I always try to make myself a better person, I dont succeed much and am not perfect, far from it, but as Ian Mackaye once sang "at least I'm fucking trying". So from Carl Jungs Shadow to the Ego I am at least learning about why we are like we are, what drives us, what makes us idiots, amazing, dicks, whores etc etc. As artists I figure some of you would be interested in reading this and a friend suggested I post it. (I foresee it being another GM-lead-thread, and is by no means a hugely popular 'which fruit juice do love most' type thread hahaha) I found this great article that simplified the whole 'ego' problem in simple digestable terms and descriptions and I will lift some great parts for you here and provide a link to the page after- its not a long read- so please visit the page. "Egotists are essentially insecure people who are attempting to cover up their own suspicion that they are not quite as good as other people by pretending that they are more important. They promote themselves so that they can be convinced of their own value by the feedback they receive from peers, fans, voters, employees or even their own children. They often strive to be high achievers because they can then get the acclaim of others, in the hope that this acclaim will somehow prove their worth; though it seldom erases the suspicion that they are unworthy. It is not a bad thing to be egotistical; it is just sad." I like the last line '...it is just sad' hahah "A self-esteemed person's sense of self-worth is mostly determined by internal conditions like attitude, compassion, belief, passion and personal vision. They also tend to have a direct sense of their relationship with divinity. Not the kind of divinity promulgated by preachers, mullahs and gurus who teach that human beings are base creatures who can only merit salvation by submitting to the will of some god; but the kind of divinity that teaches that all things, including you, are sacred and worthy of being honored as such. That's the trick to having a high level of self-esteem: to know yourself as being both a sacred creature and a divine creator; and then to honor yourself as such by acting as such. If you want to develop a high level of self-esteem, you must first come to know your true self and then, you must fall in love with your true self. That's another bit of cultural brainwashing you must overcome. Self-love is often seen as narcissism or extreme vanity. It is not; any more than self-esteem is egotism." Hope you enjoyed that and there is other great articles linked to the page provided: http://ezinearticles.com/?Big-Ego-or-Self-Esteem?&id=106973 what do you girls think? 2009-09-21T09:32:10-04:00 26 2009-09-19T19:28:41-04:00 true 0 79151 false false 1146 2802 1 2009-11-21T15:18:57-05:00 840 I thoroughly enjoyed reading that. 79151 Post 2009-09-19T19:32:22-04:00 2545731 51031 2009-09-19T19:32:22-04:00 Sometimes I want to crawl inside your beard and just smoke a pipe and read a good book. 79151 Post 2009-09-19T19:35:28-04:00 2545791 506 2009-09-19T19:35:28-04:00 <blockquote><cite>quakerninja said:</cite> Sometimes I want to crawl inside your beard and just smoke a pipe and read a good book.</blockquote> The book being his brain..... Good read btw GM. Lots of good points. 79151 Post 2009-09-19T19:40:55-04:00 2545821 6884 2009-09-19T19:41:41-04:00 What are you trying to say, man? Is this relevant or something? I just don't get it... <spoiler>JK</spoiler> 79151 Post 2009-09-19T19:43:19-04:00 2545841 12325 2009-09-19T19:43:19-04:00 Enjoyed! I am definitely a self-esteemed person who can be misunderstood as egotistical. 79151 Post 2009-09-19T19:43:35-04:00 2545851 3501 2009-09-19T19:43:35-04:00 OGM UR TH3 BEST 79151 Post 2009-09-19T19:53:55-04:00 2545931 3021 2009-09-19T19:53:55-04:00 I think i lie more in the ego side. I know i don't like myself as much as i want to, and care too much about others opinions, which is something that i've gotten much better at not worrying about. So i'm much more on the self-esteem side than i used to, but it's a process still ongoing. Whether suspectedly having mild Aspergers exacerbates this i don't know. I think if you admit your on the ego side more but want to be more of a self-accepting person then it at least gives you somewhere to start. 79151 Post 2009-09-19T19:54:19-04:00 2545941 6884 2009-09-19T19:54:19-04:00 it's weird, as artists we are all so full of so many layers of psychoses and insecurities that sitting back and analyzing yourself (not even trying to bother with other people) is a lifetime endeavor. who knows if it's caused by some hypersensitivity from the creative part of the brain or some kind of neurological impairment due to our niche of social evolution, it's just the act of trying to understand yourself, which will help you unravel the world around you, and make yourself more at peace, if that can ever truly be achieved. i love delving into these kinds of things. i once talked to a 60yrartist who seemed really calm, and had this overpowering presence of inner peace. they were asked where they were going as an artist, and the mad replied: "i don't know, i don't know if i'll ever get there, wherever that may be, i don't know where i'm really going, i'm just enjoying the act of being." glad to see the introspection! 79151 Post 2009-09-19T20:22:47-04:00 2546091 5570 2009-09-19T20:22:47-04:00 I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome. 79151 Post 2009-09-19T20:39:29-04:00 2546171 3028 2009-09-19T20:39:29-04:00 <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome.</blockquote> GTFO and go hiking or something Jimiyo! 79151 Post 2009-09-19T20:48:43-04:00 2546301 3005 2009-09-19T20:48:43-04:00 Falling in love with your true self for artists should be quite evident to most of the talented individuals that post on this website. Deepak Chopra says that there are three questions you can ask yourself to know if you are connecting with spirit/true self/christ consciousness/god/etc 1. Is it easy? 2. Are you able to monitor progress over any given amount of time? 3. Is it fun? You can see this may relate to your art/work, as it does to mine. 79151 Post 2009-09-20T00:26:28-04:00 2547481 7108 2009-09-20T00:26:28-04:00 interesting, i dident think i would be engaged in a thought process today lol If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it? what the fuck are girls talking about?!?! 79151 Post 2009-09-20T00:45:52-04:00 2547621 43381 2009-09-20T00:45:52-04:00 great post/read.... really, so much I'd like to say on it but just wouldn't know where to start... I'm definitely more of an egotist at the moment (with a bit of hero complex thrown in); all I/we can do is try to understand and make the necessary adjustments. It's generally a very slow process (lifelong even)...I just try to acknowledge a situation or instance of offense as I'm doing it, and try to stop it at that point...and hopefully those times of egoism come around at more appropriate times. If you're more of a believer in balnce then you can accept a little bit of ego, though, after all we are part divine/part human... Wallpaper* had a great illustrated spread at some point about the different types of creative people (and one of them was the guy who always feels like a fake--relying totally on the accomplishment/awards bestowed upon him for gauging self-worth--it's basically Peter Keating from the Fountainhead)...I'll have to see if I can dig it up, they have fun illustrations at least. For me, a big point of eastern philosophy is basically that only when you learn to balance your actual self-worth with the worth of all other things in our world can you have the peace that is true happiness. (I probably shouldn't be smokin' and typin') 79151 Post 2009-09-20T00:50:19-04:00 2547651 33471 2009-09-20T00:50:19-04:00 <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome.</blockquote> either you are or your not, i dont really give a shit. bottom line is that your my hero. your persistance wows me so much. for you to show up in a thread about egos... its just pure irony at its finest. i heart you, bluchez. i'm going to start a bluchez fan club! bluchez is the BEST designer since jimiyo!!! hahaha, is he joking? <spoiler>Fuck bluchez, Mozzerella is better!</spoiler> 79151 Post 2009-09-20T01:17:43-04:00 2547841 10321 2009-09-20T01:17:43-04:00 <blockquote><cite>I AM SCUMBAG said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome.</blockquote> either you are or your not, i dont really give a shit. bottom line is that your my hero. your persistance wows me so much. for you to show up in a thread about egos... its just pure irony at its finest. i heart you, bluchez. i'm going to start a bluchez fan club! bluchez is the BEST designer since jimiyo!!! hahaha, is he joking? <spoiler>Fuck bluchez, Mozzerella is better!</spoiler></blockquote> oh great now i want some cheese, thanks also this artical is very interesting, i love articles about the human mind etc 79151 Post 2009-09-20T01:24:07-04:00 2547961 33601 2009-09-20T01:24:57-04:00 win. 79151 Post 2009-09-20T01:32:16-04:00 2548061 1498 2009-09-20T01:32:16-04:00 i think in general humans tend to go more towards the ego side of the spectrum. we all want the praise and feedback of our peers, lets face it. i think the question to be asked is up until what point is it not healthy anymore? 79151 Post 2009-09-20T02:40:13-04:00 2548451 11896 2009-09-20T02:40:13-04:00 if only fortune cookie paper were bigger. 79151 Post 2009-09-20T02:58:45-04:00 2548621 8975 2009-09-20T02:58:45-04:00 This is great. I do love the feeling of mental refreshment I get from reading things like this. More power to the GM! 79151 Post 2009-09-20T04:23:03-04:00 2548921 9208 2009-09-20T04:23:03-04:00 <blockquote><cite>I AM SCUMBAG said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome.</blockquote> either you are or your not, i dont really give a shit. bottom line is that your my hero. your persistance wows me so much. for you to show up in a thread about egos... its just pure irony at its finest. i heart you, bluchez. i'm going to start a bluchez fan club! bluchez is the BEST designer since jimiyo!!! hahaha, is he joking? <spoiler>Fuck bluchez, Mozzerella is better!</spoiler></blockquote> <spoiler>Bluchez is not Jimiyo..</spoiler> 79151 Post 2009-09-20T05:01:09-04:00 2548981 3005 2009-09-20T05:01:09-04:00 <blockquote><cite>Ameeee said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>I AM SCUMBAG said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome.</blockquote> either you are or your not, i dont really give a shit. bottom line is that your my hero. your persistance wows me so much. for you to show up in a thread about egos... its just pure irony at its finest. i heart you, bluchez. i'm going to start a bluchez fan club! bluchez is the BEST designer since jimiyo!!! hahaha, is he joking? <spoiler>Fuck bluchez, Mozzerella is better!</spoiler></blockquote> <spoiler>Bluchez is not Jimiyo..</spoiler></blockquote> i figured as much, he's still annoying as shit regardless. 79151 Post 2009-09-20T05:16:03-04:00 2549061 10321 2009-09-20T05:16:03-04:00 Excellent read. You're a wise man. 79151 Post 2009-09-20T06:22:34-04:00 2549391 7093 2009-09-20T06:22:34-04:00 <blockquote><cite>I AM SCUMBAG said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>Ameeee said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>I AM SCUMBAG said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome.</blockquote> either you are or your not, i dont really give a shit. bottom line is that your my hero. your persistance wows me so much. for you to show up in a thread about egos... its just pure irony at its finest. i heart you, bluchez. i'm going to start a bluchez fan club! bluchez is the BEST designer since jimiyo!!! hahaha, is he joking? <spoiler>Fuck bluchez, Mozzerella is better!</spoiler></blockquote> <spoiler>Bluchez is not Jimiyo..</spoiler></blockquote> i figured as much, he's still annoying as shit regardless.</blockquote> That's pretty much the pot calling the tin foil black, I feel. 79151 Post 2009-09-20T15:08:05-04:00 2552461 3028 2009-09-20T15:08:05-04:00 the power of philosophy my friend. 79151 Post 2009-09-21T02:02:32-04:00 2558951 6279 2009-09-21T02:02:32-04:00 <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>I AM SCUMBAG said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>Ameeee said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>I AM SCUMBAG said:</cite> <blockquote><cite>bluchez said:</cite> I wasn't nearly as full of myself when it came to art until I found out I was jimiyo. Now I think I'm awesome.</blockquote> either you are or your not, i dont really give a shit. bottom line is that your my hero. your persistance wows me so much. for you to show up in a thread about egos... its just pure irony at its finest. i heart you, bluchez. i'm going to start a bluchez fan club! bluchez is the BEST designer since jimiyo!!! hahaha, is he joking? <spoiler>Fuck bluchez, Mozzerella is better!</spoiler></blockquote> <spoiler>Bluchez is not Jimiyo..</spoiler></blockquote> i figured as much, he's still annoying as shit regardless.</blockquote> That's pretty much the pot calling the tin foil black, I feel.</blockquote> Haha I was just thinking how ironic it was that the guy who has literally had hate threads started in his name, is calling people annoying. It must be blissful. 79151 Post 2009-09-21T02:08:35-04:00 2559141 997 2009-09-21T02:08:35-04:00 i wonder if Leslie Fieger ever promoted any of his books. hmmmmmm 79151 Post 2009-09-21T09:32:10-04:00 2561121 1146 2009-09-21T09:32:10-04:00