The "I" which says, "I think so and so" or "I feel so and so" or "I do so and so" is the first thought to arise, as well as the last one to die. This "I" is the personal ego. There can be no thinking or feeling or willing without a prior sense of identity as to the person in whom these functions manifest. The ego-thought is always the prior thought, but its activity follows so swiftly as to seem simultaneous. Indeed, the mental emotional and volitional activities flow out of the ego's own activity--hence, there can be no real conquest or control of mind, feeling, or body without the conquest of ego itself. This done, victory over them follows automatically. This not done, their subjugation oppresses their manifestation but leaves their root unharmed. The way to attack this root is to concentrate attention on the source whence the ego-thought arises.
-- Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 2 : I-thought > # 20
