Who Is the Ego Protecting?

[Near silence] Something moves... Behind you. And before... You even think... Your body... Turns. [Pause] Something hurt you... Years ago. And today... A voice still says... Be careful. [Long pause] Don't do that again. Don't trust too quickly. Don't get hurt. Protect yourself. [Silence] We have a name... For part of this... Sense of me. Ego. [Long pause] And perhaps... We've been... A little unfair... To it. [Soft warm drone appears] What if... The ego... Isn't your enemy? [Pause] What if... It has simply... Been trying... To protect... The vessel? [Long silence] Protect the body. Protect the name. Protect the reputation. Protect the story. Protect... Everything... It learned... To call... Me. [Pause] And when something... Threatens that me... Fear appears. Defensiveness appears. Anger appears. The walls... Go up. [Long silence] Perhaps... Not because... The ego is evil. Perhaps... Because... It thinks... Something precious... Is in danger. [Very long pause] So instead... Of fighting it... For just... A moment... Listen. [Pause] What... Is it protecting? [Long silence] Your body? [Pause] Your possessions? [Pause] What others... Think of you? [Pause] Your beliefs? [Pause] Your identity? [Very long silence] Now notice... Something strange. You... Can hear... That protective voice. [Pause] You can notice... Fear arising. You can notice... Defensiveness. You can even notice... The thought... I need... To protect myself. [Long silence] So... If you... Can notice... The protector... Are you... The protector? [Very long pause] And if the ego... Is protecting... Me... Who... Is the me... It is protecting? [Music gently widens] Maybe... The ego learned... Your name. Your history. Your wounds. Your successes. Your failures. Your body. Your place... In the world. And gathered... All of it... Together... Into a story... Called... Me. [Pause] A useful story. Perhaps even... A necessary one... For moving... Through this world. [Long silence] But... Is the story... The one... Reading the story? [Pause] Is the name... The one... Who knows the name? [Pause] Is the body... The one... Who knows... It has a body? [Very long silence] We've spent... So much time... Trying... To defeat... The ego. What if... Nothing... Needs... To be defeated? [Pause] What if... The protector... Could simply... Be seen? [Long silence] Thank you... For warning me. Thank you... For remembering. Thank you... For trying... To keep... This vessel... Safe. [Pause] But... Who... Just thanked it? [Very long silence] There it is... Again. [Music becomes sparse] The moment... You find... An answer... Another thought... Appears. And something... Notices... That too. [Long pause] Perhaps... Freedom... Doesn't require... Destroying... The voice. Perhaps... It begins... When the voice... No longer has... To be mistaken... For the listener. [Very long silence] So the next time... Something inside... Says... Protect me... Don't fight it. [Pause] Listen. [Pause] And quietly... Ask... Who... Are you... Protecting? [Extended silence] Then notice... Who... Heard... The question. [Two minutes of slowly dissolving ambience] Notice... What remains. [Silence]