--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ego is neither positive nor negative…" description: "\"Ego is neither positive nor negative. Those are simply concepts that create more boundaries. Ego is just ego, and the disaster of it all is that you, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/adyashanti-1169_arise_ego-is-neither-positive-nor-negative-tho_2260932.png" --- # Ego is neither positive nor negative. Those are simply… ![“Ego is neither positive nor negative. Those are simply concepts that create more boundaries. Ego is just ego, and the disaster of it all is that you, as a spiritual seeker, have been conditioned to think of the ego as bad, as an enemy, as something to be destroyed. This simply strengthens the ego…” quote by Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/adyashanti-1169_arise_ego-is-neither-positive-nor-negative-tho_2260932.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/adyashanti-1169_arise_ego-is-neither-positive-nor-negative-tho_2260932.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/adyashanti-1169_arise_ego-is-neither-positive-nor-negative-tho_2260932.png) > “Ego is neither positive nor negative. Those are simply concepts that create more boundaries. Ego is just ego, and the disaster of it all is that you, as a spiritual seeker, have been conditioned to think of the ego as bad, as an enemy, as something to be destroyed. This simply strengthens the ego. In fact, such conclusions arise from the ego itself. Pay no attention to them. Don't go to war with yourself; simply inquire into who you are.” [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ego is a neutral aspect of self; labeling it good or bad creates mental limits and reinforces its power. **In simple terms:** Ego is neutral; labels create limits. Key Takeaway Observe ego without judgment. Themes self-awareness nonduality inner peace Mood calm reflective Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - self-inquiry - therapy - conflict resolution Key Concepts identity conditioning mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling affect your inner conflict? - What happens when you simply observe ego? A Different Perspective Labeling ego as enemy can intensify its grip. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) [Boundaries Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries-ego-839401/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyed/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Ego Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-fact-3048886/) [Ego Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-positive-5202122/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Seekers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seekers/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Strengthens Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strengthens-ego-535078/) [Think Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-ego-231896/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War with yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-with-yourself/) [Who you are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-you-are/) ## Related quotes > [“Self Respect " respects boundaries, yours or other's. "Ego" is so full of self, it sees no boundaries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drishti-bablani-wordions/self-respect-respects-boundaries-yours-or-other-s-ego-is-so-full-of/) [Drishti Bablani, Wordions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drishti-bablani-wordions/) > [“There is nothing that strengthens the ego more than being right. Being right is identification with a mental position - a perspective, an opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-is-nothing-that-strengthens-the-ego-more-than-being-right-being/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [There is nothing that strengthens the ego more than being right !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-is-nothing-that-strengthens-the-ego-more-than-being-right/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“If you are content with being nobody in particular, content not to stand out, you align yourself with the power of the universe. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/if-you-are-content-with-being-nobody-in-particular-content-not-to-2/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“I also teach you to love yourself first. It has nothing to do with ego. In fact, love is such a light that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/i-also-teach-you-to-love-yourself-first-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-ego/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [If you are content with being nobody in particular, content not to stand out, you align yourself with the power of the universe. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/if-you-are-content-with-being-nobody-in-particular-content-not-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The self you have betrayed is your mind; self-esteem is reliance on one’s power to think. The ego you seek, that essential “you” which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galt/the-self-you-have-betrayed-is-your-mind-self-esteem-is-reliance-on/) [John Galt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galt/) > [A Course in Miracles tells us that although 'we think that without the ego, all would be chaos, the opposite is true. Without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/a-course-in-miracles-tells-us-that-although-we-think-that-without-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I think it's the ego in us that screws us up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/i-think-it-s-the-ego-in-us-that-screws-us-up/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [I think that ego-driven leaders will be a thing of the past because the masses are tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/i-think-that-ego-driven-leaders-will-be-a-thing-of-the-past-because/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [I think your ego gets in the way of making something good because it kind of blinds you from the actual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitski/i-think-your-ego-gets-in-the-way-of-making-something-good-because-it/) [Mitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitski/) > [“In just a second, in just a second. You keep talking about ego. My God, it would take Christ himself to decide what’s ego…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/in-just-a-second-in-just-a-second-you-keep-talking-about-ego-my-god/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Whether you are rich or poor Don't think about ego's and popularity look at each person as an independent human being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whether-you-are-rich-or-poor-don-t-think-about-ego-s-and-popularity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I guess it has to be healthy, you have to be honest with yourself and I think that's when ego is okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/i-guess-it-has-to-be-healthy-you-have-to-be-honest-with-yourself-and/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) ## More by Adyashanti > [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [This moment in which you experience stillness is every moment. Don't let the mind seduce you into the past or future. Stay in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/this-moment-in-which-you-experience-stillness-is-every-moment-don-t/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [When you rest deeply in the Unknown without trying to escape, your experience becomes very vast. As the experience of the Unknown deepens, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/when-you-rest-deeply-in-the-unknown-without-trying-to-escape-your/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Embrace suffering, and you transform your relationship with what causes you to suffer, as well as your relationship with suffering itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/embrace-suffering-and-you-transform-your-relationship-with-what/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [What is really important you can't understand with your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/what-is-really-important-you-can-t-understand-with-your-mind/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [What would happen if you were to allow everything to be exactly as it is? If you gave up the need for control, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/what-would-happen-if-you-were-to-allow-everything-to-be-exactly-as-it/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Inherent in the impulse to be free, is insecurity. The impulse to be free comes from outside of the mind, and because of this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/inherent-in-the-impulse-to-be-free-is-insecurity-the-impulse-to-be/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [You can't lose what you serve. That's the secret. What you serve, you can't lose. What you don't serve and what you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/you-can-t-lose-what-you-serve-that-s-the-secret-what-you-serve-you/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [It is not the pursuit of greater and greater states of happiness and bliss that leads to enlightenment, but the yearning for Reality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/it-is-not-the-pursuit-of-greater-and-greater-states-of-happiness-and/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Suffering is how Life tells you that you are resisting or misperceiving what is real and true. It is the way Life suggests that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/suffering-is-how-life-tells-you-that-you-are-resisting-or/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Real meditation is not about mastering a technique; it's about letting go of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/real-meditation-is-not-about-mastering-a-technique-it-s-about-letting/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [When emptiness is still, that is eternity. When it moves, that is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/when-emptiness-is-still-that-is-eternity-when-it-moves-that-is-love/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [You are an incredible mystery that you will never figure out. To be this mystery consciously is the greatest joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/you-are-an-incredible-mystery-that-you-will-never-figure-out-to-be/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Life sustains itself. Let go of the ego and life takes care of itself through you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/life-sustains-itself-let-go-of-the-ego-and-life-takes-care-of-itself/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [One doesn't stay in a state of nirvana by hiding from difficulties. You stay in nirvana by lavishing nirvana on everyone you meet, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/one-doesn-t-stay-in-a-state-of-nirvana-by-hiding-from-difficulties/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) [Explore all 279 Adyashanti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) ## More Arise quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/) [Julietta Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julietta-suzuki/) > [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. 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