Who Are You?

Who are you? I can't answer that question, and probably any answer you would give would be incomplete at best. We cannot so easily define who we are, but the long time spiritual approach to the question is to see who we are not. That is what this essay is about.

Suppose you had a friend who was always telling you who you are. Even worse, this friend was continually telling you why you're not good enough, why you can't do things, and why you'll fail if you try. To really add insult to injury, your friend has great logical reasons for everything he or she says.

Of course, despite all that intelligence and logic, you can probably imagine that having such a friend would be more harmful than useful. Being forever told (in convincing arguments) that you cannot grow beyond what you are, or that what you are is never good enough, can't be necessary or good. In fact, by now you are probably thinking it would be a good idea to get rid of such a friend, or at least stop listening to him or her. So why don't we?

You see, all of us have had such "friends." They come in the form of our own thoughts that masquerade as our "self," and pretend they are there to protect us. They warn us to stop trying, to be afraid of what people will think, and to avoid change. We listen, because we have been duped into thinking we are following our own highest intelligence, our self.

But who are you? Certainly not this internal dialogue that seeks mostly to defeat any goals you have. Watch closely and you'll see (hear) a thousand thoughts whizzing through your mind. You choose to identify with some of them, but that choice is not necessary, and those thoughts are not you. In fact, your own internal dialogue is often only a reflexive or mechanical perpetuation of fearful ideas.

Who Are You - Your Thoughts?

A car starts when you turn the key, a snail recoils into its shell when touched, and your pupils get smaller in bright light. These are clearly mechanical reactions. They are effects that automatically follow the causes. So are many of your thoughts! You might want to express your love, for example, and your reflexive mind says,"Be careful - she might reject you!" Or you want to start a business and your mind says, "It could be too risky!" But these thoughts are not you any more than the bumps on your arm from a mosquito bites are you. They are temporary reactions which you need not dwell on or act from.

Watch closely and you'll notice that there are many impostors in your mind, pretending to be important parts of yourself. So who are you? Clearly something more than your reactive mind.