--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ego is the movement of the mind toward…" description: "\"Ego is the movement of the mind toward objects of perception in the form of grasping, and away from objects in the form of aversion. This fundamentally..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/adyashanti-1169_aversion_ego-is-the-movement-of-the-mind-toward-o_2389979.jpg" --- # Ego is the movement of the mind toward objects of… ![“Ego is the movement of the mind toward objects of perception in the form of grasping, and away from objects in the form of aversion. This fundamentally is all the ego is. This movement of grasping and aversion gives rise to a sense of a separate 'me,' and in turn the sense of 'me' strengthens…” quote by Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/adyashanti-1169_aversion_ego-is-the-movement-of-the-mind-toward-o_2389979.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/adyashanti-1169_aversion_ego-is-the-movement-of-the-mind-toward-o_2389979.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/adyashanti-1169_aversion_ego-is-the-movement-of-the-mind-toward-o_2389979.jpg) > “Ego is the movement of the mind toward objects of perception in the form of grasping, and away from objects in the form of aversion. This fundamentally is all the ego is. This movement of grasping and aversion gives rise to a sense of a separate 'me,' and in turn the sense of 'me' strengthens itself this way.” [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 arises from the mind's habit of grasping desirable objects and rejecting undesirable ones, creating a sense of a separate self that reinforces itself. **In simple terms:** Ego is about wanting and rejecting, forming a self. Key Takeaway Recognize and loosen the grip of ego. Themes psychology spirituality identity Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts attachment aversion self‑construction Questions to Reflect On - How does attachment shape your identity? - Can aversion be transformed? A Different Perspective Ego can also motivate positive action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Ego Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-movement-5949940/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Fundamentally Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentally-ego-5949941/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Grasping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasping/) [Grasping Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasping-aversion-5949942/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Movement Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement-mind-1012613/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [To cultivate equanimity we practice catching ourselves when we feel attraction or aversion, before it hardens into grasping or negativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/to-cultivate-equanimity-we-practice-catching-ourselves-when-we-feel/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The problem is grasping the clock. So what do I do? Let it go, lay it aside - put it down gently without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-sumedho/the-problem-is-grasping-the-clock-so-what-do-i-do-let-it-go-lay-it/) [Ajahn Sumedho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-sumedho/) > [All experience and phenomena are understood to be a dream, this should not be just an intellectual understanding, but a vivid and lucid experience...Genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-wangyal-rinpoche/all-experience-and-phenomena-are-understood-to-be-a-dream-this-should/) [Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-wangyal-rinpoche/) > [The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/the-body-benefits-from-movement-and-the-mind-benefits-from-stillness/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) > [“Still In the fall, I believe again in poetry if nothing else it is a movement of the mind. Summers ball together into sticky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaakko-a-ahokas/still-in-the-fall-i-believe-again-in-poetry-if-nothing-else-it-is-a/) [Jaakko A. Ahokas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaakko-a-ahokas/) > [“We alone control our final form through our conscious actions. We become the product of the movement of our mind and our physical actions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/we-alone-control-our-final-form-through-our-conscious-actions-we/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [You have to simply become aware of the movement of the mind, which begins this endless trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-l-poonja/you-have-to-simply-become-aware-of-the-movement-of-the-mind-which/) [H. W. L. Poonja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-l-poonja/) > [“The central movement of the mind is the desire for unrestricted liberty and (...) this movement is invariably accompanied by its opposite, a dread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-central-movement-of-the-mind-is-the-desire-for-unrestricted/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“In order to observe the movement of your own mind and heart, of your whole being, you must have a free mind, not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/in-order-to-observe-the-movement-of-your-own-mind-and-heart-of-your/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“What bothered her most was the ceaseless movement of her mind, so locked in activity that it allowed her no rest, not even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-emmons/what-bothered-her-most-was-the-ceaseless-movement-of-her-mind-so/) [Henry Emmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-emmons/) > [If the mind falls asleep, awaken it. Then if it starts wandering, make it quiet. If you reach the state where there is neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/if-the-mind-falls-asleep-awaken-it-then-if-it-starts-wandering-make/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Our illusions-the beliefs we hold on to-are the very doorways to our freedom. We simply have to enter through them without grasping or pushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/our-illusions-the-beliefs-we-hold-on-to-are-the-very-doorways-to-our/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) [Penny Kome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-kome/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## 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 Aversion quotes > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) [Penny Kome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-kome/) > [One of the greatest inhibitions to the development of human potential is the aversion to effective practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/one-of-the-greatest-inhibitions-to-the-development-of-human-potential/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We must each learn to feel comfortable in our own uniqueness by rising above the fear of being wrong and the aversion to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-must-each-learn-to-feel-comfortable-in-our-own-uniqueness-by/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Some people have a very strange idea that material success does not coincide harmoniously with self-realization, which is absurd. The aversion to material success,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/some-people-have-a-very-strange-idea-that-material-success-does-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Usually I just let my songs do the talking. As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/usually-i-just-let-my-songs-do-the-talking-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-have/) [John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. I had left this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-a-happy-thing-that-time-quells-the-longings-of-vengeance-and/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [In Tantric Buddhism our feeling is that there is no problem with the sensual world unless you have a tremendous attraction or aversion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-tantric-buddhism-our-feeling-is-that-there-is-no-problem-with-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 266 Aversion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ego is the movement of the mind toward objects of perception in the form of grasping, and away from objects in the form of aversion. 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