Who am I? Where and what is the I?

Dear Reader,

As a continuation to the intent discussion, I wish to challenge you to search for yourself, to reach out to your inner depth and wisdom and to re-discover who you are.

I, me, mine, own – are the possession characteristics used by the Ego. There is so much more to your persona than what the eye sees when the I shows up. The ego is usually what a person identifies to, such as roles, e.g. mother/teacher/doctor/etc., personality or physical traits, ownership of objects. If you hear someone complaining, nagging about what somebody else did to them, etc., then you hear the ego at work. That person is more than that specific moment of complaint, or joy on another day.

According to the Buddhist philosophy, the mind, the I, has no physical dimension. You simply cannot touch it, it is not part of the body, nor the brain. It is connected to the brain and the entire body. It is what you can search for and explore an entire lifetime. It can be your most precious commodity, or your gold, as others might interpret it.

The meditation techniques presented by the Buddhist philosophy can be useful for guidance of you are. The exercise of consciousness and awareness of the thoughts you have, the feelings and emotions you have gives you the tool to discover who you are. You are not the feeling or the thought, you have a core within that defines you across time and space.

Who you are is a mix of values and principles that you follow and implement daily. If principles are permanent, universal and governed by nature, your values are what you choose them to be and tomorrow they can change based on your own exploration. Your values represent your core beliefs, opinions and what you consider to be important for you. They cannot be imposed onto others, because values are intrinsic and come from the within you.

The I is a drop of water from the ocean that is you. Start your new year by entering the quest of finding who you are, what is your role and place in the world surrounding you. Find your purpose, intent and motivation. I welcome any comments to the question: Who am I? or Who are you, dear reader?