The Ascension process or experience involves the expansion of one's awareness. If the ego is allowed to take over one's mind then it will cause one awareness to contract which will result in a block or setback in the ascension process. There are a few ways that we can tell if the ego is taking over or causing problems on our path towards ascension. We can become more limited in our beliefs and more judgemental. We might blame others for our problems and feel the need to always be 'right' by making others feel wrong. We might play the role of the victim. Often when we get hurt, or when we feel someone is stealing our energy, we tend to hurt others in order to recieve the energy back. But all of this is the perspective of the ego and these traits or attitudes can't exist in the higher frequencies of love and light. To continue on the path of ascension means to be in conscious control of one's thoughts and actions so as not to let the ego take over. This means having a more expanded awareness of one's self and their attitudes and actions towards others as well.
Many people believe that the ego is entirely a bad thing, but this is not entirely the case. The ego is actually necessary for existence on earth. The goal is not to really get rid of the ego or 'kill it' in any way. But the goal is to not let the ego take over your existance or dictate your thoughts, beliefs or actions.
Sometimes we get too wrapped up in our own imporatance, or our own personal spiritual journey. Especially if we feel that our purpose or calling in life is to help assist others in some way, such as through a leadership or education role. This calling can be very powerful indeed. Power brings to us the ability to take firm action in the world. This can be a very positive thing. But in the realm of spirituality, Power brings with it great respobsibility. Responsibility is the "ability to respond" in a deliberate and conscious way. This brings more power and more results.
In this current day and age of spiritual awakening, many people are searching for leadership of the soul. People who are looking for leadership may simply be looking in the wrong places. The whole purpose of enlightenment, or ascension is that the person must be careful not to look outside of themselves and not to expect others to provide the answers. The path to ascension or spritual awakening is a personal journey that requires one to do some soul searching inside of themselves in order to understand and experience what it all really means.
This is not to say that an individual should not seek any wisdom at all from others, such as spiritual masters from the past or present. The more a person exposes themselves to the wisdom of the ages the better. But at the end of the day, the person should seek to look at their own inner self and experience their own completeness within so that they can decide what is true for themselves. The key is to not take any outside advice or information and blindly believe or follow it without first meditating upon it to see whether or not one resonates with the information on a heart and soul level. When one keeps their heart centered and quiets their mind then the answers and the right spirtiual guidance will come.
In works both ways too. Even if you feel that you know the right answers or have found your way on your spiritual path, it doesn't mean that this absolutely must be the path or the wisdom that others must have, and it is not necessarily your job to get anyone to believe something that you feel is true for you, because what is true for you may not be true for another spiritual seeker on their path. Sharing knowledge and inspiration is a gift from the soul, but to coerce or make another feel bad in any way is something that the ego likes to do, since the ego is all about receiving power through control.
Every single person is a divine being. If one or more divine being decides to follow another person in their own spiritual growth, there is a strong energetic connection there and possible lessons that need to be learned. On a soul level, there really are no victims in life. But many people do go through life living their own truth and disregarding other people's truths completely. A big sign that the ego is attempting to take over is when we try to make ourselves right and making others wrong. Telling other people that we know the best way to do something or what to believe. Each person must complete their own spiritual journey by finding out what is truth to them. This is all part of the ascension process and requires one to quiet the voice of the ego so that one can hear the true voice within, the voice of the soul.
When we make other people seem 'wrong' in their own personal beliefs then we shrink our own beings. It is one way the ego uses to cut another down and take their energy. Make someone 'wrong' enough times and they can become depressed and drained of energy. This is not helping them on their spiritual path and is doing that person, and yourself, a disservice. Our feelings can also get hurt when we bump up against the limited, negative, self-defeating or destructive, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and actions of others who are opertaing more from their egoic mind instead of listening to the true voice of their heart.
It is the Ego that expects to be accepted, welcomes and loved, and looks for validation, approval and admiration from others. It is our Ego that expects to find something 'out there', especially in another person, such as in a relationship, when we should really be seeking these things inside ourselves. When we look outside ourselves too much, we end up giving away too much of our own personal power and energy, and often times we can become confused or be led astray on our spiritual journey.
Do not give away your power and don't get so attached to your own truths that you can't see other people's truths at all. Other people's truths can be just as valid as yours. So the key here is balance. The idea is to not push other people away in order to protect yourself because we are all here to interact with one another, to communicate ideas, to learn from each other in many ways, and to experience closeness, friendships and love. This is all a part of the life experience and a meaningful part of the ascension process itself.
Anything that shrinks our awareness due to judgement, hurt feelings, making others wrong, feeling overly important, second guessing ourselves, accomodating others too much while disregarding one's self completely, are all ways that the ego tries to take over and prevent the true self from expanding in consciousness and awareness.
Strive more for humbless, openness of spirit, making yourself a little more vulnerable in positive ways, and allow life to teach you to grow, expand and ascend to your next level of awareness. Never become so ridgid in your beliefs or so invulnerable that noone can get through to you at all, because often the purpose of a conflict in our lives, or negativity that we experience from others, can serve a valuable purpose by showing us what areas in our lives that we need to work on more in order to heal or expand our awareness. So the best advice might be to work with the ego and not against it, and learn to work with other people and not against them.