Which One Guides Us?

From the Tarot of the Masters, the High Priestess; from the Key to the Kingdom, the Eight of Spades:

Every single person contains the seeds of goodness, kindness, and enlightenment.

—Thich Nhat Hanh

What is it that this High Priestess reads on her scroll of inner wisdom? Perhaps it is similar to TNH's words, encouraging us to cultivate what lies within. The ego is a partition from these insights, yet it isn't evil; it develops in relation to our life experiences. Its job is simply to protect us and provide us with a self-identity (I am...). But it also filters our decisions with a vigilance: does it benefit me, will it make me look good, help me be successful, keep me from blame, give me power? The luminous self is a rational observer, our true essence that is not burdened by the superficial. Spacious with possibilities, it offers wisdom and kindness that benefits all. The Eight of Spades is paired with a poem that asks an octopus if he has arms or legs, and ends with the conclusion, "If I were thou, I'd call me Us." This sense of "us" - our interconnection rather than separation - is what our luminous self knows and operates from (which is threatening to the ego). It is helpful to realize which side we're being guided by.  

You cultivate the flower in yourself,

so that I will be beautiful.

I transform the garbage in myself,

so that you will not have to suffer.

—Thich Nhat Hanh