“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
— James Baldwin
Step Five may be where you begin to notice that secrecy has been part of the suffering. The ego often seems to prefer managing its image over telling the truth. It may rehearse the story privately rather than risk being seen. But what stays hidden doesn’t usually disappear — it often grows heavier.
Facing something doesn’t have to mean condemning yourself. It may simply mean turning toward what’s already there with a little more honesty. And when you speak that truth to another human being — gently, without performance — something can shift. You may begin to see that you are not the only one who has ever been confused, afraid, protective, or ashamed. The isolation can start to soften.
Nothing may change immediately. The past remains the past. The patterns may still feel familiar. But when you stop pretending, even slightly, you may no longer be alone with it. And that, in itself, can feel like grace.
Egos Anonymous is offered in an experimental spirit—an invitation to see whether there’s interest in a shared way of working with ego, self-will, and control. The language, structure, and practices are still forming and are meant to grow through lived experience.
This is a soft launch. The hope is to eventually gather a year of reflections into a book, but for now they’re simply being shared—one day at a time—to see what resonates.
If something feels useful, confusing, incomplete, or off, feedback is welcome and genuinely appreciated. This work is meant to be shaped together.
