The ego was never meant to be our master. Its role is to serve as a container for the divine flame within us - a temporary vessel through which the source can experience itself in countless forms. This separation is the alchemical “solve”, the breaking down of unity into billions of fragments so that each can be refined and transformed before returning to the whole. The problem began when we mistook the container for the flame, identifying with the shell instead of the light it carries.

Because the ego is temporary, it fears dissolution. Out of that fear, it tries to make itself stronger. It feeds on conflict, because having an “enemy” makes it feel real: if they are wrong, then I am right. It clings to grievances, replaying old stories so it can whisper, “Look what happened to me.” It defines and labels itself endlessly - this group, that belief, this identity - each wall reinforcing its fragile sense of permanence.

But the truth is that no matter how strong the ego builds its fortress, it remains a sandcastle against the tide. Its frantic building is rooted in fear, not in truth. The flame within us, the divine presence, is not threatened by time, change, or death. It does not need to be defended or strengthened, because it is eternal. What needs to be remembered is that we are the flame, not the container.

The way back is not to destroy the ego, but to see it clearly. To recognize its strategies and stop feeding them. Presence is the solvent. In stillness, in breath, in embodied awareness, the flame shines through the cracks of the shell. The ego returns to its rightful place as servant, and life becomes what it was always meant to be: the Great Work of transformation, where the divine experiences itself in form and then remembers itself again.