Ego vs. Conscious Mind: understanding the difference and why it matters

For a long time, I heard people say things like “the ego blocks intuition” or “the ego gets in the way of the clairs.” And honestly, I didn’t really understand what that meant.

To me, ego was just things like saying “I’m the best” or “I’m so beautiful.” That didn’t sound harmful, and it definitely didn’t explain why ego was being blamed for so many blocks.

Then I went through a phase where my confidence started to waver. My mediumship, in particular, shifted. What once felt overwhelming and undeniable became subtle and quiet. I didn’t understand why.

I started questioning myself, the voice in my head got louder: “Are you serious?” “Do you really think you’re good at this?” “You’re behind.” And suddenly, the doubt felt heavier than the connection.

That’s when I decided to really learn about the ego, what it actually is, how it behaves, and why it shows up so strongly when we’re doing intuitive or spiritual work.

What I discovered changed the way I understand intuition, confidence, and the mind altogether. And I want to share that understanding with you because if you’ve ever questioned yourself the way I did, it’s important to know that that voice does not define you. It’s simply a defense mechanism of the mind, often referred to as the ego. Let's explore the difference between ego vs conscious mind.

Ego vs Conscious mind. What the Ego really is (and how it actually works)

It’s the obnoxious voice in your head that never stops talking, narrating, judging, anticipating, and comparing. Its volume increases the moment you step into uncertainty, visibility, vulnerability, or intuitive work.

The ego is a mental coping mechanism. It learns from past experiences and stores them as reference points to help you survive future situations. Its role is to constantly scan for threats, risks, and uncertainty, then react in the way it believes will protect you.

Sometimes that protection is useful; the ego can give you determination, it can push you forward, it can help you prepare, perform, and persevere.

But the ego doesn’t know how to protect you gently.

Because it operates from the past, it often relies on fear-based strategies even when they no longer serve you. If self-criticism once helped you avoid failure, rejection, or embarrassment, the ego will keep using that strategy again and again even when it hurts.

That’s why the ego can be brutal. It can sound like:

• “You’re behind.”

• “You should be better by now.”

• “Who do you think you are?”

• “Don’t embarrass yourself.”

The ego doesn’t care about growth; it cares about survival.

It fixates on comparison. It creates anxiety about the future and sadness about the past. And it rarely, if ever, lives in the present moment.

Understanding this doesn’t silence the ego, but it does stop you from believing everything it says.

The Conscious Mind

The conscious mind feels very different from the ego. It doesn’t rush in with commentary or try to control the moment. It doesn’t narrate every experience or immediately label things as right or wrong. Instead, it observes. It notices. It creates just enough space for something else to come through.

This is the part of you that can pause and say, “Something feels off,” without needing to explain it right away. Or “I’m feeling fear,” instead of becoming the fear itself. That distinction matters more than we realize. The conscious mind lives in awareness.

When you’re in the conscious mind, you’re not replaying the past or projecting into the future. You’re here. Present in your body. Aware of what you’re sensing rather than reacting to it. And from that place, intuition and insights have room to surface naturally.

This is why intuitive information often feels subtle. It doesn’t compete with the ego’s voice; it waits. The moment you stop trying to perform, analyze, or get it “right,” the information becomes clearer, not because you forced it, but because you stopped interfering with it.

The conscious mind doesn’t try to get rid of the ego. It doesn’t fight it or argue with it. It simply holds it in awareness, and when that happens, the ego loses its grip on the experience. It may still speak, but it no longer leads.

How to move from Ego into Conscious awareness (in real time)

The first step is simply noticing that the ego is active. Noticing the tone of the inner voice, the urgency, the repetition. The constant need to compare, defend, or explain.

Remember, the ego is a protection mechanism. When it gets loud, it usually means your nervous system doesn’t feel safe. That awareness alone already brings you closer to the conscious mind, because the ego can’t observe itself. Only awareness can do that.

Instead of arguing with the voice, try this:

1. Don’t silence the voice, regulate the body. Trying to replace ego thoughts with “positive thinking” usually makes them louder. Instead, take two slow breaths, let your exhale be longer than your inhale. Then shift your attention away from your busy thoughts and into your body. Notice where you feel tension or tightness. Feel your breath moving in and out. This gently brings you back into the present moment.

2. Name what’s underneath the noise. Once you’re more grounded, pause for a second and ask yourself: What am I actually feeling underneath all this? Fear? Uncertainty? Pressure? Excitement? You don’t need to understand it, just name it.

3. Ask what your nervous system needs right now. Instead of asking, “What should I do?” ask, “What do I need to feel safe in this moment?” That might be rest, reassurance, movement, space, or simply permission to slow down. Re-anchoring safety brings your system out of survival and back into awareness.

When you stay with a feeling without trying to resolve it immediately, something softens. The ego loses momentum because it feeds on reaction. Awareness doesn’t react, it observes.

This is where choice returns. The ego’s voice may still be there, but it no longer runs the moment. You can respond instead of react. You can move forward without needing certainty, and you can stay present even when things feel uncomfortable.

Conscious awareness isn’t something you achieve once and keep forever. It’s a return, over and over again, to the part of you that can witness without collapsing into the story. And each time you return, the ego quiets just enough for something truer to come through.

Closing

The ego doesn’t disappear, and it doesn’t need to. What changes is your relationship with it.

When you understand how it works, you stop mistaking its voice for truth. You stop believing that urgency means danger, or that doubt means failure. You begin to recognize those moments not as signs that something is wrong, but as invitations to slow down, come back into your body, and return to awareness.

This is where confidence quietly rebuilds, not from trying to get instant answers, but from learning how to stay present with yourself even when things feel unclear.

Intuition doesn’t ask you to be fearless. It asks you to be available, and every time you choose awareness over reaction, you create just enough space for something more honest, more grounded, and more true to come through.

That’s where clarity lives.

If you’re moving through a season of doubt, transition, or inner recalibration, you don’t have to go

through it alone.

I offer intuitive sessions for clarity, grounding, and self-trust, when and if you feel ready.

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