It’s so easy to get caught up in the ego trap of feeling like you are not enough. When you feel like you’re always chasing happiness, never reaching your goals, and falling into a consistent loop of dissatisfaction. Let’s dive into how Pixar’s Soul depicts this Ego Trap as well as Eckhart Tolle’s concept of Presence and the Pain Body.
Pixar’s Soul is a movie with A LOT of messages. But the message I want to highlight can help you stop those feelings of always wondering when it’s “your turn”.
That feeling like you have to chase after and fight for your happiness. That you have to go above and beyond to prove yourself.
If this movie hits differently for you, repeat after me.
“I will NOT get stuck in the ego trap.”
I’m Kayla, and this is my series Movies with a Message.
How do you know if you’re stuck in the Ego Trap?
How is Joe living his life?
Joe obsessively chasing his dreams and 22 searching for her spark and then becoming a lost soul illustrates a super common Ego Trap.
One that you and I can easily fall into.
And that is the trap of believing that you are not enough.
Lucky for us, Soul gives the answers to pulling ourselves out of the ego trap. So let’s break it down.
As a part-time middle school band teacher, Joe Gardener feels conflicted when they offer him a full-time position.
Something inside him still feels unfulfilled, although it’s a solid offer. With health insurance and a pension.
Joe’s conflicted because he was born to perform, not teach.
At his mom’s shop, Joe gets the call of his dreams. His old student, Curley, offers him an opportunity to audition for Dorothea Williams’ quartet.
Joe says he would die a happy man if he could perform with Dorothea Williams.
Your Ego Constantly Needs to “Prove” itself.
If you watched my video on Eat Pray Love, I mentioned how the character Liz was living with too much ego.
This caused her to chase physical things to solve her emotional problems. It also made it hard for her to enjoy the moment. And I see similar themes in Joe.
The Ego itself has a foundation in lack.
It’s what separates the idea of you from the outside world.
But this separation causes the Ego to always search for what it’s missing, giving you the feeling “I am not enough”.
“I’m not rich enough, I don’t know enough, I don’t have enough.”
When you’re stuck in the ego trap you constantly feel the need to prove yourself.
You also try very hard to protect your self-image.
Your reality will reflect it back to you.
But what is one of the most telling signs you’re stuck in the ego trap?
Well, the world will mirror it back to you.
Like when Curley says my friend said he played a set with you last year, and you were great.
Joe responds, “Yeah for a coffee shop.”
Immediately after, he meets Dorothea Williams, who reflects that to him.
Saying, “Oh, we’re down to middle school band teachers now.”
After that, Joe takes the stage and improvises. He starts unsure but quickly falls into his ‘flow state’, which is a state of egolessness.
And, as 22 mentions later, places you in between the physical and spiritual.
After he finishes, everyone’s impressed and Joe gets the part.
He’s euphoric and immediately calls someone and says forget that school, I’ve upgraded!
Joe rushes home, but on the way there, falls into a manhole where his soul leaves his body.
What is Joe’s Ego Trying to Prove?
Joe’s convinced it’s not his time to go.
He fights it and then falls into the “Great Before”.
Also known as “the YOU Seminar”, where new souls gain their personality before they incarnate on Earth.
At this point, Joe’s desperate to get back to Earth so that he can finally live!
He devises a plan to impersonate a mentor, help the new soul find their spark, and use their Earth pass to return to his body.
He’s assigned to soul number 22 as Björn Borgensson.
An unborn soul who has been at the You seminar for thousands of years and has yet to find her “spark”.
Joe and 22 strike a deal. Joe will help her find her spark and in return, she will give him her earth pass. Win-win.
Both Joe and 22 are thrown into the lifetime memories of Dr. Börgensson.
And that, along with 22 talking about how many distinguished mentors she’s had feeds Joe’s Ego.
Because your ego needs to prove itself.
He looks back on his life through this ego lens and feels disappointed.
Because what is his Ego trying to prove?
How he became a Jazz musician.
This intrigues 22 because what makes this “unaccomplished” person want to return to Earth?
So she takes him to the astral plane where they witness people in their flow state and lost souls.
The Astral Travelers help him remote view to jump back into his body.
But Joe rushes it, and he AND 22 fall through.
Escape the Ego Trap by Observing and not Experiencing.
Joe wakes up in the hospital room to discover he fell into a cat’s body and 22 fell into his.
When Joe falls into the cat, he becomes the observer.
He’s not driving his actions directly through his Ego.
To escape the ego trap, you have to learn how to observe your ego and not just experience it.
Joe can no longer be impulsive or default to his habits.
He’s observing his thoughts and what’s happening in his brain.
By the time Joe and 22 make it to his mother’s shop, Joe has detached from the ego trap enough to be vulnerable with his mother.
Which is something the Ego usually doesn’t allow room for. He says out loud that his driving factor is fear.
However, as the strength of Joe’s ego lessens, 22’s grows stronger.
What Happens When Your Ego Proves Itself?
Joe and 22 end up back in The Great Before and they realize 22 has earned her Earth pass.
But after an argument with Joe, 22 angrily gives him her Earth pass and disappears.
Joe returns to Earth just in time to play with Dorothea Williams.
He plays his heart out and experiences the moment of happiness he’s been waiting for.
He’s finally proven that he is a Jazz musician.
According to what he said in the beginning, he should be able to die a happy man.
Being stuck in the ego trap leads to a cycle of continuous dissatisfaction.
Because once you’ve “proven” yourself, and perfected and protected your self-image.
Have you ever considered what happens after?
What happens after you achieve what you thought would bring you lasting happiness?
Well, you immediately look for the next thing.
You will always find more to prove. More to chase after. More to desire.
And once you reach it, your Ego will always hit you with the “Now What?”
How to Escape the Ego Trap
To step out of the grip this cycle has on you, you have to learn how to cultivate something Eckhart Tolle calls “Presence”.
He describes it as
“… when you are no longer waiting for the next moment. Believing that the next moment will be more fulfilling than this one.”
Eckhart Tolle
In the movie, Joe realizes 22 taught him this. And he looks back on all the moments he considered meaningless in a different light.
22 as a “Lost Soul” Reveals the Pain Body
Joe re-enters the zone to find 22 and realizes she’s become a lost soul.
Lost souls are obsessed with something that disconnects them from life.
In 22’s case, she’s obsessing over old narratives that caused her past pain.
Eckhart Tolle talks about the pain body, which is old emotional pain that accumulates because it wasn’t acknowledged the moment it happened.
It’s a by-product of your ego.
Your pain body lies dormant until it’s activated by triggers outside of you.
And once it is activated, it’s easy for your mind to identify with it, causing you to believe the narratives and negative thoughts it holds.
How do you stop Identifying with your Pain Body?
So, how do you stop identifying with your pain body?
Well, the movie and Eckhart Tolle tell us the same answer.
You dissolve your pain body with the power of your presence.
Joe places the seedling in 22’s hand and the movie brings us back to the point we witness 22 embodying her presence.
She faces the pain of not feeling good enough to go to Earth because she doesn’t know her purpose.
Joe, with his newfound enlightenment, tells 22 that her spark isn’t her purpose.
And that her pass filling in means she’s ready right now, there’s nothing to search for.
22’s pain body dissolves and she finally incarnates on Earth.
And we can see that Joe successfully stepped out of the Ego trap. He’s reached a state of complete acceptance. Headed to the Great Beyond. When one of the Jerry’s offers him a chance to go back.
And we can see that Joe successfully stepped out of the Ego trap. He’s reached a state of complete acceptance. Headed to the Great Beyond. When one of the Jerry’s offers him a chance to go back.
Jerry asks him what do you think you’ll do? And he has a hard time answering, because Joe’s no longer chasing, he’s living.
If you liked this video, you’ll probably like the one I did about Pixar’s Inside Out! It’s all about ego death.
Okay, Love you. And as always I’m sending love and healing you’re way!
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