The three stages of ego
Due to the diversity of the particles and their essence, we can place the ego in one of the three following stages.
1- The demanding ego
The ego at this stage is in a state of constant wanting and needing regardless of the nature of the desire, reasonable or unreasonable. The individual acts upon these desires without thinking them through, not considering the consequences. We could say that his conscience is out of order, there are no regrets or guilt involved here and welfare of others is of no concern to the individual.
2- The contemplative ego
Due to continuous refinement and improvement in judgment, the person with this ego has an active conscience; if he makes a mistake or hurt others, he does feel shame and guilt and will have regrets afterwards. These feeling could vary extensively; someone will be upset after committing a murder while someone else feels guilty only after shouting at a loved one. They both belong to the contemplative ego, although there is such a vast difference. The different stages of the ego are not like steps, they are more like a spectrum where someone could be down below or high up.
3- The confident or reliable ego
Similar to the name, this ego has a reassuring attribute, a sense of sureness. This means desires are selected confidently and the unreasonable wants do not manifest at all. The individual at this stage has gained such practical knowledge that he can distinguish right from wrong immediately. In fact, due to prolong purification this person no longer has unreasonable demands; this is an invaluable quality and very few people can actually arrive at this stage.
Adopted from: http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/leadership_interviews/recovery_around_the_world