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Do You Believe in the Self?
- Thread starter Nakosis
- Start date
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
I am the stuff that all things in the universe are constituted of. Currently, I am Aupmanyav at ReligiousForums.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Self is illusory, not an illusion.Who are you?
What are you?
Are you the image in the mirror?
Are you a mother, father, doctor, waitress? Beautiful, ugly?
When you think of your self, what do you picture. What attributes are part of this picture?
Do you think others hold the same picture of you as you have of your self?
Some tell me to find my self. What is it I am trying to find?
Some tell me to let go of the self. What exactly am I supposed to let go of?
Some say the self is an illusion. Then what is the reality?
It's there but not forever there.
Audie
Veteran Member
Who are you?
What are you?
Are you the image in the mirror?
Are you a mother, father, doctor, waitress? Beautiful, ugly?
When you think of your self, what do you picture. What attributes are part of this picture?
Do you think others hold the same picture of you as you have of your self?
Some tell me to find my self. What is it I am trying to find?
Some tell me to let go of the self. What exactly am I supposed to let go of?
Some say the self is an illusion. Then what is the reality?
What is self with bacteria ( mitichondria)
integral to ever cell?
You even have mites that live exclusively at the base of eyelashes.
More like a colony than an individual
Ben Dhyan
Veteran Member
You are what and who you self identify with, it generally comes about through conditioning.Who are you?
What are you?
Are you the image in the mirror?
Are you a mother, father, doctor, waitress? Beautiful, ugly?
When you think of your self, what do you picture. What attributes are part of this picture?
Do you think others hold the same picture of you as you have of your self?
Some tell me to find my self. What is it I am trying to find?
Some tell me to let go of the self. What exactly am I supposed to let go of?
Some say the self is an illusion. Then what is the reality?
The mind of a new born soon learns to self identify with the body, hunger, pain, cold, hot, colic, etc.. This self identification with the body is essential to survival, if the body is neglected, death may ensue and the life and its potential to learn is lost.
The truly religious path/practice is meant to teach us to develop, also through a form of conditioning, to Self identify with the omnipresent spirit. The more time one spends in the transcendent state of no thought, no thinking, slowly but slowly self identification is transferred to the soul and then spirit.
It get complicated when the aspirant is half way through this process, the ego self 'I' which is self identified with the body is still present while the higher self that is free of the body is also present. The aspirant must learn to know when it is appropriate to be oob and when in the body. Like all learning, one learns from mistakes.
It is not as though the lower self, ie., self identification with the body, is wrong, it is the very way nature works to create self awareness in the first instance, first in the body, and then to those who have reached a stage of wanting to spread their wings, to transfer it to the out of body state and thus become Self identified with the omnipresent underlying spiritual source of all creation.
Martin
Spam, wonderful spam (bloody vikings!)
Just curious, how does that realisation manifest for you?
You are an example of Homo sapiens sapiens, a biological entity so far only reliably found on Earth, third planet from Sol, one of the 20 septillion or more stars in the universe.
Within that category, depending on your genetics you may be male, female, or other, more sexually attractive or less, more smart or less, more capable or less, more impaired or less.
Your access to wealth, opportunities, place in the peck order, self-realization, may be greater or less. The threat to you of disease, famine, war, &c may be more or less.
As you age, you will normally pass through periods where you can breed. Whether or not you do, you may die at any time, and will die within 120 years maximum.
And so on.
It's difficult to explain because of limitations of language. Best I can describe sense of oneness with everyone and everything without attachment or judgment, a being with all of this, but an understanding that, in reality, I'm none of it. Sort of like having a lucid dream, waking up, and then going back to sleep knowing the I'll continue that lucid dream, but may wake up at any time.
Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
Have you experienced this state of mind over periode of time? Or would you say you "seen" but not fully experienced it?
I don't see this as a "state of mind" because the mind is limited, and, in my experience, this state of being exists beyond mind.
The first time I experienced this state was in my early teens. At the time I wrote it off as an anomaly.
Years later, I learned that my experience wasn't unique to me, so I began to study it. Years of study and practice have resulted in not only duplicating the experience, but becoming increasingly stable in this state being.
Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
Thank you for explaining it
I should have said state of consciousness, not state of mind
Colt
Well-Known Member
Yes! I believe in the self, my self. We get to know ourselves as we observe it in relation to other selves, other personalities.Who are you?
What are you?
Are you the image in the mirror?
Are you a mother, father, doctor, waitress? Beautiful, ugly?
When you think of your self, what do you picture. What attributes are part of this picture?
Do you think others hold the same picture of you as you have of your self?
Some tell me to find my self. What is it I am trying to find?
Some tell me to let go of the self. What exactly am I supposed to let go of?
Some say the self is an illusion. Then what is the reality?
Hermit Philosopher
Selflessly here for you
Dear Nakosis,
I’d say that all of these suggestions are wise.
We must define and get to know the “self” well, in order to let go of it and see that we are not that.
As for what this “self” is, the answer shall not come from the “self” of another.
Humbly
Hermit
Who are you?
What are you?
Are you the image in the mirror?
Are you a mother, father, doctor, waitress? Beautiful, ugly?
When you think of your self, what do you picture. What attributes are part of this picture?
Do you think others hold the same picture of you as you have of your self?
Some tell me to find my self. What is it I am trying to find?
Some tell me to let go of the self. What exactly am I supposed to let go of?
Some say the self is an illusion. Then what is the reality?
“The Self of God standing within Him with laws.” (Baha’u’llah)
“Wherefore must the veils of the satanic self be burned away at the fire of love, that the spirit may be purified and cleansed and thus may know the station of the Lord of the Worlds.” (Baha’u’llah)
When we rid ourselves of attachments to earthly things, that is, high and lofty purposes dominate our lives instead of base passions then do we feel God within
Who are you?
What are you?
Are you the image in the mirror?
Are you a mother, father, doctor, waitress? Beautiful, ugly?
When you think of your self, what do you picture. What attributes are part of this picture?
Do you think others hold the same picture of you as you have of your self?
Some tell me to find my self. What is it I am trying to find?
Some tell me to let go of the self. What exactly am I supposed to let go of?
Some say the self is an illusion. Then what is the reality?
Belief in a pretend God is okay, if we are also pretend.
Existentialism (a branch of philosophy that discusses existence) seems to prove that no one can prove that anyone exists. Descartes said that he thinks, therefore exists. But maybe he just thinks that he thinks.
