Self
“Your sense of self, your identity, is derived from your mind.” ~ German guru Eckhart Tolle
The worst thing you can do to yourself is to think of yourself as a self. You are not your mind-body. You are a consciousness encased in a mind-body, always emergent in the present moment, a learning gyre of interactivity – a process posing as a person.
Your mind-body is merely your vehicle in actuality. Proverbially, your mind-body may be a sleek BMW or a beat-up old Ford; either way, you can’t trade it in. Don’t even try. Beyond maintenance (which is vital to health), accept the ride for what it is.
If you can cosmetically dress yourself up a bit to ease your way socially, do so; but don’t bother with self-esteem or any of that nonsense.
You are not the accumulation of your past. The past does not exist. Don’t let the past live in you. Your memories should mean nothing beyond the skills you have acquired, and their only value is in their exercise.
Do not reminisce. Hold no sentiment. To do so is to be entrapped by the mind, using its sweetest lures.
Do not characterize yourself, internally or to others. You are neither this nor that. To define yourself is put yourself into a cage which limits you. Think of everything, including yourself, as a proceeding with parameters of operation (modus operandi).
To consider yourself as something with intrinsic value is to be a mere blob of conceit. You’ll see a lot of them about. Don’t be one.
Flow through life. Live to learn and to enjoy.
