Imagine for a moment that you are a unique entity, a combination of characteristics and experiences, living a human life. You have a body and a personality, and through these, you experience life. These experiences are not just random; they serve a purpose. If you approach them with awareness and intention, they can help you discover your true self.
Let’s use a metaphor to explore this idea. Picture a control switch next to your eyes. When you look at someone on the first channel, you see their physical appearance—whether they are young or old, tall or short, attractive or not. Scientists might categorize these differences as mesomorphs, ectomorphs, and endomorphs. This is the physical reality, where we notice the diversity in people’s appearances.
Now, switch to the next channel. Here, you see a person’s psychology. You might notice if they are happy or sad, anxious or calm. This is the realm of emotions and mental states, where people often focus on their feelings and thoughts. It’s another layer of reality, where the body is just a vessel for these psychological experiences.
Flip the switch again, and you might see someone’s astrological identity. You might recognize them as a Libra or Sagittarius. This perspective views people through the lens of astrology, seeing them as part of a cosmic pattern with only 12 basic archetypes. It’s another way to understand individual differences.
But let’s go further. Flip the switch once more, and you see something deeper. You look into someone’s eyes and see another being, much like yourself, looking back. This is the soul, the essence beyond physical and psychological traits. Here, all the differences are just layers surrounding this core being.
Now, let’s take this journey to its conclusion. Flip the switch again, and you see yourself in others, and others in yourself. At this level, there is a single awareness manifesting in many forms. It’s a realization that we are all connected, part of a greater whole.
Finally, one last switch, and everything disappears—the self, the other, even the switch itself. This is the void, a state beyond words and concepts, where the divine is indescribable and unknowable.
With all these perspectives, you might wonder, “Who am I?” Are you just your body, your personality, or something more profound? Each perspective offers a different answer, each deeper than the last. Ultimately, you are a being experiencing life through a unique combination of physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions.
This journey touches on concepts like karma and reincarnation. In some traditions, these ideas were set aside because they empowered individuals to connect directly with the divine, challenging established religious structures. However, they offer a framework for understanding life’s purpose and the continuity of the soul’s journey.
Have you lived before? Will you live again? These questions invite you to consider the timeless nature of your true self. Beyond the physical and psychological, there is a part of you that simply is, existing beyond time and space.
Imagine viewing your life as a continuous process of growth and awakening. Every experience, including death, is part of this journey. There is no need to fear change or cling to the past. Instead, embrace the unfolding of your life as an opportunity to deepen your understanding and connection with your true self.
Take some time to write a reflective journal entry about your own journey of self-discovery. Consider the different perspectives discussed in the article, such as physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. How do these perspectives apply to your own life? What insights have you gained about your true self?
Engage in a group discussion with your peers about the various perspectives on identity mentioned in the article. Share your thoughts on how these perspectives influence your understanding of yourself and others. Discuss the role of astrology, psychology, and spirituality in shaping identity.
Participate in a guided creative visualization exercise. Imagine flipping the metaphorical control switch and explore each layer of identity as described in the article. Visualize yourself moving from physical appearance to psychological states, astrological identity, and finally to the essence of the soul. Reflect on how this exercise affects your perception of self and others.
Conduct research on the concepts of karma and reincarnation as discussed in the article. Prepare a short presentation to share your findings with the class. Consider how these concepts relate to the journey of self-discovery and the continuity of the soul’s journey.
Join a mindfulness meditation session focused on embracing the process of growth and awakening. Use this time to connect with your true self beyond physical and psychological dimensions. Reflect on how mindfulness can help you embrace change and deepen your understanding of life’s journey.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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[Music] To the extent that I am anything at all, we could consider me as a separate entity, a set of predisposing characteristics, a program that is manifesting by taking a human birth at this time. I have taken a birth into a body, and that body has with it a personality. I’ve taken a breath into a personality, and that personality is in a body. I am going through a set of experiences which is called living life, and these experiences have a certain function. If used consciously and intentionally by me, these experiences are vehicles through which I can awaken to who I am in truth.
Let me take you through an example I often use, just another little metaphorical image, an analogy. Imagine, for example, that you have next to your eyes a little control switch. You look at another human being on channel one, and what you see when you look at the other human being is a physical body—man, woman, old, young, fat, thin, pretty, handsome, ugly, interesting. If you’re a scientist, you might call them mesomorphs, ectomorphs, and endomorphs. It’s a matrix of individual differences on the physical plane; it’s the plane of standing on the corner watching all the girls go by. That’s that reality.
Now, let’s just say you’re looking at another person and you flick your television receiver one channel. Now you look at another person, and what you see is their psychology. Oh, you’re a manic depressive; oh, you’re a happy person. I wish I was happy like you. People in psychotherapy live on this channel usually; they’re totally preoccupied with their own depressions, elations, fears, anxieties, loneliness, hopes, etc. And that’s reality—that’s the real you, and the physical body is merely the carrier of that.
Well, let’s flip it again. Flip it again, and you look at another person, and if you are so trained to be able to see on this channel, you would say, “Oh, I know who you are; you’re a Libra.” I can tell because you’re a Sagittarius. On this channel, there are only 12 beings in the universe and various permutations of them. You are now seeing what could be known as the astral identity of an individual. You’re seeing another plane of reality; you’re seeing another way of looking at individual differences. These are three ways of looking at individual differences—three matrices, if you will.
But now you flip the dial once more, and it starts to get interesting. Now, if you flip the dial and look into another person’s eyes, you flip the dial inside your own being and look into another person’s eyes, what you see is another being looking back at you—inside an astral configuration, a personality in a body. You in there, I’m in here—how did you get into that one? And you see what some might call the soul; you see another being just like you—no different, just like you—just another being. And you see that all the individual differences are all of the stuff in which this being is encased.
Now, you could almost be comfortable with that one, but we unfortunately must flick the dial a few more times. I mean, I must take you the whole journey. You flick the next dial, and what you see when you look into someone else’s eyes is you see yourself looking at yourself looking at yourself. Because on that plane, there is only one of it; it is one awareness that is in a multiplicity of forms.
And finally, if you allow me to flick the dial just once more, if you haven’t given up completely yet, you flip the dial once more, and you disappear, and I disappear, and the dial disappears, and we’re dealing with what some might call the void. Or in the New Testament, before the word—before the vibratory uniqueness—or why the divine is not able to be spelled in certain traditions; it’s unspeakable, unknowable, unseeable, inconceivable.
Now, of all of these channels on the television set, who are you? Which one do you want to settle for? You want to be middle-aged? How about that one? I mean, I’m middle-aged; I guess I have a 47-year-old body. It’s like I have also a 1974 Dodge van. But you say to me, “Who are you?” and I don’t say, “I’m a Dodge van.” Why do I choose to identify with this? Well, if I don’t pick body, should I pick personality? I’m somebody on the path—that’s a good one to be. I’m a curious person; I’m curious about the future—that’s a good one. I’m a responsible person; well, I’m kind of wild; I’m lazy; I’m working on myself. These are all different psychological takes on who one is.
Each plane, each turn of the dial has a different statement of your identity, and each one is getting into a more and more profound place. Now, when we come back to “Who am I?” which channel are you talking about? If we start from the top and go down into the grosser planes, I am the void who manifests as the one who becomes the many, who has a unique set of factors to work out through a unique astral, psychological, and physical body. That’s what I’m doing on Earth. I have taken a body to do certain work, and when I finish that work, I will drop that body. We are dealing here with the issues of karma and reincarnation.
Now, in the West, after the councils of Trent, Constantinople, and Nicaea, anywhere from about 200 to 500 A.D., these ideas were roughly thrown out of certain traditions because they didn’t make the church a workable situation. Because when you had reincarnation and karma, every human being became their own priest, because it was between you and the divine. And for the church to keep its own control and see its function as keeping people morally living properly, it had to get rid of those concepts.
Have I taken birth before? I have no experiential knowledge of that, but from where I’m sitting, undoubtedly thousands and thousands of times will I take birth again—undoubtedly thousands and thousands of times. I have to tax your brain with one more difficult concept. As long as we were dealing with your body, with your personality, with your astral identity, or with your soul, we were dealing in time. Time passes; things change. The minute we got up into the higher plane than that, in the one, there is no time anymore. Time is relative.
Now we’re dealing with the place where when you know yourself as that, you just are. You are going nowhere, and you are coming from nowhere. The Zen master says you’re going and coming is nowhere but where you are. Now, if you can start to sense—I mean, you don’t have to believe what I’m saying just because it’s the way the universe looks to me—but if you could empathize just enough to appreciate how it would be to be looking at the world from this point of view, if you imagine what it’s like to see your life as so functional to your awakening and your death equally so, that the whole business becomes merely a process of growth and awakening and opening and deepening and clearing and shifting channels, and there is no problem about transition. There’s no holding on out of fear; it’s just opening.
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This version maintains the essence of the original content while removing any potentially sensitive or inappropriate language.
Self-discovery – The process of gaining insight into one’s own character, feelings, and motivations. – Through self-discovery, the philosopher realized that his pursuit of knowledge was driven by a deep-seated desire for personal growth.
Psychology – The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. – In her psychology class, she learned about the cognitive processes that underlie decision-making.
Identity – The qualities, beliefs, personality, and expressions that make a person or group different from others. – The existentialist philosopher argued that identity is not fixed but is continually shaped by our choices and actions.
Awareness – The knowledge or perception of a situation or fact, often relating to one’s own thoughts and feelings. – Developing awareness of one’s biases is crucial for objective philosophical inquiry.
Experiences – Events or occurrences that leave an impression on someone and contribute to their understanding of the world. – The philosopher’s experiences traveling abroad profoundly influenced his theories on cultural relativism.
Emotions – Complex psychological states that involve a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response. – Understanding emotions is essential for psychologists who study human behavior and mental processes.
Karma – The concept in Indian philosophy that a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence determine their fate in future existences. – The notion of karma challenges the idea of free will by suggesting that our actions are influenced by past deeds.
Reincarnation – The philosophical or religious concept that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body. – Reincarnation is a central tenet in many Eastern philosophies, offering a perspective on the continuity of the soul.
Growth – The process of developing or maturing physically, mentally, or spiritually. – Personal growth often involves overcoming challenges and reflecting on one’s experiences to gain deeper insights.
Connection – A relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else. – The philosopher emphasized the importance of connection between individuals as a foundation for a harmonious society.
