{"id":33562,"date":"2021-04-30T10:19:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T14:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=33562"},"modified":"2021-04-30T10:26:50","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T14:26:50","slug":"who-am-i-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/who-am-i-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Am I? Answer the Question With Deep Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever asked yourself, \u201cWho am I really, at my core?\u201d What does this question mean to you? How would you answer, \u201cWho am I?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This question is about more than just basic details about yourself. It’s asking you to think about who you are<\/a> on a deeper level, beyond your biography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some ways to ask and answer the question: \u201cWho am I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Answer to \u201cWho Am I?\u201d Lies in the Question Itself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we ask ourselves \u201cWho am I?\u201d what we really mean is who we are besides our superficial characteristics, relational identities, and biographical experiences. Here are some right ways to ask the master question to get to the core: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask \u201cWho am I?\u201d about yourself in relation to the outer world. <\/strong>Consider your changing physical appearance as you age, and contrast this with your sense of inward continuity. Your reflection in a mirror is different than it was when you were 10, but you still feel like the same person. Who is it that remains constant on the inside as you age on the outside?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask \u201cWho am I?\u201d about yourself in relation to your inner world. <\/strong>When you love, who feels that love<\/em>? When you\u2019re afraid, who feels that fear<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider your ability to lose yourself in thought, and contrast this with the continuity of your pure awareness.<\/strong> Descartes (\u201cI think, therefore I am\u201d) was wrong. You can know that you aren\u2019t your thoughts because you can observe<\/em> your thoughts, and when thinking sometimes stops, you\u2019re still here. Your consciousness still exists. Who is the thinker separate from your thoughts?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider your ability to lose yourself as you read these very words.<\/strong> Your mind can become immersed in the reading, but when you stop reading, you\u2019re still here. Who is the reader separate from the reading?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the status of <\/strong>you<\/em><\/strong> in relation to your dreams.<\/strong> When you dream during sleep, you\u2019re immersed in the experience, but when you wake up, you know the dream was just something that you \u201chad.\u201d Who is the dreamer who experiences the dream?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you ask it truly and deeply, the question becomes, \u201cWho is having all of these mental, emotional, and physical experiences right now?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Answer the Question<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Having asked the question correctly, just let go of all experiences and notice what\u2019s left: the pure experiencer. Notice that this experiencer has a certain quality: consciousness, an intuitive sense of existing. Notice that this pure experiencer can instantaneously apprehend richly complex scenes that would require a lot of time and effort for the thinking mind. Look around the room or out the window. Wordlessly receive what you see. Notice how the experiencer encompasses perceptions effortlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you understand what the master question is really asking, and when you employ it correctly, the answer eventually offers itself: You are the one who sees. You are the witness, the one seated at the center of consciousness<\/strong>. From there, you look outward at your thoughts, then further outward at your emotions, then still further outward, through your physical senses, at the external world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are the one \u201cbehind\u201d your thoughts, emotions, and sensory impressions, the one who perceives them all and remains constant as they arise and pass away. You aren\u2019t any object of experience. Instead, you\u2019re the one who is \u201cinside,\u201d looking out at the world of experiences. You\u2019re the subject that perceives all objects. This One at the center is the Judeo-Christian Soul, the Hindu Atman, the Buddhist Self.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever asked yourself, \u201cWho am I really, at my core?\u201d What does this question mean to you? How would you answer, \u201cWho am I?\u201d This question is about more than just basic details about yourself. It’s asking you to think about who you are on a deeper level, beyond your biography. Here are some ways to ask and answer the question: \u201cWho am I?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":33609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,9],"tags":[271],"class_list":["post-33562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-psychology","tag-the-untethered-soul","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWho Am I? 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