Who The Bleep Are You, Anyway?
Self-identity? Who are you really? We identify with many things,
but this is just a process in our minds. In fact, this
identification causes us to suffer.
Your favorite basketball team loses, and you suffer as though
YOU lost. Your car is damaged and it feels like YOU are hurt.
Somebody attacks who they think you are, and it is as though
they could actually reach inside and poke at your true self. Is
there a way to escape this unecessary drama and pain?
Perhaps, if you can see what you are not. Seeing this clearly
can free you from much of the suffering that comes from
identification. Try this simple meditation.
A Meditation On Self Identity
Get comfortable in a quiet place. Close your eyes, relax and
take several deep breaths, breathing through your nose. Let your
breathing fall into a natural pattern. Allow tension to drain
from your body.
Now begin by asking: Where am I? What am I? Who am I? Let these
questions sit for a moment in your mind.
Be aware of your body. Think of your leg. If you lost it, would
you cease to exist? Are you your leg? Go through the parts of
your body, asking "Am I here?" "Is this my self?"
Open your eyes and look around you. Are you those things? Maybe
it you feel pain when your favorite chair breaks, as though it
were you. But you're not that chair. Ask yourself which of these
things you own are you. "Am I this?"
Close your eyes and say your name. Do you feel a sense of
identity? What if you had no name? Ask "Am I really..." and say
your name again. What's the honest answer? If this one is tough,
say "I am..." and insert any other name. Notice how when you
call yourself by another name, you feel differently. Your
name-identity is a collection of ideas, something seen
differently by you and others.
As feelings arise, ask "Am I this fear?.. this pain, desire,
sadness, pleasure, anger? Your feelings are not you - they just
pass through you. Your clothes, your body, your reputation -
none of it is your true self-identity.
Do this meditation for twenty minutes, then take a deep breath
and get up. Notice if you feel different - less worried or less
attached to things, feelings and thoughts. Do the meditation as
often as necessary, to remind you of what you are not.