How to Overcome Self-Deception

Self-deception is one of ego’s greatest tricks to keeping us from discovering the truth of who we are. Think about it…

If we never question the basic premise that our current sense of self is built on (the belief that we’re our ego), all of our energy and attention is dedicated to upholding and protecting the perceptions, beliefs and attitudes that make up our current sense of self.

There can be no greater self-deception than to believe we’re something we’re not.

Ego knows if we’re never prompted to question the perceptions that compose our current sense of self, we’ll continue to protect and uphold them. It works like a charm…

The more attached we are to knowing ourselves as a particular perception, the less likely we are to question its roots. If we (as our ego) perceive someone as threatening our personal perceptions, beliefs or attitudes, we respond with an attack…

Once when I was reading through my Instagram feed, I saw where a health and wellness yogi posted an innocent comment about having fun at the grocery store comparing the type of food people buy to the person buying the food. It was shared in an endearing, non-judgmental way…like, “hey, I do this quirky thing for fun, does anyone else relate?”

Well this infuriated someone in the comments….they blew up in anger exclaiming that they were “unfollowing” her because she was so judgmental. “How could she judge people like that? That’s not kind, etc. etc.”

But my question is: If she had truly uprooted judgment in herself, how could she judge this person for playing that game at the grocery store?

Do you see the self-deception at play?

She became so identified with a belief in being kind and non-judgmental that she failed to see where she herself was being unkind and judgmental. Instead, she viciously protected her belief in kindness and non-judgment by attacking the girl who shared the post. Ego is sneaky like that.

Self-deception is a massive blindness that, when left unchecked, morphs from individuals to groups to nations. How could it not be the case?…

If we’re not questioning our perceptions on an individual level, what would prompt us to question them at the group level?

This lack of questioning is what makes a government’s use of nationalism so effective in gaining the public’s support for actions that actually fall outside of the ideals that a particular nation believes it stands for.

When the public believes in the good of the nation, they don’t question whether or not the motivations behind a particular action adhere to the nation’s ideals…we blindly believe that they do.

Similar to the girl in the example above, we as a nation tend to believe we stand for something good without questioning and assessing whether or not our actions (and the motivations that propel those actions) are truly in line with the goodness we believe in.

If on an individual and collective level we’re willing to look at these self-deceptions, real inner (and outer) progress becomes possible.

On an individual level, we have to be willing to question our own motivations…we must be willing to assess where we’re viciously attacking another to uphold a belief in kindness. We must ask ourselves:

Is ego at work? If so, what is it trying to gain? Do I agree with this basic motivation? If not, what must I do to clear up this self-deception?

We must do this with any allegiance we hold or else we risk becoming blind to that allegiance. This means questioning our allegiance to our own ego, which extends to every perception and belief that we identify with as our sense of self…including our belief in nationality.

Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying the ideals that nationalism stands for are wrong; just as I’m not saying kindness is wrong. I’m focused on rooting out the self-deception between holding a belief in something good and remaining blind to actions that lie outside of that belief. My goal is to encourage the process of questioning and uprooting self-deception.

Sometimes the hardest thing is learning to identify what needs to be questioned. To help with this, I use the following affirmations to create mindfulness around ego:

I call on the courage to see myself with full clarity, leaving no part of myself hidden or unexposed.

I call on the courage to see through every fear and hidden unconscious impulse.

These affirmations will help bring to light where and how ego (via self-deception) is at play so that we can begin the healing process.

As a nation, we must also be willing to assess for self-deception. For example, if our nation wants to go to war, we need to question whether or not this action truly aligns with the ideals that a nation stands for (and not just assume that they do)…

What is the basic motivation for going to war? Do we have a true grievance? What is it? Or have we been swept into an emotional response that our government is playing on to gain our support in order to achieve its own objectives? This can be difficult to decipher if we’re emotionally caught in the story that’s being spun, so be weary of that, as well.

If we’re supporting another country at war, what is their grievance? Do we agree with it? Is the media’s spin correct? Who owns the media? Do they have motivations that may skew what’s being reported? Is there another way to paint the story that we haven’t considered?

Keep questioning. Notice what comes up…do you feel an urge to protect an image or perception that you believe in at the expensive of looking deeper? Be willing to look, knowing that the truth is there somewhere beyond the layers of false perceptions.

If we don’t learn to question, we remain vulnerable to being manipulated by our own ego at the individual level and by those in power at the group level. This is how we wake up from a collective sleep.

It’s also what will bring heaven on earth…when we’re no longer deceived by ourselves or another, the truth of who we are—pure love and light—is allowed to shine forth freely, unobstructed. Right-action flourishes, making way for peace to be known in a real way.

If you found this post helpful, be sure to sign up for email updates below.

If you know of others who could benefit from this post, please share it using the social media sharing buttons below.

If you have any questions that you’d like me to address (anonymously) on the blog, please submit them here.

To waking up,

Shanna

P.S. If you’d like to book a one-on-one coaching session, click the graphic below: