I’ve held off talking about the topic of our (my) true identity. Hoping I could embody that identity so deeply that talking about this topic would be coming from a place where I was certain I was talking from my true identity.

But we should wait so long.

Like you, I have spent a lifetime (in my case 75 years) identified with my physical presence. And, like you, my entire environment has supported and reinforced that identity. But now I sense that that identity is false. Maybe you have similar doubts?

How could nearly all of humanity get it so wrong? There have been consequences. And it looks to me like the consequences are bringing humanity to the doorstep of extinction. Our survival just might depend on enough of us letting go of this false identity.

If you haven’t been thinking about the illusions of our culturally induced identity, then where I am going next will be quite a leap. But to talk to a wider audience, I’ll try to ease into it.

My wife and I, for a time, taught meditation classes. One of our exercises was an exploration of all the ways in which we identify. And blasting away each fictitious layer.

Are you your name? No.
Are you your id cards? No.
Are you the thoughts you experience that in a moment arise and then pass away? No.
Are you your identity with your sex, race, age, wealth or lack of it, your relationships? No.
Are you your memories (which empirical data shows is usually not very accurate)? No.
Are you your beliefs and opinions? No.
Are you your identity with a nation, state or other locality? No.
And maybe the big one – are you the body you inhabit? The one where all the cells get removed and replaced at least every ten years or so? The body we call ‘mine’? I don’t think so.

Collectively, we consider ourselves a pretty advanced species. Just look how far we’ve come. But do we ever look at our situation from the viewpoint of 100 years in the future? Or 1,000 years in the future? 10,000 years in the future or more? Just six hundred years ago we thought the earth was flat and the universe revolved around the earth. What will we find that we got wrong, when we look at ourselves from a thousand years in the future? I suspect a lot.

That so many of us think we are the only intelligence in the universe is so unlikely – it would be more likely to win the lottery 10 times in a row – than for that to be true. (It’s even more extreme than that. There are about 7.5 sextillion grains of sand on this planet. If each grain represented a billion planets, we’d be getting close to the right number.)

We still mostly think of ourselves as separate entities, but that is equally absurd. In every way imaginable we are interconnected with everything around us near and far.

We believe in linear time. It seems totally reasonable. But our every moment direct experience tells all of us that the eternal present is all there really is.

So who are we, really?

Here comes the leap.

We are not separate.

We are not temporal.

Let that sink in.

Take a deep breath. Experience some profound humility about how little we know about who we really are. And look around and inside and be in awe of how much we have created that is based on the unreal.

And as this new sense of who we are starts settling in, a couple of questions (more than a couple actually) surely arise. What is our purpose? Where is this headed?

The answers to those questions are really only valuable when they arise inside us.

But some global answers seem to be a part of everyone’s individual answers.

Why do we live in a world where a large number of children starve to death?

Why don’t we take care of each other so that everyone lives with all their basic human needs met?

Why don’t we treat all animals with respect and care?

Why do we damage the environment we all live in and make it harder for all life to flourish?

Consequences.

These great human problems can only be successfully remedied when a significant number of us realize and begin to embody our true identity. And in making that transformation we will learn how to act as one. That when we cooperate and co-create, what seemed impossible can truly be realized.

May it be so.

There have been some who throughout the ages have found their true identity and have a lot to teach us. Would you like to join with us to study their insights? It’s free and easy.

We are starting with a short reading. A book by the young, 14 year old, Krishnamurti – At the Feet of the Master.  Just 80 some pages long.

https://bookclubs.com/masters-of-wisdom-book-club/join

The book can be accessed for free, here:

https://archive.org/details/atfeetofmaster00krisrich/mode/2up

In mid-September we will have a Zoom meeting for an hour to talk about what we read. At that time, we will choose what we will read next. Hope you can join us,

Luke and Charlotte