3.3.1 How to Change Your Mind (Ego) to Change Your Heart (Soul) Using the Self-Transformation Method

1. Recognize:

Accept that your ego is not all evil. We all need egos to survive, but the objective is to understand how letting the ego take the wheel for too long might prevent us from taking care of the Community and the planet.

• ACTION: Understanding Ego and Soul can help you recognize when you are in Soul versus Ego. To know when you are in any of those states of Being, you must have a conscious relation with yourself.
• LOOK FOR: Anxiety, regret, or anything else that makes you feel bad. These are the indicators that our soul has placed within us that are not in line with what is best for the group as a whole and the planet. Our Heart and Soul are our inner guidance, and the more you can dig into this, the more you can determine what attitudes are conditionings from the superficial and absorbing world rather than your inner world.
• TIP: Strive to be detached and lean into watching. Although you will feel deeply, you will also be aware of your emotional self. The most uneasy and disgusting feelings will probably come from your Ego, but the less you can interact with it, the less suffering you will experience. The more you can stay anchored in your Inner – self, Soul, or an Energy Source larger than your Ego, you’ll better be enabled to be an observer. To do this, become familiar with your defense mechanisms and spend time getting to know your Ego.

2. Deconstruct:

The more you can properly dissect the mindsets and methods of acting that you notice preventing you from making choices from Ego rather than Soul, the more you will be able to objectively observe your Ego and what it looks like to be in Soul.

• ACTION: Be inquisitive about oneself. When do you observe the ego-based mindsets in action? Pull on those strands as you go. Where do these attitudes originate? How have they previously helped you? How do they obstruct your desire to present yourself to the world?
• LOOK FOR: Such mindsets often have external conditioning from religion, family, employment, society, and/or school.
• TIP: Practice kindness and compassion for oneself. While you go through the process of losing whatever it is you are pulling down, your Ego will be sensitive and you will be grieving. Find strategies to care for yourself during this process if you have a tendency to be self-critical because hammering yourself up is ineffective and a waste of energy. Remember that we are all the result of the Extractive System, and be kind to yourself!

3. Explore:

You have created the space and capability for something new after demolishing. Now you get to decide what you want to use in its place.

• ACTION: Play and keep your soul’s passageways clear! Let yourself to try new things and let go of the need for “perfection,” as this illusory state of being dehumanizes us.
• LOOK FOR: What brings you life and happiness? Glitter, quiet, serenity, ease, and flow are all indicators that you are in harmony with the mindsets that come from your Soul.
• TIP: Go slowly and savor the places your Soul leads you. Recognize that your Soul has been imprisoned and prevented from being capable of revealing itself and engaging in activities that allow it to come alive because it has probably not had the opportunity to lead very often. So, give your Soul some space! and liberty! And let it direct you to the pursuits, attitudes, and conducts it seeks to experiment with. The Ego is always going to cause anxiety. Making judgments that are in line with your Soul will be simpler the more you can distinguish between your Ego’s anxiousness and your Soul’s calm anchoring.

4. Embrace/Let Go:

You can decide whether to keep engaging in an activity or give it up by periodically checking in with your Soul to see if it is energizing or exhausted.

• ACTION: To determine whether you are in agreement with the actions, attitudes, and behaviors that are in connection with your soul, keep checking in and seeing what lights you up. That will involve a lot of trial and error.
• LOOK FOR: Are you feeling joyful, satisfied, and hankering for more? Or do you feel exhausted and heavy?
• TIP: Release anything that isn’t helping you. You might give a new action, thought, or behavior a try and first notice how it enlivens your soul. Yet when you begin to feel out of alignment, remember that you might have learned everything there was to learn from that novel experience. It’s possible that moving forward is no longer in line with your soul. Nothing is fixed and strict here; freedom is essential.