Dear Dr. Romance: It left me feeling like a loveless phony

Dear Dr. Romance:

I just found your article "Without Ego"  OMG you are just who I've been looking for.  For the past two years I've been reading articles about dissolving the ego and all this hubbub. For those two years I was told that I have an ego that is all about self, cannot exist with love, is self draining, and only thinks about itself, and it was inside me!!!

All of this information plus the label of the 'false self' slapped upon it left me feeling like a loveless phony for those 2 years. I kept getting hunches that "I didn't have an ego" or, "something just isn't right" but I kept trying to dissolve my ego by "passively watching my thoughts".

This also didn't help as it harmed my thinking and inner peace. All these things that were apparently designed to give inner peace, were only serving destruction to me from the inside out. I found your article and now I'm very happy collaborating my self back together. I feel whole now instead of split and incomplete, sort of how I did before I got into the whole "ego dissolving" mess...I only have one question though. How do I get out of this mess??? I really do still feel split. And guilt ridden for having an ego as well..

Dear Reader:

I'm glad my article was helpful to you. What you are asking about is called "integration of the self" -- getting all the split parts of you to work together as a team. There are several articles on my website that can help you do this, including "Peace Begins at Home", "Resolving Inner Anarchy",  "Tapping Your 'Inner Mentor' to Create New Meaning in Your Life".  "Winning The War Within",  "Your Primary Relationship"  and "Emotional Hygiene". They will help you become aware of the inner dialog that makes you feel split, and show you how to integrate your mental landscape. It Ends With You: Grow Up and Out of Dysfunction
 will explain exactly how you get disconnected originally and what to do to reconnect.  

For low-cost counseling, email me at tina@tinatessina.com