Ego and Asceticism

Some thoughts on of ego - I think it is important not to focus on it too much - not to make a potentially obsessive ego investment in humility - it doesn't matter what 'sort of person' you are so much as long as you behave correctly. Obedience to benevolent principles is more important than how it feels. Sometimes people get caught up in 'self cultivation' and it renders them useless.

Regarding asceticism - I would call myself ascetic (for ease) in relation to our consumer culture, but again, it isn't about investing ego in the identity of being ascetic.

The way I see it, it isn't really about self denial - it is about not indulging sensory pleasures that can potentially grow and become more insistent and from there habitual. I see it more as not cultivating desire in the first place, rather than eliminating desire. if you never smoke, you don't become hooked. There's no self-denial - it is not asceticism not to smoke, it is just common sense. You can extend that to coffee, chocolate, alcohol, meat... it isn't like we arrive in the world with a belly full of Mars Bars, Big Macs and booze...

"There's so much more to life than likes and dislikes." - Fr. Pablo Straub