The "I"...

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.....Paul Brunton