You Are Not *Your Name*
Posted in Spiritual Guidance |
Email This Post
|
by James Rick
I had a friend write me recently and tell me they were doing so well in life, that things were going so well. But the more they explored themselves the more they began to lose their sense of purpose and feel like life is really just some facade. What I shared with her in response I wanted to share with you as well. Some might dispute what I have to say here and I encourage open argument, just leave a comment, I’ll reply.
All you are is – awareness. And understanding your SELF more is simply awareness of self.. Awareness of an identity, a story, a FACADE.
This at first might cause you to feel depressed, like suddenly your strong sense of self collapses because it realizes there is nothing supporting it. Once you get through that stage you’re going to be even more aware of your self. And you can love and appreciate your self and others more because you realize that everything about their identity is ALSO A FACADE, a story that is so strong they believe in it themselves and will do anything they can to hold on to it. Because they are afraid of the collapse, the confusion, the insecurity, the LOSS etc.
Remember, on a deeper level YOU are NOT *Your Name*. *Your Name* is a name given to you by birth and all kinds of stories have become associated with that identity. You inhabit the body and mind of *Your Name*, but you are NOT that.
The more you understand self, the more you realize the temporariness of it and the silliness of it, and then you can enjoy it more with curiosity from the outside rather than suffering along with it on the inside.
Namaste,
James Rick
3 Responses to “You Are Not *Your Name*”
Leave a Reply
Social Bookmarks
May 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
If the awareness to understand ourselves completely be harnessed to comprehend others as well, we are not that far from reaching your so called ‘heaven on earth’.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:22 pm
If you are not your name why are you James Rick? I called my son Abraham because I want people to have a nice thought in there head when they hear it. And always they say what a nice name. When people hear it they associate it with selflessness and the greater good (also almost every country and language on earth knows this name). It is a strong name and my son will have to grow into it. He is not comfortable with the name yet. He has modified his name from the Arabic Ibrahim to Ibro, this is what his friends call him. But names like words have power.
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 am
Hi Kimberly,
Excellent question. What is a fork? It is a label for a metallic eating device. What is James Rick? It is a label for flesh and bones and a past to go along with it. Labels are useful for distinguishing between things so for now – call my flesh and bones identity James Rick so you can distinguish me between other flesh and bones identities – but just because you call me that doesn’t mean that’s who I am.
Names like words DO have power – because of the MEANING we have associated with them. People did not know what your son’s name meant until someone told them – and then the label had power.
So yes – we should use words because they have the power to influence, and we should use labels because they have the power to distinguish but we should not confuse our true selves with those labels or the meanings associated with them.
- JR