So what am I?

[swamplizard]

For one to define one’s self requires utility of the mind; the process of one’s mind will not escape its dimension and will thus likely provide that the mind is the definition of the self; this is evident for the mind, but not for the one.

Thought is a facsimile pathway; awareness of the path does not need conjuring.

Congruence of one within one eliminates calculations.

dementia from the marshes,
best,
swampy

 

[4consideration]

I am a baptized catholic. I do not practice it however. There are instances when I believe that there is a god in times like when my boyfriend was accidentally hit by a car previously or when facing problems. I do pray but I just see it as a mental activity that is good in a way. There are times that I question if there is god because I cannot see any evidence. I am not seeking for any path. I am just puzzled on how I can classify my self having those things stated.

____________________________________________

I would ask you to consider whether or not you really need a label.

I would like to discuss labels, why we think we need them, and what I think they actually do to us.

I think that you do not have to justify your existence or define it. You do not have to limit your belief or understanding to some accummulation of thoughts or ideas that have already been defined by someone else.

You do not have to accept a label, which includes a definition -- which by it's very nature of being a definition, attempts to reduce you to fit within the confines of that definition.

As I see it, the world want you to consent to reducing yourself to some limiting definition -- to fit your understanding and life force in a little, or big, box -- because when you consent to it you can be controlled.

Often, I think that labels are used for classifying people into catagories like cattle, wherein we can look at people and say, "Well, you are a "that". I will treat you as a "that." You are expected to behave as a "that." And, if I do not agree with you, well I don't have to honor your position because you are only a "that."

Why? You do not have to accept playing that game.

I find that it really hurts when you do it to yourself, because the moment you accept any label, or impose it upon yourself as an identity, you immediately limit your ability to step outside of it without experiencing a life-threatening sensation, as it relates to that identity/label -- because that label is actually threatened when you attempt to move beyond it.

You can simply jump out of it, by not consenting to it in the first place.

I have found that, when I remember to retain my autonomous right to be bigger than any attempts to define me, I can easily peer into any area of thought or understanding and gain insight, without becoming trapped within its limitations. (I cannot claim to be totally sucessful in it at all times.)

From outside of the limitation of identities, you can easily play any of life's valuable roles: like, teacher, student, friend, mother, etc. without confining all that you are to a single role.

 

[Hevenly Heathen]

Why limit yourself by labeling yourself? The moment we label things, we inhibit them. What you are is what you are. What you are will be perceived differently by all around you, there will be no consistency with others about what you are.

Yin Yang does help one balance, but you forget that when all is perfectly balanced, there is no perception of either, things just are. Yin Yang is a construction used to help perceive how to attain a state of perfect balance, and upon reaching that, there is no self because there will be nothing to compare. How can we compare two equals?

Being a student of Yin Yang, can I presume you have read Lieh Tzu? Remember when he states that the best way of doing is no-doing. Seeking control and classifications inhibits balance, even when they are simply used as 'road signs' to balance, and not measuring devices to show what one is and where one belongs. But you will have to come to the realization that only the loss of these 'road signs' will give you insight to the road to true balance.

Perhaps I am missing the motivation behind your search for limiting yourself.

 

[Jinse]

As to what I believe in *labels* does not indicate limiting ones self but finding ones self. In my belief a spiritual path or religion or even being not religious is part of finding ones self identity. It serves as a guide on what you most likely believe in and what you choose to follow. In short I find a label in order for me to find my self.

 

[Jinse]

Yin Yang does help one balance, but you forget that when all is perfectly balanced, there is no perception of either, things just are. Yin Yang is a construction used to help perceive how to attain a state of perfect balance, and upon reaching that, there is no self because there will be nothing to compare. How can we compare two equals?

I think it is the zen principle which states that there is no self and its non dualistic. Yin and yang is Tao which is dualistic. Tao is being void and zen is extremely void. Zen is zen and Tao is Tao. Both cannot be mixed. But I can be wrong.

 

[Ben Dhyan]

There is an underlying unity to all that exists, some call it God, others Nirvana, others again Tao,...but a rose by any other name would smell as sweet!

From the Eternal Tao that is beyond description, come the Tao comprised of Ying and Yang.

From the Eternal God that is beyond knowing comes the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. (See Isaiah 45:7)

The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction, however,
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything.

To set up what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
Be serene in the oneness of things
and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity
your very effort fills you with activity.
As long as you remain in one extreme or the other,
you will never know Oneness.

Those who do not live in the single Way
fail in both activity and passivity,
assertion and denial.
To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality;
to assert the emptiness of things is to miss their reality.
The more you talk and think about it,
the further astray you wander from the truth.
Stop talking and thinking and there is nothing you will not be able to know.

-Third Zen Patriarch [606AD]

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

I am a baptized catholic. I do not practice it however. There are instances when I believe that there is a god in times like when my boyfriend was accidentally hit by a car previously or when facing problems. I do pray but I just see it as a mental activity that is good in a way. There are times that I question if there is god because I cannot see any evidence. I am not seeking for any path. I am just puzzled on how I can classify my self having those things stated.

Most people like to be a part of something greater. This is why people prefer labels. If you don't feel connected to the Catholic church, then seek to find out who you are. Others have suggested the Belief-O-Matic, and this is a good place to start. You might try looking into Eastern philosophies and religions. But, if I was to give you one piece of advice, start within your own tradition. See if others felt the same way you do. You sound like you might have some mystical leanings. The absolute best advice and place to start, would be to read "Dark Night of the Soul", by St. John of the Cross. He was a Spanish Catholic mystic from the 13th century, who experienced some hard times in his faith. Start there.

 

[Renji]

What are you? That's easy. You're mine.