Friday, November 11, 2011

Finding my Place in the World

Many of us at some point in our lives become curious about who we are or what's our purpose. It's as if we believe we are not the person others -- society, parents, and life experiences -- have taught us to be.

We cling to our beliefs and values that identify us as such and such. We believe we are of a certain race, gender, nation, state, and so on.

We even believe we are handsome, beautiful, ugly, fat, skinny, successful, important, failures, righteous, sinful, and so on.

Some people believe the truth about who we are is probably never known to us. And that it's our destinies to  live our lives never discovering our true identities. 

Similarly, we seem to be forever tied to the societal beliefs taught to us. We are always black, white, yellow, brown, African, European, Asian, Latino, and so forth. It's difficult to stop seeing ourselves and others in this manner.

And after awhile, we don't want to see ourselves any other way. These beliefs make us feel like we belong in the world. They make us feel proud about ourselves.

And at the end of our lives, our societal-made identities are personified by: Born on such and such date and died on such and such date. That's it!

Nevertheless, our self-made illusions remain with us even as we pass away from this world. We do so believing we are such and such person who's expecting to meet such and such person. 

Meanwhile, if we are nothing more than what we have been taught to believe about ourselves, then why should we search for something else; such as our true essence or purpose. And to make matters worse, why do we search for an alternative identity by holding on to our current  beliefs and values.

In other words, we search for our other identities by using the beliefs and values that caused us to question ourselves in the first place. For example, if we believe we are of a certain race or gender, we continue to cling to this belief even as we search for what we believe is our true self.

Unfortunately, it is these types of beliefs that victimize us. They represent the illusions imprisoning our minds with powerlessness, doubts, fears, and acceptance.

Nevertheless, some of us on the enlightenment path believe we can see ourselves and the world differently. We believe we can let go of the beliefs that define us according to the beliefs and values of others. And we believe we can gain the clarity to perceive the illusions as they really exist within our minds.

When we gain the necessary clarity of mind, we're able to  perceive our existence at the core level as colorless, formless, and faceless. We know that it's our beliefs that add the color, form, and face to our identities. And we know that these are the illusions we must work to overcome.

When we are truly reborn, or when we gain the clarity of mind, we are freed of the illusions defining us as such and such person.

This is our moment of clarity and rebirth; the moment when we see the world as it is, not how we have been conditioned by others to see it.

We end our search for who we are the moment we understand that our identification of who we are must come from us.

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