Self-Realization and Other Awakenings

the reality of the world. For Freud, most everything in
our lives was unconscious or preconscious, meaning we
could access it if we tried for a moment, and not
conscious, "In the now."
The ego free floated depending on the
circumstance, from conscious to preconscious, to the
unconscious, trying to please the Id’s impulses by
satisfying them as much as possible given the realities
of the world, and also the ego used “defenses” to hide
impulses or to deny, repress or transmute conflicts and
pain. We refer to these defenses all the time, saying
someone is "projecting" onto others, or denying or
repressing emotions by refusing to see what is clearly a
fact in an effort to "save" our point of view, or prevent
pain from entering our awareness.
On top of this we have the personality, the
complex of beliefs, weaknesses, strengths, and
habitual responses and inclinations that we present to
others in day to day interactions, which we really are
mostly unconscious of, because the personality is us.
We really don't reflect on our interaction style or
deeply ingrained "truths" unless challenged by a wife
or lover, boss at a job, or work demands. Under
stress, or in psychoanalysis or insight psychotherapy,
we may begin to look at our personality traits if they
are causing failure (such as always falling in love with