the ego habit

Ego is just a habit of thought with no real identity.  Since habits recur, vigilance is required to recognize when they are repeating. The symptoms of the ego habit can be of any content, but they are related in how they feel.  When ego is present a person feels up (proud, superior, special, etc.) or down (guilty, afraid, inadequate, etc).  Both extremes are temptations to return to the old ego habits of mind, the “wish to make illusions real,” the wish to be “me.”