The idea of a separate self is an illusion and just another big lie. When you look deep enough and persist with your inquiry with the question "who am I?" and you try and "find yourself" - if you go deep enough you will find that there is nothing there!
There is nothing except an "operating system" of largely automatically pre-programmed thoughts and responses that runs the bag of bones that we like to think of as "me".
Another Big Lie: [1] There is no separate "I" beyond the ego in a bag of bones
Ultimately there is no separate "I" in the sense of the ego there is no separate "I" in the sense of the ego as a stand alone entity that is distinct from everything and everyone else. It’s an illusion, another big lie, and it dies when we physically die.
This is not a concept. It is an experience. It is a realisation.
The reason we are fooled is because that is the way the human mind works – we are fooled by our thoughts, we are trapped in our thoughts and we can’t think this one through - there really is no way out via the conventional functioning of the human mind.
The expression of this big lie or illusion in the major world religions is articulated with words like Samsara, Maya, The Evil One, Satan and The Devil etc.
Another Big Lie: [2] Beyond the content of your mind you are so much more than you think you are
But, when we stop thinking, and move beyond the mind, we experience that we are more (far more) than the limited and conventional sense of self – we are spiritual or energetic beings, and at that level we really and truly are all interconnected and part of one all encompassing everything (for want of a better word) – and in that dimension we live for ever.
I do not simply mean this as an idea or a concept but as a felt and experienced reality. The trouble is, for the vast majority of us, for the majority of the time, we just can't see it - our minds get in the way.
I accept that this may alienate some readers, and if that's how you feel - then that's really OK, let's just acknowledge that we're on different paths - for the moment.
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