Look past how you feel, past what you are thinking and stare your real self in the face. Then ask the question, who are you? Who is this body that walks around on earth? Are you the feelings you feel or are you the thoughts you think? Perhaps you are none of these. In this short blog I'd like to explore what and who you really are.
Stop…. notice where you are now, what you are, and ask why you are? Not all of these questions will be able to be answered immediately but with quiet contemplation, revelations will appear.
Notice your thoughts, they are on several levels, the drifting thoughts that wander by without much control and the purposeful thoughts you think when you're on a mission. But ask who is thinking them?
I note from many of my readings, the observer can never be the observed. So, if you are looking at your body now and you notice it then you are not your body, if you become aware of your feelings and how they feel to you, you are not your feelings, and if you purposely think about your thoughts, once again you're observing them, so you are not your thoughts. This begs the question, who is the observer, or the real you?
I would suggest the observer is the decision maker the person/soul who decides which thoughts to focus on which feelings to feel and what to do with your body when do it with purpose, the decision maker is the real you.
You can't feel the real you, you can't prove that it’s the real you because if you could it would be the observed. As the observer you have been individualised and you are separate from everything else in the universe, separate from everything in physical reality and maybe even God. In this reality we are not connected, we are separated. There is no use trying to truly connect at this earthly level, it's futile. So, do not love at a physical level, don't try to impress others at a physical level and don't even “want” at this physical level. All these things should be done at a spiritual level, and the way to do this is to give not take. Give without expectation.
The application of this concept is quite amazing, if you can look at the way you feel whether it be physically or emotionally then you can separate from it. I won't say this makes it easier when you feel pain or hurt but it will give you a perspective that is different from before and will allow you to heal more quickly.
At a mental health level, if you're conscious of the fact that you are the observer rather than a participant, you will realise that you are the one that's responsible for your happiness, not other people or things.
Taking control of the way you react to the circumstances in your life no matter how good or bad they are, is the key to that happiness that we all strive for.
I've talked before in other blogs about primal instincts, and how they are centred around fear and survival, however this kind of consciousness is at a higher level and is not automatic, it's a decision we have to make on our own. This decision once made, in fact continually made, will offer you a foundation and a perspective that many people on earth have yet to reach, self-responsibility, self-control and a measured attitude to life. The answer for you.
For more proof that you are not the “you”, you thought you were, look at your hands. According to an old story I once heard, if your hands were made of the hardest steel known to humankind, they would be totally worn away by your seventh birthday; but, because of the process of cellular regeneration your hands are still here to turn the pages of this book or bang the keys of your computer.
So, if the hand in front of you is not the hand you were born with, is it you? At this moment it is part of your body, but your hand, in fact your whole body, changes its cellular make up many times during your lifetime. You don’t die in old age with the body you were born with. Your cells are constantly regenerating.
So, what is it that is you if it is not your body? Genetically speaking it is the program imprinted in your DNA that builds and rebuilds your cells; they even have the process of aging embedded in them.
Physically speaking you are a programme that is running on this platform called reality. Emotionally speaking you are the chemicals and neurons interacting, not only in your brain but everywhere in your body, to produce feelings. Mentally speaking you are the memories, habits and lessons learned throughout your life, once again stored in your brain and body. Spiritually speaking you are a part of nature, and of the universe; just like everyone else.
Can you now see that your body is your vehicle whilst here, it’s not you? Neither are your emotions or even your thoughts. You are the controller; the decision maker and you have the responsibility for driving these vehicles throughout your lifetime.
In between your thoughts and your feelings there is someone or something making decisions, often influenced by your thoughts and feelings, but they don't have to be.
So, the answer to who are you is that someone or something in between your thoughts and feelings. Your decision maker.
How much control do you give your decision maker?
All this much more is explored in my new book called “The Answer is You”. It examines the principals of emotional fitness and self-responsibility along with mindfulness, cognitive behaviour, and the art of coming from a position of purpose.
TONY STEVEN