Hi Joe

I believe these things are pretty much hardwired in me because of all my reinforcing behavior.

We do become addicted to our thoughts and there has been quite a few study’s showing that our thoughts influence the brains neuropathways.  The good news is that we can ‘rewire’ our pathways the bad news is that as you noticed the longer the habit the more difficult to change.

Many meditation masters may tell you that trying to stop thinking a thought will pretty much reinforce the thought. The more resistant we are to a thought the stronger the hold the thought has (do we hold onto the thought or does the thought hold on to us – when we resist its hard to tell) The advice you might get then is to be like water and allow the thoughts to flow. (detachment – not indifference to the thoughts only letting go the need to hold onto them) The practice being that when you notice the unhelpful/unskillful thoughts you acknowledge them, notice how to feel, perhaps identify what may have triggered them and then let them flow past. The flow of water will reshape any pathway even one of rock.

Is it possible to destroy this ego?

I’ve always had a problem with this question. In the west the idea behind the ego is different then that of the east. In the west the ego plays the important role consciousness. Try talking about being “woke” or about experience without using a personal pronoun.  What ‘woke’, what noticed the experience?

The ego, sense of self is a tool, the experiencer, the communicator between the spirit and body, the conscious and unconscious. The error we make is assuming we our experiences in other words that we are thins thing called ego. Place in popper context the ego isn’t something we need to destroy but understand.

Here is a paradox for you. It takes a strong health ego to let go of ego.

Hi Joe

So if it is not possible to undo neuropathways,

You may find the following books helpful

‘Change Your Mind, Change Your Life by Gerald G. Jampolsky MD  or

Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

is it still possible to ignore them?

Ignoring your thoughts can work for a time I guess however in the long run will only end up reinforcing them.  You sweep them under the carpet until you eventually trip on them.  The practice of mindfulness isn’t about destroying ego or engagement of will power to prevent unwanted thoughts from arising. Its about noticing your thoughts and not attaching your sense of self to them. In this way they flow through you instead of getting bottled up and messing up your day, week, year. Eventually a thought that might have sent you spiraling downward for weeks might be dealt with in a day or even hours.