That survival drive helps us to navigate life, whether we call it the ego, the mind, or the personality. Humans began as animal nature with a thinking mind, a survival drive, and a need to look outside the self for energy to survive. The two (mind and nature) developed together to realize that by identifying and comparing survival information and learning to evaluate the inputted information, humans had a greater chance for survival through learning and intelligence. This is how the separate “I” was developed, something we feel we need to protect ourselves and develop into the believed source of life. The human baby, three to six months old, grabs his or her foot. They don’t know it’s a foot, and they don’t know it’s “theirs” because it's pre-concepts. A year later, mommy says to the baby, “baby’s blanket.” Six months later, the toddler says, “my book, my blanket, my mommy.” The misidentification has occurred. The misidentification is that we are separate beings in charge of cause and effect, replacing Divinity as the source of life. The ego-mind subtly worships the self and treats it as though it were Divine. Misidentification protects the body for the sake of the soul. We spend the rest of our life working to see through this misidentification. This ancient programming is at the core of spiritual work. The Spiritual path becomes the process of surrendering all the positions and concepts we hold onto, positionalities, in the realization that we are not the body nor the mind. Who we are is essence, spirit, a soul, and the “work” here can be to let go of all that has become a barrier to the Truth. We use teachers, tools, and maps to guide our way. The emptier we are, the more intuition is available for guidance. To learn more about Indra Rinzler, visit http://www.indrarinzler.com/