Eckhart Tolle explains how people mistake their thoughts and opinions for their actual self, creating what he calls egoic consciousness. When you identify with an opinion, it becomes part of your ego, which then pretends to be you. This mistaken identity is the root of suffering and violent conflict.
People sometimes kill each other because they can't agree on a subject. Why? Because you derive your sense of identity from thought. An opinion is a thought or a group of thoughts in your mind that you identify with. When you identify with it, it becomes part of the ego. So we're talking here, of course, I haven't used the word so far, We are talking about egoic consciousness. When you identify with thought completely, you are in egoic consciousness. The ego is operating in you and it pretends to be you. And so you are, spiritually speaking, asleep. You are a totally conditioned entity.
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