@Jarne Großstück @Rositsa Aleksandrova @Ossie Osmond @Chanie Twersky Nova: I think I’m pointing at something slightly different here. When I say “ego,” I don’t mean that ego is bad. Ego is a layer of expression. It is part of how we speak, create, define things, understand ourselves and communicate what is happening inside us. We all have our own way of experiencing and expressing life. The problem is not having an ego. The problem is when that layer becomes disconnected from the deeper need. We need to eat, sleep, love, learn, teach, belong, create, connect. Those are real human needs. A “want” can grow from those needs, but it can also be manufactured by the environment around us. And when we lose the ability to tell the difference, we can spend our whole lives trying to satisfy something that never actually gets satisfied. That’s where I see a deeper problem with the way we are taught to “invest in ourselves.” Sometimes the system offers us a substitute for the need instead of helping us fulfill the need itself. A pill instead of healing. More information instead of understanding. Another course instead of experience. Another purchase instead of belonging. Another achievement instead of meaning. And because the substitute never truly resolves the need, we keep coming back for more. So for me, self-investment begins before the transaction. It begins with discernment: What do I actually need? What do I want? And is this desire really mine, or was it taught to me? I don't believe we need to destroy the ego. I believe we need to bring the layer of expression back into alignment with the living being underneath it. That’s the shift I’m trying to express.