YOUR TRUE IDENTITY — Beyond The Confines of Your Mind

Most of you have probably heard of the famous quote by Earl Nightingale that says that "We become what we think about all day long", alluding to the idea that who we are is essentially defined by whatever it is that we are constantly dwelling on. While I would agree that this is certainly true in relation to the inner workings of the mind as our operating system, I however, disagree with the notion that our mental accumulations or mindset essentially make up who we are. The way we think may certainly influence our perception of reality and, thus, the quality of our experiences, but it does not say anything about who we truly are at our core. I have found that our true identity, our essence, in fact, exists beyond the many identities we tend to give ourselves through our mental process. Beyond the scope of the mind, who we are isn't at all defined by our thoughts, but that which is beyond thought. There is a part of us, unknown to the mind, that never changes and always remains the same, independently of whatever it is that we've accumulated through thoughts.

To begin any process of self-transformation or self-empowerment for that matter, it is therefore, important to start by reconditioning the mind to detach from this idea that we are an amalgamation of our everyday thoughts and that our identity is essentially defined by the quality or nature of our thinking. When we get past the level of the mind, we discover another dimension of the 'self' which is much greater and even truer than whatever we are able to conceive about ourselves with our little brains!

So, WHO AM I?

Fundamentally, you are consciousness, pure awareness, a manifestation of the infinite intelligent life energy that is constantly flowing through the whole of your being and through everything else that exists in fact.

You can basically think of yourself (consciousness) as an empty book that is constantly aware of reality through thoughts (mind). This book is continuously aware of every single thought that it has ever thought about, and as it thinks, it simultaneously writes them down page after page. So, the more you think, the more content your book also gets updated on a real-time basis. Over a period of time, it would make sense that the quality of your accumulated content (the totality of your thoughts) would eventually begin to form a picture that tells a story about the kind of book you are. However, what is important to understand here is that, while the quality of your accumulated content (thoughts) may appear to have conditioned or defined what the book is all about, the truth is that it did not at all change its original nature (its essence), as the book in itself remains blank and empty at its very core. That is to say that, if we were to ever remove or rather ignore its content, the book would immediately return to its true state, untethered, blank and free.

What must be noted from the above analogy is that as much as it may be crucial to pay attention to the way our everyday thoughts affect what we are about (our mindset), who we truly are isn't at all about the thoughts that we think, but the underlying consciousness that is doing the 'thinking'. That is our essence, the original self that is constantly aware of our mental accumulations, yet remains forever free, untethered and independent of whatever it is that we've gathered through thought. The simple process of disidentifying from our thinking mind and rather identifying with the consciousness which creates thoughts gets us started in our journey to regaining power and sovereignty over our internal state of being.

"It is only by knowing its true nature — emptiness, that the book will be free to re-write its story and redefine its quality at will"

Separating the 'thinker' from the 'thinking'

The ability to distinguish our true self (the thinker of thoughts) from our mental activities (our thinking) is very empowering and, in fact, crucial for our evolution as human beings. As we disidentify from the activities of the thinking mind and identify with the underlying consciousness which is the source of thoughts, we automatically distance ourselves from all sense of dependency on our mind’s conditioning, projections, and judgments. This detachment process is a very essential part of our journey to becoming free from all inherent limitations that we've put on ourselves through the ego mind. It makes us realise that we do not have to be subjected to our mind and its conditioning, but instead make it a subject of our own doing!

The more you are able to create a distinction between 'the thinker' and the activities of 'the thinking', the easier it becomes to see yourself beyond your mind. When who you are is no longer restricted to what your mind knows or can conceive about you, you naturally open a door to infinite possibilities for your life. That is because the very definition of who you are has now become undefinable, no longer limited by the judgments, identifications and attachments of your mind. As a result, your potential for growth and evolution also becomes unlimited, having been freed from the confines of your own mind. When this happens, my friend, the sky is literally the limit!

Another cool thing that comes with seeing yourself as the 'thinker of thought' is the realisation that you always have the power to choose. As a thinker, you can deliberately choose where and what you want your mind to pay attention to, you can decide on the thoughts you want to focus on and the ones you rather just observe from a distance and let pass you by etc. This happens because you now understand that your true self always stands in this place of empowerment, where it is free to choose.

Living as an observer

The results of various experiments have shown the potential influence we have over our environment when we take on the role of observer. As we know from quantum physics, the simple act of observing a particle has an effect on the way the particle behaves. Similarly, whatever it is that we choose to observe about ourselves and our environment also affects our behaviour and the way our environment behaves around us as well.

When you live as an observer, your consciousness (your life energy) becomes a mere reflection of the observations of the mind (the thinking) that you choose to align with and see as true. And so, by deliberately choosing what you want to observe (or not observe) as true about any situation in life, you are then free to condition your consciousness to operate in congruence with your truth, whether it is positive or negative, good or bad etc., believe me, that's some powerful stuff so choose wisely!

Living as an observer certainly gives us a great deal of personal power, but it also puts us face to face with the responsibility we have in managing our internal state of being. Tools like Meditation are therefore essential for paying attention to our mental activities and ensuring that our consciousness is used to empower us instead of locking our power away. Regular meditation is necessary for building the habit of constantly observing our thoughts and becoming familiar with our inner realities. I would highly recommend it!