There are two hemispheres of the brain and they are like two separate people, sometimes with differing tastes or opinions. They are connected but it shows that we are a complex being, divided in ourselves to a degree. So we need to ask the question who is the real person? Its almost like the self can’t be located at the center of the organism, which is operating like a driverless vehicle.
Besides that, 99% of matter in the atoms that make us up are empty space. Electrons and protons are not really physical objects. The only things that exist are waves, like frequencies, waves of probabilities. These are all waves of probability. The double slit experiment shows it, as counter-intuitive as it is. Are the particles aware and do they know they are being observed. If we cannot know where it is then it is merely a probability wave. Only when we take action does the particle reveal itself. Light is both a wave and a particle. But quantum theory applies to all particles that exist. They behave like waves when we are not measuring but like particles when we observe. They are all particles that pop in and out of existence. Nothing can be predicted with certainty, only estimates.
So what is consciousness then? If culture changes so fast, shifting from one generation to another, then what is the norm and the standard. Is it a sliding scale? Individualism is more significant than insight today. Culture today is more about consumerism and pursuit of happiness. Pursuit of conscious self-awareness or introspection is rare.
And do we even have any say in who we are? The feedback loop of consciousness actually plays an active role in making decisions because we all have free will, albeit minute free will, like that of a passenger on a flight in a plane. You can walk up and down a bit in the aisle or swap seats if you’re lucky but you are bound to head in the set direction of the plane. And your behaviour is somewhat programmed into you by your upbringing and by your DNA. That is what makes you respond to the world around you the way that you do. So who is the real you and what amount of free will do you really have to choose or think and behave “out of character” so to speak?
Concepts and culture only really have power over us when we invest some emotional feeling into them and hold onto that concept. So how do we really have fulfillment in life above more than the occasional fleeting glimpse. The answer is that we need to know who we really are to really find more permanent happiness. By going to the root of our identity and addressing that, we are like a person watering the root of a tree knowing that this will allow all the parts of the tree to be watered.
Hollow reward mechanisms will never really fulfill us, and this becomes more and more obvious as we mature and the senses slow down or become blunted by age and use. As we learn to become the observer of our thoughts and not identify with them, we can rise above attachments to emotions that sweep our minds off their feet, so to speak.
Identify your core value or what drives you. Emotionally. What is it that your reward system has turned into its primary focus? Some friends I know live for a good coffee or other stimulants. Some are driven by recognition or affirmation from society. Many are subconsciously driven to satisfy their senses by mainstream advertising which is insidiously intrusive in today’s society. Comfort and validation are paramount I would say, the latter being the motivation that has driven people to social media in droves. We all want our thoughts and opinions and lives validated by our circle of friends or by the world at large. Selfies and creative art pieces are put out there in glorious self-promotion, usually for the acclaim and likes we might receive from viewers.
Understanding who we are in essence is complex but we can begin by saying who we are not, and when we see how our physical cells die and are replaced regularly and cyclically then we can only but wonder who the real self is that maintains through this total physical makeover every seven years or so. The body and mind and self- identity we had as a child is totally gone and we are now a young adult. In a few years that adult will be an old adult in a totally changed body with particularly changed state of mind and mindset, including likes and tastes. It all changes, so who is the real unchanging self in and among all that changing appearance?
Within even a year or a month or a day we can change and be of a different opinion. So who is the “I” at the center of it all? Science and ancient esoteric wisdom are coming to similar conclusions today in our modern research. For example in the rare cases of children raised in the wild, the use of language is not developed and apparently can never be developed after a certain stage of growth. The brain as a result also then does not process information in the same way. Life is seen differently and consciousness identifies differently to the body, the word and reality. It is a highly subjective opinion regarding what reality is, what the norm is and who we are. We label ourselves quite early on in life. We may even create flawed beliefs of who we really are. The more mindful we are, the more of an observer we can become and then the more we can make shifts in our perception and self-realization. As we penetrate the appearances we can see that our identity may be a façade of sorts. We usually conform and self-regulate to fit in with our society. Advertising and education mould us to behave and think in certain ways that may not be our best.
The problem is that modern consumerist culture is engineered to keep us as seekers of satisfaction to the bodily senses. It does not profit the powers that be for us to be transcendental or above the desires of the body and mind, so they will never educate us to look above the basic needs. We can become locked into a scarcity mindset, always thinking we need more, as opposed to feeling fulfilled. Once we tap into who we really are we will find a sense of fulfilment arise that satisfies us more than anything we have experienced before.
