challenges. This book’s message stands the test of time by offering a way to break free from suffering. Whatever you may be going through in your life right now, know there is hope and light in the darkest of times.

Whether we are facing great challenges or not, we do not have to suffer. What most of us are seeking is freedom from the torment of our unconsciousness in the ego mind. We can break free from the suffering and live in inner peace all the time. In fact, our deepest challenges in life often are our greatest opportunities to awaken from the true source of all suffering. Know that disruption in our lives often deepens our growth because it commands that we apply change by stepping out of what’s familiar and comfortable. When we learn to stay conscious, we can transform and transcend our suffering. We are now at a time of reflection for so many reasons. So, will heightened anxiety, forced isolation, and stillness be what it’s going to take to get our attention? Will we allow these conditions to create a shift in consciousness that will change the world? As we face these unsettling times, we have more reasons and motivation than ever before to wake up from our unconsciousness. Is this our time to awaken to true spiritual freedom?

The suffering we experience is exactly why breaking free from the pain and dependency the ego creates in our lives is so critical. In spite of the appearance of great wealth, opportunities, and education we are also living in a time of alarming levels of dependence on things, such as alcohol, drugs, and anti-anxiety medication. This predicament is the result of a life lived through the ego mind. We’re living in a state of spiritual unconsciousness. We seek to acquire and accumulate what will never bring us happiness or inner peace. Instead, we must learn to let go of the mental, emotional, and physical things we’ve collected and gotten attached to along the way in order to break free. Change is vital for our well-being and survival in this evolutionary process and time.

Dependency destroys lives. It’s a dis-ease. This is how the ego runs and ruins our lives. The ego uses our mind to create pain and suffering with its false thoughts, false beliefs, and false identities. Know that our state of consciousness is our responsibility. It’s our job to be in charge of our lives, because when we’re not, we pay a high price. Because the split, egoic mind we live in is so hungry and in a habit of getting what it wants, it clings to external things for the highs that seem to satisfy our lack inside. Yet it’s a series of highs that will never last, and the pain never ends. Understand that each high is followed by a low. The extremes only lead to more dependency, resistance, destruction, and despair while ultimately robbing us of our hopes, dreams, relationships, health, and future.

We spend our lives waiting and wanting something else rather than enjoying what is. These desires and thus attachments only lead us toward more pain and suffering. This is exactly why we need to take authority over ourselves now. With healthy personal boundaries, we can make the choices and changes needed to live the abundant life God intended for us. We must take ownership and responsibility over our mind, emotions, and body to have the authority to make these healthy changes. So, let’s begin by investigating how we got into this predicament to begin with and why we find ourselves stuck in our heads today. We’ll look closely at who this second person is inside us and why we can’t seem to turn it off—that is, the voice of fear and doubt that never seems to shut up.

Our Predicament

We are not who we think we are.

So, who are we? It’s simple. We’re the one behind all that goes on in life. This means we are the one who observes what’s going on. We’re the awareness, not the person. We can hear the voice and watch the behavior, but it’s not us. We can even take authority over it, like we would an asset we own, but it’s still not us. In fact, we do own our mind, emotions, and body. Yet again, it’s still not us. We are life itself, not a life situation or a form that occurs in life nor the narration in our mind.

Unfortunately, we’ve learned to identify with the ego, and we’ve allowed it to take us over. Hence, we’ve become it—yet we’re not the ego. Today we’re so caught up in life situations and the race of doing, having, and wanting the next best thing in order to relieve the pain of lack or not enough deep inside our lives, that we miss the true fulfillment that’s available right here and now. Because we’ve defined ourselves as a limitation that doesn’t exist, we’ll never have inner peace, only poverty. As a result, we’re lost in a virtual world of inner poverty that’s filled with thoughts and beliefs that mean nothing. Yes, this empty way of life ends up destroying the very thing that means the most to us. Our inner state of being blocks us from receiving it. Spiritually speaking, the poor will get poorer and the rich get richer. As the Bible tells us: Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them (Matthew 13:12). This scripture warns us to not rely on the world of form for our abundance. When we let go of the world and our desires, we’re free. As in Luke 4:4, we are told that man does not live on bread alone. True abundance comes from our inner state in consciousness. Again, it’s a state of mind. It’s comparing the form with the formlessness by considering whether we rely on egoic form for our state of fulfillment that is fleeting and will be taken away in due time, or whether we rely on an inner state with God where the abundance is overflowing and never changes.

Most of us spend our lives avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. As a result, we end up getting stuck in a cycle of pain and suffering where we never experience real inner peace. Have you ever noticed how we seek happiness in relationships only to become unhappy? Even when we get what we want out of a relationship, the relationship breaks down because we’re looking for the answers outside rather than inside us. When we enter into a transactional relationship, where we’re taking from others to be okay ourselves, it’s not love at all. Rather than living in inner peace, we’ve learned to live in a state of constant dysfunction. We live with problems and suffering every day, yet we don’t have to live this way. Instead, when we do our inner work, we recognize we’re full and we don’t need anything. As a result, we give out of abundance rather than seeking to take.

All problems come from thoughts in our mind. Our mind is overused and misused, trying to survive. The ego mind’s split self and its dual nature create unnecessary problems, fear, pain, and suffering. We live in a place of overdrive with little if any rest. We spend our lives waiting to arrive in the next moment rather than living in our present reality now. In this place of lack and desire, we’re looking for something other than what we have. We think we’re not good enough or we don’t have enough, and again, it’s still not true. Know that lack or the idea of not being enough and not having enough only comes from the ego. This is one of many lies the ego tells us through our inner voice of fear and doubt.

Did you know that identifying with the ego mind is now the norm? The average person identifies with their ego mind and all its thoughts, yet that’s not who we are. Because we spend nearly all our time in our mind, thoughts, and beliefs, we’ve become attached to them. When we have disturbing thoughts, we believe them rather than question their validity. So, who is this voice of fear and doubt we observe inside the mind making all those comments that drive us crazy? It’s the ego we’ve created to be something we’re not. It’s our false identity…the false ego self that’s taken on a life of its own. Most of us are trapped in our minds, each like a caged animal with a maniac for an ego inside. Our thoughts tell us who we are, and we go along. So, why are we taking the ego’s word for who we are?

Unfortunately, we’ve become identified with the ego in our mind, emotions, and physical parts of us (see Figure 1 in the Preface). Some people may spend most of their time in the mental part of who they think they are, whereas others may identify and reside more in the emotional area of the ego. In addition, there are others who identify more with their behavior, senses, or body image—and again, that’s still not who we are. Just because we’re in the habit of identifying and residing in these defined personal boundary areas of our being doesn’t mean that’s who we are. We don’t even need our thoughts. Identifying ourselves with one of our 3 resources is like comparing the taste of chocolate to looking at the letters in the word chocolate. The experience of tasting chocolate is amazingly better than looking at letters in a word. Words are dualistic; thus, they separate us from the knowing and aliveness of all creation. Yes, we’re in the background of life watching all life situations and witnessing these experiences. We can live amazing moments every day by experiencing life rather than being lost in mind thoughts, words, stories from the past and future, ego self-talk, and so on.

The Problem

Let’s begin by identifying our problem. The problem is always the ego. All problems are created by the ego, and the root of the problem we face today is our identification with the ego and the problems it creates. As a result, we’ve become separated from our true self and God. Instead of living in the present moment, we live in a psychological place that is split between our true self and the ego self. Rather than dwelling in reality, we dwell in duality. This is where we are lost in unconsciousness and unrest. We live our life trapped in our mind. The ego uses the mind to create pain, desire, negative thoughts, false beliefs, a false identity, attachments, and unnecessary suffering. Thus, the source of our problem is the ego and the problems, thoughts, and emotions it creates. We want the ego mind and its voice inside to control, soothe, or soften the uncertain world outside us that we can’t control. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work. We can’t change reality, and neither can the ego. Our physical world will always be uncertain. Know that the ego inside us is the cause of our separation and inner pain. The true self is our authentic spiritual being, whereas the ego self is a false sense of self based on our 3 boundary resource areas, the false psychological self, and the unobserved mind, to name a few. Once again, the ego creates all our problems, and they’re only found in the mind. Realize that when we attach to them, we become the problem.

It works like this. The ego uses the mind to manifest itself into the world. Everything starts in the mind with random thoughts and beliefs we collect. Our thoughts and beliefs cycle from our mind to our emotions, and then on to our physical body and behavior, resulting in the pain and suffering we experience (see Figure 1 in the Preface). Some of this energy gets trapped and creates further suffering.

So, let’s look at the challenges and the problems that are holding us back from that coveted place of fulfillment that never runs dry. Our ego self attaches to the conditioned mind and all its false identities that bring about the pain and suffering we endure day in and day out. The ego holds negative energy from our past wounds and seeks to feed on the same negative energy from others. This pain, suffering, and the ego’s need to feed, brings about a clinging or desire for people and things outside to numb or soothe us on the inside; that is, we reach outside ourselves to comfort the lack in us with an unhealthy dependence on things, such as alcohol, food, drugs, and special relationships. Unfortunately, soothing the pain isn’t the solution. This behavior often leads to dependency. We become the pain. The ego is dependent on us, and as a result, we too often become dependent on the world. The ego mind takes us over, out of habit. It has an insatiable hunger for protection and feeds on conflict to survive. Thus, we end up lost, dwelling on past and future concerns that are not even relevant to reality…to life itself. The past is gone, and the future isn’t here yet. Real life is in the present moment now, whereas the false life that exists in time is created by the ego.

We’re all seeking outside ourselves for what’s already inside. Breaking free from the ego self and the dependency it creates is critical to our well-being. The way to eliminate this unnecessary suffering is to become more self-aware so we can take our rightful authority over our personal boundary resources the ego lives through (mind, emotions, and body) to overcome these egoic-based obstacles. True freedom is found inside us when thoughts no longer control us. As a result, when our mind activity stops, we become conscious and wake up to heaven here on Earth.

The Solution

The solution to our predicament is knowing the truth that will set us free from the conditioning of the ego mind. The truth is, we’re living in this psychological place we’ve created, that we’re not aware of. Although problems are imaginary, it’s still necessary to understand the position in which we find ourselves as well as how we create our own suffering. Understanding what is unreal or untrue helps us to understand the truth and what is real. Once we recognize the truth, all problems disappear.

The realization of what the ego has created in our lives is helpful in the process of breaking free. Because we are living in unconsciousness, we need to shine a light on all problems and the suffering we experience. This is how we can make the choice to take back our authority and transcend the ego as well as any problems it creates. Instead of allowing the ego to create problems, we can focus our attention on the solution and away from the problem. We are told we are the light of the world…thus we become this light. (John 8:12).

Contrary to what the ego wants us to believe, thinking isn’t the solution to our life challenges, it’s the problem. The freedom and peace we’re seeking isn’t found in the mind, thoughts,