Editing Openai/6904e1b3-b1d4-8007-b938-da625cb3f2bb (section)

=== Assistant: That’s one of the deepest difficulties of all inner work — maybe the difficulty. ===
That’s one of the deepest difficulties of all inner work — maybe the difficulty.
Because the ego doesn’t announce itself as “ego.” It whispers with the same voice as intuition, uses the same language as inspiration, and even imitates humility when it needs to.

But there are subtle ways to tell them apart — not through thought, but through quality of energy:

===== When an impulse comes from the ego, even if it feels exciting or “right,” there’s usually a subtle tension underneath — a restlessness, a need to prove, achieve, or secure something. =====
Divine movement, on the other hand, feels quietly inevitable. There’s no rush, no pressure. It’s like gravity — gentle but irresistible.

===== Ego-driven actions narrow attention — they make you self-referential (“what does this mean for me?”). =====
Divine impulses expand awareness; they dissolve the “me” momentarily. You feel lighter, more connected, even if what’s asked of you is difficult.

===== Ego wants to get somewhere — enlightenment, success, approval, safety. =====
Divine action doesn’t seek anything; it expresses something already whole. There’s no sense of lack being filled.

===== Ego wants to be seen, recognized, rewarded. =====
Divine movement doesn’t care whether anyone notices; it’s enough that the act is true.

===== When acting from ego, energy drains fast — because resistance builds against reality. =====
When moving with divine flow, energy replenishes as you act — because resistance disappears.

===== The ego always announces its plans, argues for them, justifies them. =====
The divine speaks in silence — a knowing that doesn’t argue, because it doesn’t need to.

The paradox is that the more you try to tell them apart, the harder it becomes — because “trying” itself belongs to the ego.
But if you simply watch every movement — thought, desire, impulse — without naming it as good or bad, over time the false becomes heavy and collapses on its own. What’s left standing is the true.

Would you like me to turn this into a short section you could include in your book — something like “Discerning the Voice of the Divine”, written in your philosophical style?