Egos Anonymous Reflections — Egos Anonymous

“We are not isolated minds on a pale blue dot—we are the universe, waking up through itself.” (Inspired by Carl Sagan) It is easy to feel separate. A mind inside a body, navigating a fragile world, trying to secure a place in it. S

Wendy Etter 3/20/26 Wendy Etter 3/20/26

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“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” — André Gide, Autumn Leaves Many of us learned to adjust ourselves in order to stay safe. We shaped our words, softened our edges, amplified what

Wendy Etter 3/19/26 Wendy Etter 3/19/26

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“The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live…” — Audre Lorde, Poetry Is Not a Luxury Many of us learned to examine ourselves under a harsh light. We scrutinized our moti

Wendy Etter 3/18/26 Wendy Etter 3/18/26

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“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” — Alice Walker, The Color Purple Self-will can make life feel urgent. There is always something to manage, something to secure,

Wendy Etter 3/17/26 Wendy Etter 3/17/26

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“Attention is the beginning of devotion.” — Mary Catherine Bateson, Composing a Life Self-will often keeps us scanning for what needs fixing. Attention, in that mode, becomes vigilance. We monitor ourselves, rehearse conversation

Wendy Etter 3/16/26 Wendy Etter 3/16/26

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“The cure for pain is in the pain.” — Rainer Maria Rilke Most of us were trained to move away from discomfort as quickly as possible. Fix it. Distract from it. Control it. Self-will becomes most active when something hurts. We tigh

Wendy Etter 3/15/26 Wendy Etter 3/15/26

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“You will love again the stranger who was your self.” — Derek Walcott, Love After Love Many of us have spent years relating to ourselves as a project. Something to improve. Something to manage. Something to defend. Self-will keep

Wendy Etter 3/14/26 Wendy Etter 3/14/26

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“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.” — Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace Many of us learned to pray as a form of negotiation. We asked for outcomes to change, for clarity to arrive, for discomfort to ease. Self-will

Wendy Etter 3/13/26 Wendy Etter 3/13/26

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“Willpower cannot heal what fear and shame have built.” — Anonymous Many of us believed that trying harder would finally bring relief. If we were disciplined enough, vigilant enough, strong enough, we could outgrow our anxiety, our

Wendy Etter 3/12/26 Wendy Etter 3/12/26

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“Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves.” — Etty Hillesum Many of us were taught that our primary responsibility was to manage what happens outside of us—to fix, persuade, secure, anti

Wendy Etter 3/11/26 Wendy Etter 3/11/26

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“It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.” — Wendell Berry , Real Work Many of us were trained to know what to

Wendy Etter 3/10/26 Wendy Etter 3/10/26

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“You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen.” — Franz Kafka Attention is not the same as effort. It doesn’t strain or reach. It simply stays. When attention is offered without agenda, something in t

Wendy Etter 3/9/26 Wendy Etter 3/9/26

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“Be melting snow—wash yourself of yourself.” — Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks Much of what feels heavy in us is not pain itself, but the effort of holding a fixed shape. We may cling to roles, opinions, and stories because they

Wendy Etter 3/8/26 Wendy Etter 3/8/26

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“Where there is no love, put love—and you will draw love out.” — St. John of the Cross Much of what we call effort may sometimes be self-protection. We brace, explain, manage, or withdraw because something in us doesn’t feel safe e

Wendy Etter 3/7/26 Wendy Etter 3/7/26

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“Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.” — Tara Brach Some of our suffering may arise from feeling unseen — by others, by life, even by ourselves. At times, we may move quickly or stay distracted

Wendy Etter 3/6/26 Wendy Etter 3/6/26

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$“All creation is a song of praise.” — Hildegard of Bingen It can be easy to forget this when life feels heavy or fractured. Attention narrows to what is wrong, what is missing, what needs repair. And yet, even in its complexity, li$

Wendy Etter 3/5/26 Wendy Etter 3/5/26

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“The heart is not like a box that gets filled up. It expands in size the more you love.” — David Whyte Much of our effort can come from the assumption that love is scarce—that it has to be protected, rationed, or earned. For some o

Wendy Etter 3/4/26 Wendy Etter 3/4/26

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“The real ‘work’ of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen So much of our inner effort can be driven by fear — fear of being judged, fear of being wrong, fear of not

Wendy Etter 3/3/26 Wendy Etter 3/3/26

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“The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me.”     — Meister Eckhart We often imagine seeing and being seen as two separate movements: I look for God; God looks at me. Yet it may be that t

Wendy Etter 3/2/26 Wendy Etter 3/2/26

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“Mysticism is the art of union with Reality.”    — Evelyn Underhill Mysticism is not presented here as escape, but as union — a quiet participation in what is most real. Much of what we call spiritual work may not be

Wendy Etter 3/1/26 Wendy Etter 3/1/26

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