Relationship Between Id Ego Superego
Desires of the Id, and the psychology of Ego and Superego
According to Freud and traditional psychology the Id represents the raw uncontrolled and ungratified needs and desires of a person. The only goal of the Id is to seek gratification of desire. Then there is the Ego, which is basically the personality that regulates the Id in fulfilling desires. The ego is your personality and your sense of “I am”. Conflict occurs when the ego suppresses the Id on an unconscious level. The Superego is the Self Ideal that commands on the Ego. The Superego includes how the ego would like to see itself or what it thinks it should be like. It represents the cultural ideals and expectations, which can cause pain and suffering to the ego in satisfying the desires of the Id. The ego is trapped in the middle and pulled in opposite directions by the unsatisfied Id and superego. The superego arguably is the collective ego of society. It is like the ego average of society- like Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious. It represents mankind’s current spiritual state of misunderstanding. It represents the illusions of the world.
- An alternative theory proposed by Abraham Marslow represents the Id as a hierarchy of needs. First of all we have our basic needs such as food, water, sex and sleep for instance. These are physiological. Then we have other basic needs for security such as shelter, family, health and employment etc. Further up the scale there is deeper family, friendship and relationship needs. On the next level there is esteem and goal achieving. Finally there is self actualization, creativity and spiritual goals, such as self realization- being all that you can be. The Id is all about different levels of Love and learning to Love. This includes Loving yourself and others on all different levels.
- In this context the motivations and desires of the Id are not seen as a negative, immoral or in need of suppression. It is okay to have desires and needs, and it is good to satisfy them in a healthy loving way. We all have needs and desires on every level. Desire means a longing for Love. The goal is to take care of each others love needs on every level. First there should be food, shelter, clothes and a healthy living environment in abundance for everyone, so that everybody is satisfied. This includes sharing what you have in abundance with needy ones.
- Then there is physical sexual needs satisfied among two Loving partners, one of the basic physiological needs. There is also a need for loving affection such as hugging, cuddling and kissing- and hugging other family members and other people. Every person needs physical Love such as hugging or holding, in order to be happy.
- There is a need to work from the bottom of your heart, doing a job with optimum creativity, skill, perfection, Love and joy. So that your work can really be enjoyed by other people- like giving someone a box of chocolates or flowers. It is really good to contribute, to give and to love. It is good to make life happier for others, to be a strong for other people, to support, to protect, nourish, to help, to heal, to uplift, to make happy, and to make peaceful. This includes working to be a light in people's lives. When you become a fully functional and self-actualized person then self realization and oneness with God can occur.
Work + Love = Freedom
Dissolving Ego
The Ego is your personalty, the sum of all your blockages and what separates you from other people, what separates you from Love. It includes the nature of all of your pain and how you may cause pain to other people. Your ego is how you see yourself as separate from other people instead of being one with others.
Desires on all levels are legitimate, and they are really desires of Love that need to find satisfaction. If Love can find satisfaction on all levels then there is no need for the ego at all. Ego and Superego are illusion. It is the ego and the sum of all ego’s (superego) that causes fighting, retaliation and revenge. It is ego that punishes, rejects and says no. It is the ego that is jealous and afraid. It is the ego that is selfish and hates. That is why the goal is to dissolve your ego so that you can become divine.
Sometimes if you have a big ego it can be painful coming into contact with a spiritual person. In order to help you see through your illusion he may become your illusion. He may appear confusing or unbelievably egotistical to mirror your behaviour so that you can see what it really is like and transcend it. Sometimes a spiritual person may appear really egotistic. He is just playing along with you and your illusion to mirror your ego like a game of snap to show you what cards you are playing. You will see that your behaviour is anti-loving, selfish or false. He may point out your faults in a blunt way to you. Look at Jesus- he specialized in telling people what they did not want to hear. For example your whole life may be false and superficial and you may be neglecting every single person in your life. Then somebody comes along laughing pointing out exactly what’s going on. It can be painful. An ego by nature causes hurt to other people, is a big source of anxiety and depression. A spiritual person or guru will find the most Loving and smoothest way to tackle your ego.
The goal of spirituality is to dissolve the ego, so that you know who you truly are, a piece of Love. Dissolving your personality might seem scary. After all there is so much emphasis on developing and improving personality. The ego is what is different from God. It does not mean you can not be unique in you own loving way, rather you are a branch of Love, a manifestation of Love.
