Greetings,
Yes, we, the children of modernity and Western civilization, might be egocentric and egoistic. Self- and planet-distructively so.
Yet, is the ego to blame? Or is the ego an organic product of the social, political, and economic configurations that we live under?
In this episode, we explore the ego not as an enemy to destroy, but as a fluid interface between consciousness and the world.
Through reflections on creative collaboration, improv, and the art of being selfish, we discover that the real problem isn’t having an ego — it’s losing awareness when one of our personas hijacks the controls.
These conversations are open explorations, that become richer with time and participation of others. We’d be thrilled to have you participate, if there was something that touched you. Ba commenting here, or sending us a message.
In flow,
Irina, Polina and Yulia
Polina
“The stronger those impulses get — of not being heard, not being allowed to be yourself — it accumulates into this big ball. Then you’re going to be hijacked, and the observer is going to be swept away because it doesn’t know how to hold intensity.”
“The ego is like an interface — my human interface for living and dealing with people and society. It’s how people are able to interact with me, make sense of me, exchange with me.”
“Society prescribes numbness: let's manage this, let's numb the pain, let's lower the intensity on how much we feel. But the real answer is learning to welcome and occupy our impulses with an observer in place.”
Yulia
“We’re 99% water by molecule count. Terrestrial life is basically water that found its way outside of the ocean, able to make its own waves. The tendency to flow is inherent to the ego.”
“I can choose to play a bitch. But when I consciously play, even if I identify with the bitch in this moment, it’s my decision. But as soon as I really become a bitch — that means something else took over. That’s the problem.”
“When I’m playing a role, my mature adult self chooses to act a certain way because this is the best way of interfacing. But if I become that thing, I lose the multidimensionality of myself and go full way into it. Then it sucks.”
“The way our egos show up is not an individual responsibility. There are forces at play — in society, in civilization — much bigger than individuals. We’re interconnected. Recognize that and give yourself a break.”
Irina
“Selfishness seems to be about putting the self in the first place. It’s about defining and defending the borders. Here is me. And being selfish is to be oneself.”
“If we are not allowed to be selfish and full self, we end up flowing into the other not from a sense of fullness, but from a sense of push. We get amplified, distorted selfishness that wants to occupy the whole space of the other.”
“The ego is shape-shifting, a product of both the subconscious histories inside and the outside conditions. It’s fluid, constantly reshaping itself depending on the circumstances.”
Let it flow,
Polina, Irina, and Yulya
📍Chapters
00:00 — What Should We Do With the Ego?
03:09 — When Ego Disrupts Group Flow
07:20 — Why “Getting Rid of the Ego” Doesn’t Work
11:40 — Ego as Boundary: Where the Self Begins
15:46 — What Happens When the Self Has No Borders
21:21 — Ego as the Interface Between Inner and Outer Worlds
23:46 — Identity as a Living, Shifting Narrative
30:20 — Why Structure Is Necessary for Flow
34:55 — When the Word “Ego” Gets in the Way
38:53 — When Ego Shifts From Play Into Control
43:49 — Playing a Role vs Being Taken Over by It
49:20 — Intensity Isn’t the Problem — Loss of Awareness Is
54:30 — The Observer Helps, But It’s Not the Whole Answer
1:05:10 — Living With the Ego Instead of Fighting It
1:10:38 — Staying in Relationship With Ego Over Time
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💌 Resources used under Creative Commons license:
Music “Echolocation” by airtone, source: CcMixter
