WHO ARE YOU?

A Loaded Question
“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” – Dr. Seuss

Most people believe they know who they are. If someone asks who you are you probably give them your name first. Depending on the situation or to whom you are speaking, you may follow with a description of what you do for a living or to whom you’re related. Sometimes you might describe who you are in terms of your likes and dislikes or based on your hobbies. Other times you may tell people who you are in relation to your religious or political affiliations. But who are you deep down, under all the myriad relationships to other people, activities, and things? What is at your core? Can you say for certain? Does anyone know the real you?

It’s been said by many that the key to life is to know yourself. After all, if you don’t know the depths of yourself, how can you begin to know the fathomless oceans of others? How can you create and maintain your own path if you don’t know who you are?

Other people in your life who think they know you, know you only in relation to themselves. Ultimately, they only know themselves in relation to others. They will always try to mold your path to theirs rather than letting you choose in which direction you wish to go. They cannot visualize their interactions with you on anything other than a superficial level because they are unaware of what constitutes their own true selves and yours. On a core level, they need your energy in order to validate and resuscitate their own energy because they do not know of or understand how to utilize the energy at their core.

How do you uncover the “real you” then? If you don’t know who you are by the time you’re an adult, then who the hell have you been for the past X-number of years? Let’s look first at all the people you are not before we get into who you are.

Who You Are Not
People have learned to attach their sense of self to things external to them. Capitalism feeds and metastasizes off of this sense of self-through-external-validation (he with the most toys wins). But this is not who they are at the core level. All of the ways to describe who you are that I mentioned above have absolutely nothing to do with your “you-ness.” They are attachments to systems that limit your infinite potential.

You are not just your name; your name is a series of letters and associated sounds given to you so that others may interact with you. Your name is only a tag, an identifier. Even if you choose your own name, it is still not literally who you are.

You are not your relationships to other people. You are not just a son, daughter, father, mother, big/little/middle sibling, office co-worker, customer, and so on. These are roles that you play when interacting with other people. Though they seem genuine and not part of some production, they are exactly that, just personas that you assume, depending on the situation.

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts…

–Shakespeare
As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

Other tags are given to creative types: actor, writer, hobbyist, crafter, singer, and so on. But a writer is far more than someone who sits and types at a computer all day, creating characters and plots. Writing is something this person does, but it is not who they are. The same goes for any profession or hobby, religion or secular affiliation. What you do is not who you are. Yet through our language system, you are forced to declare “I am a…(fill in the blank).” You are not even the sum of your emotions and experiences because those are limited by assumed static biological mechanisms and system-hampered perception, respectively.

If you are only allowed to describe who you are through other’s eyes or by definition of what you do, then there doesn’t seem to really be any “you” under all the mess. But there is, and you bear this great burden unconsciously for the most part. Even if you are aware of these layers of sediment on top of your core self, by virtue of living among others who are unaware, you will still struggle to come out from under each limitation on a daily basis because the system is so pervasive.

This may seem like a bleak way of viewing the world and it is. If everyone is running around wearing masks over their true selves, who the hell is everybody, really? Is it even possible to reach another person’s core? First you want to uncover your own core before attempting to connect with another’s. Let’s chisel away the sediment and take a look at the masterpiece within.

Who You Really Are
At the core level, you are pure energy. Energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be transferred or change form. It is also limitless in its potential. You are, therefore, a limitless being of infinite potential that cannot be destroyed. Whether this validates what you have known all along about yourself or is a completely new revelation, take a moment to re-read that last sentence and let it really sink in. Then you can examine it more closely.

Limitless. What does that mean? Exactly what it says; there are no limits to what your core energy can do.
Infinite. I don’t feel infinite; I’m just human. Are you? What is “just human”? Does that statement not place limitations on yourself? Nobody is “just human.” This statement separates the mind from the self and is probably one of the most destructive statements of all time.
Cannot be destroyed. Does this mean I’m immortal? Can I go jump off a tall building and not get hurt? Well, not exactly. Do not jump off a tall building! Your physical body will most likely be damaged beyond repair. Your core energy, however, remains absolute.
Your core energy is guided by your consciousness. Without that spark of awareness that is consciousness, you wouldn’t be you, you would just be random energy floating around without sentience or direction. People often mistake their inner dialogue for their consciousness. The two could not be more different.

The inner dialogue is the relayer of system-information. It is the chatterbox that limits your potential and dictates how you perceive reality. Consciousness is the silent observer and director of your core energy. In a way, it is your core just as much as your energy is. Consciousness is perception without judgement, potential without limits. It is the artist behind the canvas. You are that artist. You are energy with awareness.

Will this change how you view the world around you? How will your interactions with others be different? Do you have motivation to turn off the inner chatter and seek the depths of your own consciousness? I’d love to hear from you. Let me know your thoughts.