Deep in the heart of every human being exists a silent, gnawing question about what hap-pens to us after we die. For many people, this question lies dormant until it is awakened by the death—or the impending death—of an acquaintance, a renowned person, a friend, a loved one, or perhaps one’s own life-threatening illness. Because the thought of death is so universally disquieting to humankind, many theories have been constructed about the meaning of death and what may or may not happen after one dies. The five most common possibilities, each of which has many nuances and var-iations, include the following. . .

In order to achieve spiritual enlightenment, your goal in general is to move from acts that are born of ego to acts that derive from spirit. Doing so can be accomplished in different ways, such as utilizing spiritual books, transcendental meditation, or spiritual seminars, to name but a few. As it pertains specifically to making the transition from acts of generosity that are ego-driven to ones that are spirit-driven, it is best to keep in mind that ego can, indeed, be present even if done with a kind heart and with the best of intentions. Assuming you’re on the path to get beyond your own ego, you may want to examine the possible role that ego plays in your acts of generosity. As you embark on ridding ego from your generous acts, understand that we each make this transition in our own unique ways. Still, there are some stages that we commonly go through, so becoming familiar with them may help you recognize where you are in the process.

The first step to silence ego’s destructive influence in your life and to achieve spiritual transcendence is to learn to recognize ego inside you. It can present itself in many differ-ent modes in the same person and differently from person to person. The key is to find the ways that ego manifests itself in you, since identifying your own ego and recognizing it when it is active is of vital importance to getting beyond it. Since it is difficult to find a comprehensive list of ego’s masks in spiritual books or other spiritual resources, many such masks are identified below, categorized in a way to help you recognize them. You will notice that some of the masks fall into more than one category.

Most spiritual books would agree that fully spiritual beings are conscious of conscious-ness, devoid of ego, joyful and peaceful, all-loving, compassionate, and at-one with the universe and all things in it. They live in the now, promote the well-being of others, love what is, make no judgments, and carry positive intentions and charity for all in their hearts. We are all born with this potential. Yet because we also are born with a forebrain that al-lows abstract thought, we alone ponder our lives rather than simply living them as all other creatures do. When the experiences we have are frightening to us, or otherwise dif-ficult to examine, we unknowingly repress them.

Most spiritual healing books indicate that everyone’s journey beyond the ego is unique. No two people experience the journey in exactly the same way because ego works diffe-rently in different people. However, there are some general ego-patterns that may help explain some of the experiences you have along the way, and the more aware of these patterns you become, the more your spiritual awareness will grow.

One of the first steps to spiritual enlightenment is the understanding that it is not a cha-racter flaw when ego expresses itself in you or in others. Judging it as a flaw is just one more function of ego. Each of the following examples suggests where you might look for your own ego. And—so long as you don’t judge them for it—noting ego in others can also be helpful.

Ego craves the feeling of superiority. It is the driving force that seeks wealth, power, au-thority, and fame. We see this in young children riding their bicycles down the street, one yelling to the others, “I’m the leader!” We see it when one of the others shouts back, “No you’re not, I’m the leader!” We see it when two men fight in a bar over who is the tougher; we see it in the stealthy maneuvers of two executives, each seeking the next promotion. There is no difference among these examples except the size of the playing field and the stakes attached to the outcome.

Rugged Individualism is the belief that nearly all individuals, if not all, can succeed on their own, and, consequently, that governmental help in our lives need only be minimal. This notion that the vast majority of us can succeed on our own implies a total disregard for the help that we all require from others. Do we not depend on our teachers to educate us? Do we not drive on highways built with the help of human hands? Do we not depend on those who grow, harvest, process, and sell food for our daily sustenance? Do we not all depend on government-run organizations—the United States Postal Service, the Inter-nal Revenue Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Federal-Aid Highway Act, to name but a few—to provide essential services to us and keep things running from day to day? Of course we do; who can deny it?

Broken apart into its Latin derivatives, the word communication is “comm,” “uni,” and “tion.” Comm means “together” or “with,” uni means “one,” and “tion” means “the state of being.” In other words, communication means the state of being one together (or one with). Compare this definition with the spiritual notion that we are all one, and notice the close correlation between the two.

Ego is very noisy. It takes seriously the argument for its own existence that seventeenth century French philosopher Rene Descartes advanced: “I think, therefore I am.” But thoughts have little to do with consciousness. Thoughts are mental tools at our disposal to analyze and solve problems, communicate with others, or plan our daily agendas. Like any other tool, they can be put back on the shelf (figuratively speaking) when not in use. Notice, though, that when you are not thinking, you are still conscious. You know quite well that you are still alive. Thus, you might even rewrite Descartes’ conclusion that, “I am conscious, therefore I am.”

When Joey was a student in upper elementary school, there was a heated national cam-paign in progress about who would be elected the next president, and Joey had overheard his parents repeatedly endorse candidate X as the person they planned to vote for. One morning before school started, he was on the playground when another young man—Alex—asked him whom he was for in the upcoming election. Naturally, given what Joey had picked up from his parents, he said “I’m going to vote for Mr. X.” But no sooner had the words left his mouth when Alex pushed him to the ground and pummeled him in the head with a shoe that had fallen off in the scuffle. Throughout this brief encounter, Alex (no doubt mimicking his own parents), shouted to Joey and everyone in the crowd that had gathered around them, “Those who don’t vote for Mr. Y are either stupid or crazy.”

A fundamental assumption in any spiritual book you might pick up is this: from spirit we came, in spirit we live, and to spirit we shall return. Having come from spirit, we were not afraid to be born. Yet isn’t it interesting that we’re afraid to die? What happens during our sojourn on earth that diminishes our potential to live fully? What replaces our natural feelings of love with pain and fear? That something that muddles our feelings is ego. Moreover, of all the tools in ego’s toolbox, fear is the tool it relies on the most.