--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact that both ego and self say \"I\"…" description: "\"“The fact that both ego and self say \"I\" is a source of confusion and misidentification. The well-informed ego says truly, \"I am what I know myself to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/stephen-laberge-18559_ego_the-fact-that-both-ego-and-self-say-i-is_3160337.jpg" --- # The fact that both ego and self say "I" is a source of… ![“The fact that both ego and self say "I" is a source of confusion and misidentification. The well-informed ego says truly, "I am what I know myself to be." The self says merely, "I am.” quote by Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/stephen-laberge-18559_ego_the-fact-that-both-ego-and-self-say-i-is_3160337.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/stephen-laberge-18559_ego_the-fact-that-both-ego-and-self-say-i-is_3160337.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/stephen-laberge-18559_ego_the-fact-that-both-ego-and-self-say-i-is_3160337.jpg) > ““The fact that both ego and self say "I" is a source of confusion and misidentification. The well-informed ego says truly, "I am what I know myself to be." The self says merely, "I am.”” [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confusing ego’s knowledge‑based identity with the self’s simple existence leads to misidentification. **In simple terms:** Ego and self are different. Key Takeaway Distinguish ego’s claims from the self’s presence. Themes identity ego self awareness Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - mindfulness practice - therapy - personal introspection Key Concepts psychology philosophy consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How do you notice ego’s voice? - What practices reveal the pure self? A Different Perspective Ego may dominate perception, obscuring true self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) ## Related quotes > [The Self says ‘I AM’–as in the very grand sayings of Christ, especially in the Gospel of John, in which he says in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-ravindra/the-self-says-i-am-as-in-the-very-grand-sayings-of-christ-especially/) [Ravi Ravindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-ravindra/) > [Its almost as if the way you imagine my dead self says more about you than it says about either the person I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/its-almost-as-if-the-way-you-imagine-my-dead-self-says-more-about-you/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing is impossible in fact the word in self says I'm possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-impossible-in-fact-the-word-in-self-says-i-m-possible/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The self says, I am; The heart says, I am less; The spirit says, you are Nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/the-self-says-i-am-the-heart-says-i-am-less-the-spirit-says-you-are/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“Impossible it self says I'm possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makayla-redmon/impossible-it-self-says-i-m-possible/) Makayla Redmon > [Like all other lonely or hungry things, ego loves the light. It sees light, and the possibility of being close to the soul, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/like-all-other-lonely-or-hungry-things-ego-loves-the-light-it-sees/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [The challenge life presents to each of us is to become truly ourselves--not the self we have imagined or fantasized about, not the self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/the-challenge-life-presents-to-each-of-us-is-to-become-truly/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [The ego says, ‘I shouldn’t have to suffer,’ and that thought makes you suffer so much more. It is a distortion of the truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ego-says-i-shouldn-t-have-to-suffer-and-that-thought-makes-you-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ego says: "Once everything falls into place, I will find peace." Spirit says: "Find peace and everything will fall into place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ego-says-once-everything-falls-into-place-i-will-find-peace-spirit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The ego says, I shouldn't have to suffer, and that thought makes you suffer so much more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-ego-says-i-shouldn-t-have-to-suffer-and-that-thought-makes-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Compromise says: Its better to change a little rather than to lose someone forever! Ego says: It is always better to leave the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/compromise-says-its-better-to-change-a-little-rather-than-to-lose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ego says, "Once everything falls into place, I'll feel peace". Spirit says, "Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/ego-says-once-everything-falls-into-place-i-ll-feel-peace-spirit-says/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“The ego (one’s self-perception) is a very shaky structure, easily undermined by unconscious drives and desires. It is possible to repress those drives for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-salecl/the-ego-one-s-self-perception-is-a-very-shaky-structure-easily/) [Renata Salecl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-salecl/) > [ALONE But HAPPY¦. No Argument, No Fight, No Noise And No Misbehaving. Value Your Relationship Much More Than Your Ego But Not More Than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-raj/alone-but-happy-no-argument-no-fight-no-noise-and-no-misbehaving/) [Don Raj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-raj/) > [ “repression, which “proceeds from the self-respect of the ego … \[the person\] has set up an ideal in himself by which he measures his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sandler/repression-which-proceeds-from-the-self-respect-of-the-ego-the-person/) Joseph Sandler ## More by Stephen LaBerge > [In most of our dreams, our inner eye of reflection is shut and we sleep within our sleep. The exception takes place when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/in-most-of-our-dreams-our-inner-eye-of-reflection-is-shut-and-we/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Dreams are a reservoir of knowledge and experience yet they are often overlooked as a vehicle for exploring reality. In the dream state our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/dreams-are-a-reservoir-of-knowledge-and-experience-yet-they-are-often/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [From early childhood, I was interested in understanding how the world worked, and assumed I would be some kind of physical scientist or chemist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/from-early-childhood-i-was-interested-in-understanding-how-the-world/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Dreams look real, but they're in your mind, so you realize that the physical world is also a construction, which shows that the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/dreams-look-real-but-they-re-in-your-mind-so-you-realize-that-the/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Be true to yourself and you will never fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/be-true-to-yourself-and-you-will-never-fail/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Obviously a major malfunction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/obviously-a-major-malfunction/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [You just don't get funding to go out and find God. Even if you did, you'd have to first define what you mean by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/you-just-don-t-get-funding-to-go-out-and-find-god-even-if-you-did-you/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Some people have vivid imagination, some not so vivid, but everybody has vivid dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/some-people-have-vivid-imagination-some-not-so-vivid-but-everybody/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Not all lucid dreams are useful but they all have a sense of wonder about them. If you must sleep through a third of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/not-all-lucid-dreams-are-useful-but-they-all-have-a-sense-of-wonder/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [If you dream you do something, it's as if you actually are doing it from your brain's point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/if-you-dream-you-do-something-it-s-as-if-you-actually-are-doing-it/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [We don't teach our children how to dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/we-don-t-teach-our-children-how-to-dream/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Dreams and waking life are both the same kinds of things. The difference is that dreaming is perceiving free of external constraints, whereas perceiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/dreams-and-waking-life-are-both-the-same-kinds-of-things-the/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Your experience is a dream; so is my experience. This stuff about how the frontal cortex is repressed during dreaming, lucid dreaming presents an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/your-experience-is-a-dream-so-is-my-experience-this-stuff-about-how/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [I have never been awake before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/i-have-never-been-awake-before/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [In the dream state, the only essential difference from waking is the relative absence of sensory input, which makes dreaming a special case of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/in-the-dream-state-the-only-essential-difference-from-waking-is-the/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) [Explore all 34 Stephen LaBerge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) ## More Ego quotes > [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/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [I love playing ego and insecurity combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/i-love-playing-ego-and-insecurity-combined/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm a straight shooter, and most of the time my ego doesn't interrupt my relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/i-m-a-straight-shooter-and-most-of-the-time-my-ego-doesn-t-interrupt/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I hate acting when I see it. I don't want to feel it, I don't want to see it, I want to be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-hate-acting-when-i-see-it-i-don-t-want-to-feel-it-i-don-t-want-to/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“... a man doesn't like to have his ego popped, especially when he prides himself on his sagacity, and then to be proved wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/a-man-doesn-t-like-to-have-his-ego-popped-especially-when-he-prides/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [The man of wisdom is devoid of ego even though he may appear to use it. His vacant or fasting mind is neither doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramesh-s-balsekar/the-man-of-wisdom-is-devoid-of-ego-even-though-he-may-appear-to-use/) [Ramesh S Balsekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramesh-s-balsekar/) > [Show me success without ego!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivana-trump/show-me-success-without-ego/) [Ivana Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivana-trump/) [Browse all 3,462 Ego quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The fact that both ego and self say \"I\" is a source of confusion and misidentification. 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