To really come to the Knowing of who we are, we need to first know who we are not.  

Taking time for introspection and contemplation allows us the opportunity to realize the many layers of mistaken identity. 

The crux of Awakening is to love and appreciate our ego, our entry point into and our vehicle through this particular human experience, yet not identify ego as “Me.” The ego is an essential tool allowing us to operate in this physical reality, but it is not who we are.  

When we misidentify as ego, our minds and hearts are co-opted and we constrict, distort, and limit our truer reality. The misidentification with ego as Self creates a powerful illusion of separateness that is the primary cause of our human suffering.  

Examining and letting go of our identification with a lifetime of accumulated thought forms, memories, habits, labels, expectations, and all that we have gathered, allows loosening of the sense of separate individual boundedness. This loosening opens us to a greater sense of Oneness. And in that Awareness is our great sense of deep peace, compassion, joy, and contentment. That which we are yearning for is within us, as us. 

So where do we start this examination of misidentification? 

With gratitude. With self-compassion. With curiosity. With an understanding that you come by these false and limiting identifications through a lifetime of being told who you are and who you are not.  

And then, take an honest look at all of the beliefs, thought forms, self-definitions, roles, and labels that define your mistaken egoic identity. To name them, to acknowledge them, you lessen the power they have in blinding you from your True Self.  

Your ego will resist this self-examination. Explore it anyway. See what arises. Remember the way of curiosity.  

Journal Process for this Week:  

• Make a list of all of your roles and labels.  
  • For example: I am a teacher, I am a woman, I am a backpacker, I am... 
• Make a list of all of your positive qualities and characteristics: 
  • For example: I am kind, I am intelligent, I am creative, I am... 
• Make a list of all of your negative qualities and characteristics: 
  • For example: I am needy, I am temperamental, I am lonely, I am... 
• Make a list of the positive beliefs that you have about yourself: 
  • For example: I am valuable, I am important, I am worthy, I am... 
• Make a list of the negative beliefs that you have about yourself: 
  • For example: I am unworthy, I am unloveable, I am inadequate, I am... 
• Make a list of the beliefs and expectations that you hold about the world you live in and the people around you... 
  • For example: I believe the world is a frightening place. I believe there is no hope for humanity, I believe all people want to be good, I believe... 

Meditation for the Week:
 

As you look at the many lists from your Journal entry, begin to realize you are none of these things. These are roles, labels, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that you “have.” 

By definition, anything you have, you are not. I have a body, I am not the body. I have a mind, I am not the mind. I have a feeling, I am not that feeling. I am aware of what arises, I allow what arises, but I am not what arises. 

 I AM. I just AM. I AM that which is aware of what arises.  

As a mantra for this week, gently repeat “I am not the body, I am not even the mind.” 

• As you inhale, silently say, “I am not the body.” 
• As you exhale, silently say, “I am not even the mind.” 

A regular meditation practice is an essential component to creating space between the false ego identities and the True Self. This allows us to begin to dissolve these false identities and decrease the suffering they generate.  

The practices we suggest are meant to enrich your own meditations. You can add these to your usual practice, or simply experience them on their own. Remember, you are the authority determining what is helpful and what is not. Experimenting with different practices can help us find what is right for us at any given time. In this way of experimenting, one finds their own Way.