Plainly put, you can’t escape your ego box by listening to someone speaking from a place of profound ego. “Look at how awesome and successful I am” … yawn. What did you do to get there other than stomp on the heads of people who weren’t as ruthless?
You also can’t escape your ego box by following a Socratic methodology. The ego isn’t rational, our reptile brains aren’t logical, the ego emerges via disconnection from the Dionysian and communal part of our dualistic nature.
New agey philosopher Eckhart Tolle proposes a Socratic and Stoic methodology to tame the ego:
“The ego compels us to strengthen our identity and reach for superiority. So, resist the urge to do things like express your opinion when it’s not asked for or needed; demand recognition; make unnecessary requests; have strong expectations of people; or try to make an impression through your beliefs, knowledge, or looks. These are the compulsions of your ego.”
If I’m reading Eckhart correctly, everything that is masculine is the ego. Good to know!
It goes on like this for a while:
“Detach from the thoughts and emotions of your pain-body.”
“When someone damages your ego (they accuse, blame, disrespect you, and so on) don’t fight it with a reaction or response—let it happen.”
“Do every single thing in a state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm.”
Source: https://www.shortform.com/blog/how-to-control-your-ego/
I have a simpler solution. Do something very hard, dedicate yourself to it, don’t stop until you achieve it. Do, don’t think.
Your ego has no place to stand when you’re busy doing, just as it has no place in a healthy hunter-gatherer society or a healthy pre-Socratic mythic / narrative society.
Climb a mountain, build a house, start a business, tinker around in the workshop until you come up with a cool idea. It’s what your ancestors would have done.
The ego can’t be tamed or become subordinate to another man’s vision for how you should live in the world, it can’t be managed like an ADHD child. Your ego emerges from a state of disconnection from the divine song of your heart.
The solution is to do, to overcome challenges and obstacles and act in accordance with your heart. The way to get there is outlined in these Meliora class materials and is augmented / accelerated by the practice of Meliora Meditation.
It is not a Socratic, rational or logical process. There is no 10-step method to escape the ego box that is of any worth or value.
You’ll know you’re there when the question of ego becomes irrelevant.
You’ll know you’ve arrived when you stop thinking so much about what to do, and just go out and do it.
Henry Rollins gets it:
https://youtu.be/n7MZwH24CI8?si=JNbkgvVQhMqYQlGj
A sense of ‘being in flow’ and synchronicity will likely follow as a natural result of this process.
There are Two Roads, Pick One
You can spend countless hours listening to self-help experts talk about ‘abundance mentality’, read all about flow training and how the top athletes perform, consult with the ‘best in the business’, and become an expert at manifesting through the chakras.
Or you can work your ass off until you accomplish something very difficult.
