Who You Think You Are
Is NOT
The Answer To 'Who Am I?'
When you ask: Who Am I? you are responding some ancient advice Know Thyself. To know yourself and find your purpose for living, you first need to ask this fundamental question.
You automatic condtioned answer would include your name, occupation, personal history, health, or whatever else YOU most identify with.
If you asked a religious teacher 'Who am I?' you will most likely be told that you are an immortal soul. Would that really answer your question? Or would it just add some spritual sounding concept to who you think you are?
Knowing who you truly are goes deeper than simply being religious. It involves exploring and dislodging firmly established, conditioned concepts of who you think you are. The real answer has nothing to do with the thoughts floating aroung in your head.
Once you discover who you are not, it is easier to find the real answer to 'Who am I?'
'Who Am I?' - (NOT Who You Think You Are)
It is easy to say 'I know who I am'. But do you? REALLY? Okay, what matters to you? What do you perceive as your needs?
It might come as a surprise to know that these are the things that gives you the sense of self. Well, not exactly the things that come to mind when you think about your identity are they?!!.
Things that matter to you and your perceived needs determine your actions, reactions and what is important to you. They have power over you. When these are not met or are threatened, you will defend, attack, justify yourself, accuse and blame - all in autopilot.
I suppose you could say; 'oh well then, I am who I am, this is who I am'. That is not strictly true. Remember, you are not who you think you are.
Who Is 'I' in 'Who Am I?'
It is important to understand who the "I" is. When you speak of 'I', who are you talking about? Is it your physical body, with its cells, glands, nervous system, brain and so forth?
Or is it your emotions, beliefs, thoughts and relationships? When you say “my body” who is saying this? Who is this who claims to have the body? 'Oh Boy. I was looking for answers not more questions' you might say.
Well, I was just trying emphasize how important the understanding of 'I' and related 'me', 'my', 'mine' and 'myself' to self discovery. There is a strong and mysterious relationship between you and your mind or rather your thinking.
A relationship which, maybe until now, you have never even thought about. Whose mind is it? Who 'can't make it up'? Who 'loses it ?'
The problem is that you forget that 'I' in 'Who am I?' is only a mental construct. It is only a thought and a way of speaking rather than who you are. This sense-perceived I-thought fools you into thinking that "It" is who you are.
This then becomes the 'me and my story' lenses through which you view the world. You see the world as separate from you. 'You' and 'them' and this permeates your every thought, memory, interpretation, reaction and emotion.
'My' and 'Mine'- Identification With Things
When you say 'my', you are inferring ownership or being part of whatever it is you are talking about. You endow it with a sense of self and thus it becomes part of your identity.
You hope that by owning it or becoming part of it, you will somehow feel better. But soon you find it is not enough, so you keep trying anything and everything in the hope you will find the answer to the 'Who am I?'
Wanting More
I just explained how not knowing who you are can make you want to have things. Your WANTING is more important to you than having.
Let me explain. I used to buy clothes because I wanted them. Once I bought them, I hardly ever wore them, some were stored away with price tags still on them.
More than once, I bought the same thing twice. So the shallow satisfaction of having is always replaced by more wanting. Sometimes you don't even know what you want except I don't want 'THIS' or 'THAT'.
Your Egoistic Mind
It came as a surprise to me when I first I realized I was thinking about something almost all the time I was awake. Even more revealing was the realization that there is a thought-voice in my head that never stops talking.
Like most people, I was completely identified with the mind-voice. I also realised that in my every thought, interpretation, opinion, viewpoint, reaction and emotion there was a sense of self in them.
It was that realisation that made me decide to set myself free from, or at the very least be aware of, the thought defined 'I'. That has become my mission and purpose in life.
Do You Know Who Thinks?
From now on, try to examine what you think about. You will be surprised to find that most of your thinking consists of persistent patterns of repetitive thoughts, emotions and reactions about things you most identify with.
Try to find out how easy, or difficult it is to control or blank your mind for, say, 2 minutes. You may be amazed how difficult it is. Before you know it, thoughts just start floading in.
How To Access The Real You
You can't ask someone else 'Who am I?' because deep down, you know no one can tell you who you are. Even if they did, it would be just what they "think' you are.
You are already who you are. You only need to REALISE who you are. To do this, you need to first become aware of the compulsive, repetitive thoughts and of the false, mind-made 'I.' - the ego. This means you becoming the master and "watcher" of your thoughts.
To become master of your thoughts, you must
transcend thought
. Only then will you tap into your enourmous unexpressed potential. You will go beyond ego - you will find your true you.
The following links will provide more information to help you on your journey on letting who you trully are shine through.
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