The question, 'Who am I? has been asked for many thousands of years. Socrates, Aristotle, and many other people, have asked this question and given their understanding of it. For me, it is not an easy one to answer - not even from a spiritual perspective, but I have a few thoughts that I would like to share.
I do know that physically, emotionally, and mentally I am not the same person as I was even yesterday. Hopefully I have grown and developed, and learned some new things in the past 24 hours.
And I know that I have changed spiritually too, as my meditations and other spiritual practices are designed to help me to develop and grow, even though I do get days where I feel I have gone backwards!
Part of that work and growth is about 'taming' the demons, the shadow, and aspects of myself that are not on my resume! This is ongoing work for me.
Grasping and taming my inner demon (pictured below as a snake) is something that I feel is very important to do in terms of 'becoming' what I call my Future Potential Self. Sometimes it is about staring 'it' (that snake) right in the eyes and doing battle with 'it'.
I do know that physically, emotionally, and mentally I am not the same person as I was even yesterday. Hopefully I have grown and developed, and learned some new things in the past 24 hours.
And I know that I have changed spiritually too, as my meditations and other spiritual practices are designed to help me to develop and grow, even though I do get days where I feel I have gone backwards!
Part of that work and growth is about 'taming' the demons, the shadow, and aspects of myself that are not on my resume! This is ongoing work for me.
Grasping and taming my inner demon (pictured below as a snake) is something that I feel is very important to do in terms of 'becoming' what I call my Future Potential Self. Sometimes it is about staring 'it' (that snake) right in the eyes and doing battle with 'it'.
I work in this way with many of my clients and students who are working to overcome aspects of themselves in their lives that are not serving them. My Addiction work is mostly about engaging with, and strengthening the core - The 'I' so that it can go into battle. The battle can look different for all of us depending on what it is we are dealing with and our 'story' around it.
Much of the time it is a battle of the WILL to overcome our stories, beliefs, habits, and/or addictions. It is about defining and becoming this Future Potential Self - This New You. Our Old-Self will do whatever is possible to hold on. We all love the 'secondary gains' we receive from old old stories and habits even though they may be outdated by many years ... The sub-conscious mind does not know this and keeps feeding on it ... If that secondary gain is attention - if that is the need - then 'our old-self will work hard to keep that story and behaviour going.
Generally this is done unconsciously - we are unaware of how we are acting or displaying our behaviour. Others around us can notice it and perhaps even think it's strange. It's often seen as 'out of place' or 'out of character'. And that is exactly what it is, as it's our old-self in action and not our current self.
Something that happened in our childhood may still get played out well into our adult life and keep us stuck in. that story and behaviour. I know I am still uncovering and dealing with some of my own! It might be my 15 year old (now, that's a story!) acting something out, replacing my 61 year old self. This sort of thing goes on every day for all of us - lots of it. and the more aware you become of it, the more you will see it in others and perhaps even yourself!
So, coming back to the original question of 'Who am I'?. I am a man in constant transition and growth who has a core part of my being called my 'I' or Spirit that is the aspect of myself that is 'The Choice-Maker', the one that can choose to be a better, more conscious person. However, this 'I' will have to do some battling with the lower aspects - the demons, the shadow, the inner child - and what in Anthroposophy (my spiritual path based on the work and initiatives of Rudolf Steiner) we call 'The Astral'.
A simplified explanation for now - This Astral body, or being, is centred around our Soul - and with our feelings, emotions, habits, and desires. If the 'Astral Desire' is big enough can shadow our 'I' and take control. This is where we will have to go into battle to restore the order of things so that we are in Spiritual control.
There is so much more I can say on this topic. I share much of this in my therapy work and with my workshops and programs. Check out my website for more details. I do have a 3-month program starting in January for 8 people called 'The New You' - It is perfect for those who want to develop and step into their Future Potential Self!.
All the best to you on your journey - and good luck with working on the question of 'Who am I?'.
Blessings, Adrian
Much of the time it is a battle of the WILL to overcome our stories, beliefs, habits, and/or addictions. It is about defining and becoming this Future Potential Self - This New You. Our Old-Self will do whatever is possible to hold on. We all love the 'secondary gains' we receive from old old stories and habits even though they may be outdated by many years ... The sub-conscious mind does not know this and keeps feeding on it ... If that secondary gain is attention - if that is the need - then 'our old-self will work hard to keep that story and behaviour going.
Generally this is done unconsciously - we are unaware of how we are acting or displaying our behaviour. Others around us can notice it and perhaps even think it's strange. It's often seen as 'out of place' or 'out of character'. And that is exactly what it is, as it's our old-self in action and not our current self.
Something that happened in our childhood may still get played out well into our adult life and keep us stuck in. that story and behaviour. I know I am still uncovering and dealing with some of my own! It might be my 15 year old (now, that's a story!) acting something out, replacing my 61 year old self. This sort of thing goes on every day for all of us - lots of it. and the more aware you become of it, the more you will see it in others and perhaps even yourself!
So, coming back to the original question of 'Who am I'?. I am a man in constant transition and growth who has a core part of my being called my 'I' or Spirit that is the aspect of myself that is 'The Choice-Maker', the one that can choose to be a better, more conscious person. However, this 'I' will have to do some battling with the lower aspects - the demons, the shadow, the inner child - and what in Anthroposophy (my spiritual path based on the work and initiatives of Rudolf Steiner) we call 'The Astral'.
A simplified explanation for now - This Astral body, or being, is centred around our Soul - and with our feelings, emotions, habits, and desires. If the 'Astral Desire' is big enough can shadow our 'I' and take control. This is where we will have to go into battle to restore the order of things so that we are in Spiritual control.
There is so much more I can say on this topic. I share much of this in my therapy work and with my workshops and programs. Check out my website for more details. I do have a 3-month program starting in January for 8 people called 'The New You' - It is perfect for those who want to develop and step into their Future Potential Self!.
All the best to you on your journey - and good luck with working on the question of 'Who am I?'.
Blessings, Adrian
RSS Feed