Visiting one of my best friends' profile on his birthday, I was reminded of this mini-video which improved my perception of reality then and now...
Moving slowly through the details explained by Ben Stewart, we can see clearly how our stubbornness complicate our lives. But we need to understand the protective nature of our ego, to keep it active within its necessary boundaries. Yes, our surrender/openess allow us to discover and benefit from otherwise unthinkable situations, always on guard to maintain our principles intact.
Each one of us is a unique expression in our natural diversity, so each individual operates within its own limitations. For example, some of us won't try the psychodelic mushroms shown in the video, or ride the waves on a board. Anyhow, each person has pains to suffer, blessings to enjoy, and gifts to share. So the idea (at least to me) is to be more flexible, to flow like water.
On this graphic, the 3 levels are: 1) VoJ or Voice of Judgement; 2) VoC or Voice of Cynicism; and 3) VoF or Voice of Fear.
They are called 'enemies' we must learn to deal with. To me they are necessities to maintain our integrity, just like our ego.
Every time we improve our ways, my ideal is to learn to understand with compassion those who are stuck within their obstinance, and to learn to imitate with admiration those who are a fine example of the balance I intend to grow along.