The heart is different from the ego. I think many people confuse the two, but my understanding (which is mightily flawed, I am certain!) is that the heart is closer to one's spirit than the ego. Sonia Choquette calls the ego the "barking dog" always trying to lead our heart (and higher self, spirit) astray. I have found this to be true.
I am using very inexact language, to be sure, though that factor is part of what made the teaching of the depraved "heart" so insidious. My understanding for decades was that the heart is essentially your truest self, your core self, which includes your deepest desires. The heart, in other words, is everything that makes you uniquely YOU.
But there are many frameworks through which we struggle to understand ourselves (How many different arguments have I heard about whether the heart is the same as the soul or whether the soul and spirit are separate entities?!). Because we're attempting to capture and dissect the invisible, the abstract, and in many ways the unknowable, language never seems to fully comprehend the scope of the mystery.
All that said, I think you're right about the ego, and I've found that perspective a useful tool for understanding myself and others. Interestingly, the Christian sub-group I mention in the essay focuses on the difference between the "true self" and the "false self," and the false self is described in virtually the same way as the ego.
The heart is different from the ego. I think many people confuse the two, but my understanding (which is mightily flawed, I am certain!) is that the heart is closer to one's spirit than the ego. Sonia Choquette calls the ego the "barking dog" always trying to lead our heart (and higher self, spirit) astray. I have found this to be true.
So glad you're here, Frances!
I am using very inexact language, to be sure, though that factor is part of what made the teaching of the depraved "heart" so insidious. My understanding for decades was that the heart is essentially your truest self, your core self, which includes your deepest desires. The heart, in other words, is everything that makes you uniquely YOU.
But there are many frameworks through which we struggle to understand ourselves (How many different arguments have I heard about whether the heart is the same as the soul or whether the soul and spirit are separate entities?!). Because we're attempting to capture and dissect the invisible, the abstract, and in many ways the unknowable, language never seems to fully comprehend the scope of the mystery.
All that said, I think you're right about the ego, and I've found that perspective a useful tool for understanding myself and others. Interestingly, the Christian sub-group I mention in the essay focuses on the difference between the "true self" and the "false self," and the false self is described in virtually the same way as the ego.
Yes, that's the way I see it as well. The ego certainly can act as the false self. Glad to have found you!
😭
“But I’ve made my peace with Jeremiah. I hope he is no longer weeping.” Yes and Amen.
How much good is in the whole world - much more than we have been willing to see? Definitely resonates! Thanks Helena ❤️🙏