Discovering Spirituality - Episode 14 - Identity - Podcast Transcript

 Hello and welcome to the Discovering Spirituality podcast. Episode 14: Identity. In this podcast I will be sharing my thoughts on the writing "Identity" taken from the channeled book "The light in Your Life is Spirit" by George A. Thompson.

Who are you? How do you see yourself? You are a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, are you Japanese or British? Do you like to paint or fix cars, are you a fan of sports or rap music? Do you vote conservative or do you vote labor, republican or democrat?

There are so many influences in society that enable us to create an identity. As a child it usually starts with your gender, then as you grow you identify with your family, your sense of belonging. As a teenager you might identify yourself with a particular aspect of pop culture, whether it be music, movies, art or literature.

You start to formulate opinions, like and dislikes, what you are and what you are not. You may identify with a religion or spiritual practice. Even what you eat can now be associated with an identity. You may feel so strongly about your identity your opinions and your thoughts that will passionately defend them.

Modern western culture tends to focus on superficial identity trends, which if tested would crack very easily.

But what about out values, our morals, our virtues, do we really understand ourselves enough to stand by them, are they in fact ours or are they a collective of values that suit the purposes of maintaining our identity?

More than once I have been guilty of reading a book with expressed opinions that I have taken as my own and preached their values. Then, when confronted during a discussion the strength of my conviction falls short and my opinion collapses. I am reminded that I have just copied and pasted what I thought was worthwhile without giving it serious thought and coming to my own conclusions through my own research.

It's quite a common human phenomenon. We are told what to think and we think it. Whatever is popular and fashionable we think it, or rather we just accept it.

If you look at society and its proclivity to dive in head first into group think and mob mentality, it's quite staggering how entire nations have waged war against each other on this basis. And when you stop to question the motivations for such actions you would be amazed how quickly the mob turns on you. So many people have done this and I wonder if they ever stop to question why?

I wonder if people realize how easily and how quickly they can be manipulated. How easily they abandon their moral codes and values to defend opinions and an identity not of their own making.

Man has struggled for generations to find his true purpose, but as yet has failed collectively to acknowledge that true happiness and contentment does not lie in materialism.

In fact in modern life there has been a distinctive rise in tribalism and an increase of separation. Does this not suggest that we have become more judgmental towards each other as we are more inclined to define differences based on color, culture or creed?

I find that we are more dismissive rather than accepting, the truth and the acknowledgment of truth is very often disregarded. This is not a new phenomenon and it seems to me that this is one of mans less admirable traits. We always seem to be so certain, which smacks of arrogance. But how did we reach this point? Is it just blind stupidity, laziness or the tell take signs that we do not think for ourselves.

Take the main religions for example, they have been dictating how people live and think for thousands of years. Governments, academia, the media, they all have an influential hand in how we think and how we shape our identity.

You could say that this is a relatively modern invention as the direct result of the industrial revolution. I would say more so after world was two when there was a sharp rise in pop culture and how people identified with the various aspects on that culture. Would it be fair to say that entire countries abandoned the culture and national identity as the world became more globally accessible?

Modern society tends to view the individual from the viewpoint of what they are instead of who you are, which overlooks the true characteristics of the individual.

So we now focus on the superficial, the obvious wealth, vanity and power. Are we really that ignorant and blind to the true character of those we revere including ourselves. Do we even know what we are looking for?

Do we acknowledge the patient, the good, the kind and the compassionate? The honest, the humble, the loving and the caring? The thoughtful, the gentle or the brave?

Do we see the virtues of others or do we just ignore them and apply inaccurate labels to mask our ignorance?

This might seem obvious but have you ever consciously realized that you are alive, to know that you have the gift of life? To choose, to question, to follow and to become who you want to be. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. The trouble is, so many people do not think about it. They do not understand or value the life they have.

To consciously know that your life is your life would you not make decisions that better reflect the value you have for this life? Would you stop taking for granted your experiences and start paying attention?

It occurs to be that being alive is an opportunity for discovery, to discover who you are. Not to manufacture the image of who you are but what you are on the inside, your true character.

We may not realize this but we do have a choice, we can decide how our life is going to be. Of course as children we are bound to our parents for protection and nurturing and whatever fate they present to us.

But once adulthood is upon us we can choose our own destiny. For many, this is not easy, for their journey through childhood could have left them with scars, misunderstandings, negative perceptions and learned behavior. Their journey is fraught with challenges of the mind and the soul.

Not only is life a gift, the fact that we have freewill is also a gift. Well, it is if you choose to consciously apply it. We make hundreds of choices every day, many of which are automated and require little or no thought.

But what if we paid closer attention to the choices we can consciously make? Would we make less destructive choices or would we continue with our path of destruction?

Be you king, queen or pauper you will be judged based on your words and actions. I am not sure if this is a virtue or a failing of mans?

Throughout our lives we identify objects, surroundings, people, music, culture. Everything is compared and contrasted, but why? Is it to make sense of our world and our life experience? Is it to determine threat? Perhaps through identification we find meanings, how our experience impacts us on an emotional level.

At this moment I am struggling with this writing, I don't know if it is a lack of focus or that I have not given it much thought. I think the issue of identity is a paradox, meaning that it matters, then again it does not.

What if you identified with nothing, meaning that you actively and consciously refused to define yourself  by any observable measure. Even if you did, externally you would have an identity assigned to you by your peers or society, which for the most part would fall short of the truth.

If you chose to act a certain way, make deliberate and calculated decisions, would this not mean that you see yourself in a certain light? Is there a difference between trying to be a good person and being a good person, either way does the world not judge you? And if the world judges you why should you even care? At the end of the day, you have to live with it.

Only you can be accountable for who you are. Only you can change you.

It makes me think that despite living in a society surrounded by millions of other people we are alone in our personal responsibility and I think that scares people. Not so much knowing that you have the power to achieve anything you want but that you are also responsible for your own self destruction. So is it the fear of taking a risk that causes to much regret, or is it because we have no idea of who we are or what we are?

Maybe there is too much pressure in modern society to be "somebody", to make your mark, to be remembered, adored and loved. Could it be that we are plagued with a false sense of belonging? That we are some how disconnected from what makes us or reminds us that we are in fact alive?

Reveal to me thine self so that I may know the truth.

Throughout our like experience there will be times when we have to shoulder the responsibilities of our mistakes. There are mistakes which are conscious and those that are unconscious. There is also the burden of our childhood conditioning and our own lack of understanding.

There are also our inherent and irrational responses manifested by fear. How we deal with fear can be very primal as the instinctive self preservation functions kick in. There is also irrational fears due to our lack of understanding.

For the purposes of this exploration I am going to bundle them up and refer to them as baggage. Baggage that affects our behavior, our perceptions, our attitudes and our future outlook. This baggage is also considered negative since it is limiting in terms of our understanding. This is the unresolved that weighs us down.

It is probably fair to say that most people carry baggage in varying degrees of weight. So this is what we accumulate during our life, especially the early years of life. This is who we become, coupled with our cultural, social and genetic influences.

So lets look at the possible changes that take place when we start to shed the weight of our baggage. Do we like change, can it be changed? Many people believe that they are who they are and cannot be changed. This might suggest that they do not want to change or fail to understand the process. It may even be a fear of the unknown.

Does the act of self correction or improvement suggest that something deeper is at work or is it regarded as nothing more that superficial cosmetic improvement?

Take, for instance, you decide to tackle an issue like being on time for work or meeting friends, It does not matter, what does matter is the affect? Does this suggest that you are being responsible? How would you be regarded by others for example, reliable, respectful, capable, dependable? These are positive responses from your peers but how would you feel or regard yourself?

Peel away all the sophisticated skins of our identity and what is revealed? Is this who you truly are, is this the self?

I think I am struggling through this exploration because I simply do not understand what the identity is. It is very easy to assume what you think your identity is, which many focus on the superficial external aspects. But what about what is to be found within? Do we recognize these aspects of our identity that are difficult to pinpoint or explain fully?

I feel that I want to say the good parts, the positive aspects of our character that bring purpose and meaning to our lives. As I am discovering, our identity is a complex interconnection of factors that compels us to define who we are at any given point. This of course changes with age and circumstance, so who we where 10 years before may not be the person that we are now.

But maybe there is a core, aspects of our identity that do not change, or they change in a very specific way. What I think I am referring to is the true spirit within, the true essence of who we are.

I see this true spirit as our inner goodness, that part of us that is kind and caring, compassionate and understanding. The part that is full of life, that wants to understand life. That part of us that finds joy in life. Is that who we truly are?

I must point out that the joy I am referring to is not the quick desire based high. I mean the joy which is like a kind of uplifting, as if you experience the universe and all its glory captured in a single moment, usually experienced during moments of appreciation, simple things, things that matter.

What are beliefs? What is it that you know to be right and to be wrong? Are your actions guided by the need to be a good person or do you succumb to your base desires and follow the social ebb and flow?

Are your beliefs tested, does your sense of morality and justice stand up to the test of daily living?

I am wondering if this is a case of mental certainty or indeed inner faith.

There are those that claim to be moral and righteous when in truth they lack integrity. Beliefs and moral standing in the modern age are very often regarded as fashion, to interchange when it suits them, especially if they choose to take the moral high ground.

Look at all the fanatics and naysayers that preach Gods true word, one has to ask, do they practice what they preach? To talk and preach in religious tongues make the individual feel that they have power, which more often that naught, they do not, for their true identity can reveal how little they actually understand.

It is too easy to make claims of belief, with little or no understanding of what it is you are saying. This is a valuable lesson for anyone should they take the time to explore their own beliefs and values.

I think this would be a very humbling experience, to really explore what you think you know, to effectively challenge what you know. Not just what you think but what you actually feel inside. Do you shock yourself by some of the things you say or do you remain in ignorance?

To explore yourself, I think requires a slowing down, a more measured approach to living. Time is needed to think and observe, to see who you think you are.

This begs the question, are you capable of being honest with yourself? Are you prepared for the truth? Are you capable of changing what need to be changed?

Modern living and its many trappings has us rushing around and searching for quick fixes to problems we do not understand. We are also compelled to create an identity that suits social norms, without paying attention to the damage it is causing us.

I has a thought today about identifying that which makes up our identity. I see this as a crossroads in ones life, a choice to either journey forward or to remain static or to live in perpetual ignorance and confusion.

It strikes me as a choice to either act or ignore to accept or to deny. Many people probably just accept that they are who they are and give little thought to implementing any kind of change. I am wondering why, why is change or self improvement so difficult and such a challenge? Is it fear, or a lack of understanding about the benefits? Perhaps we fear the discomfort of the unknown and the uncertainty.

We may fear the loss of our familiarity, our comfort zone. How we view our life, our friends, our family might change, we may experience loss or abandonment. Our sense of belonging or beliefs may be shattered.

Perhaps we cannot deal with the shame of our past behaviors, our ignorant or calculated transgressions. It takes a healthy leap of faith or a traumatic event to point us in the right direction, to make us think and to question who we are.

But what about when you come face to face with the less than savory aspects of your character, what do we do? Human behavior is complex and we might find it difficult to understand what we are faced with. Are we alone in this endeavor, do we have support?

This can also present its fair share of challenges as we stumble around in the darkness looking for answers, looking for truth.

We could reach out to friend or family, a therapist or an elder within our chosen religion. I believe that the world wants you to succeed, this might seem like an odd thing to say given the social pressures which we want to free ourselves from.

Life has a way of revealing the truth no matter where we find ourselves. There is always light to be found within the darkness.

No man is an island they say. This week I spoke with a friend from work about what I was writing this week and she mentioned a concept that peaked my attention. We tend to perceive ourselves as singular when in reality we are all connected. We may be individual but we are also collective.

If you remove the different aspects of human identity, what are you left with? We are all human, we are all living, we are a society, a nation, a culture.

As we consider the challenges of our own experience then perhaps we can have sympathy, appreciation and respect for our fellow human beings, after all we are all in the same boat.

I cannot help think that as a society our preoccupation to establish our identity creates a degree of fragmentation as we continually focus on the needs of the self we only tend to consider the needs of other as a point of comparison or threat, judgement or condemnation as we dissect their flaws to make ourselves feel that ever addictive need to feel superior.

It is only the blind that can truly see. When you do not see the external you are more focused on the internal. You are not judged by your wealth, your looks or what you say. You are judged on the purity of your intentions, and it is you that ultimately judges yourself and not just others.

It's a powerful thing, intention and very often overlooked because it is misunderstood or denied, after all who wishes to confront their own dishonesty.

Ask yourself what is the goal of your intentions, what is your motivation or the desired outcome? Is it to serve yourself, your desires, your identity or are your intention selfish? Do they serve God?

Wait a minute, why bring God into this? God is love, God is the creator of all life.

How do we show appreciation for the life we have? The world identifies us and we identify with ourselves and we show appreciation for this acknowledgment for our being through acts of reinforcement.

We become the identity to suit the moment, there is no consistency with our intentions as each interact demands a certain approach, a certain appearance. So we could say that we are in fact multiple identities because it is what society impresses upon us. We have and express a different set of tools depending on the situation or perceived outcome, which brings us back to what need we wish to serve.

The perceptual shift from being a player, a participant to an observer. Therefore your motivation for being is different, what is it that motivates you if nothing is found on the earthy plane.

And those where my thoughts on the writing Identity

If you are interested in reading the writing from the book "The Light in Your Life is Spirit", you can download it from this link.