Who are you?

Home
>
Inspirational
>
Who are you?

I have a question for you.

Who are you?

This may be a simply enough question but before you attempt to answer this question let us go on a voyage of personal self discovery which will allow you to find an acceptable answer.

The difference between the "Living" and the "Non Living" is the existence of the spiritual soul that manages the physical body from birth to death. The soul expresses itself through the five senses of the physical body. Without the soul, the physical body cannot express or maintain itself.

The reflection you see when you look into a mirror will be that of your physical body which gradually ages. Your soul is "seen" through your personality. You may look old when you look in a mirror but you could feel and act like a child.

The soul is your mind that is not constrained by time or distance. Within a second your mind can race back to your youth or visit any place your thoughts may pull you towards.

Souls cannot be seen. The understanding of the soul is limited because the soul is spiritual and cannot be explained or understood with the knowledge of the physical laws of sciences.

The soul or mind is similar to the tiny microprocessor of a computer system that obtains information from input devices like the keyboard and processes the information and communicates via its output devices such as the monitor and printer. The microprocessors RAM and Rom memory are similar to the soul's conscious and sub-conscious memory respectively.

Like the microprocessor, the soul obtains information via the body's sense organs (input devices) processes them with memory of past experiences in its conscious and sub-conscious mind and communicates with the outside world via one or more of the bodies organs (output devices).

For example, when something "nice" is seen, heard, smelt, tasted or felt the signals (input) are processed as pleasing and positive. This creates the positive response of a smile or laughter. The overall response is one of attraction rather than repulsion and should be repeated rather than avoided.

The soul is a tiny point of energy and functions on three levels that may be broadly categorised as the Mind, Intellect and Impressions.

The function of the mind is to imagine, think and form thoughts based on emotions, desires and sensations. Happiness and sadness are created and experienced by the mind but displayed by the physical organs of your body. The function of the Intellect is to access the thoughts created in your mind. It has the capacity to reason, memorise, discriminate and make decisions. It is your conscience that discriminates between right and wrong actions.

The Impressions are the memory of actions that become ingrained in the soul. The actions especially when repeated become habits, tendencies, emotions, temperaments and general personality traits.

There is a cyclic pattern in that the minds thoughts are put into action by the intellect to create impressions or memory of past actions. Repeated actions, especially those of a negative nature, create habits and addictions when your minds thoughts are acted upon without being judged by the intellect.

Smoking, consuming alcohol and indulging in sexual lust are actions that you enter into in search of happiness and fulfilment. The happiness created is just an illusion because ether the senses are temporarily incapacitated or the happiness cannot be sustained. You suffer the negative consequences of addiction and dependency due to the need for increasingly more stimulants in an effort to create decreasing levels of temporary happiness.

When you perform actions without thinking, you, the soul becomes a slave to your senses. Addiction and dependency are not just smoking and consuming alcohol. Laziness is an addiction just as is over-eating. Expectation from others is a dependency. Almost anything that you want or desire rather than need is a form of addiction.

The word "I" is used to refer to the experiences and wishes of the soul with statements such as "I am", "I love" and "I hope".

The word "My" is used to refer to the physical body, possessions and activities with statements such as "My hand" "My car" or "My job"

The advantage of knowing "who I am" is to realise and use the powerful spiritual energy that is within your body.

With you intellect now awakened you can focus on your power of judgement to become more selective and choose only those thoughts that will lead you to experience permanent happiness and contentment. Addiction to temporary happiness can now be avoided. Bad habits can be replaced with good habits you can be proud of. You can be more peaceful and deliberate rather than tense and anxious. You come to realise that happiness is a state of mind that it is created by you. Likewise you can avoid unhappiness or the experience of sorrow because you do not need to experience negative feelings.

You can and should be in control over your body's senses.

With the realisation that you are a peaceful soul you can begin to see others as equals to establish relationships of harmony. You can now avoid personality clashes and discriminations based on sex, colour, language, nationality, religion, culture and physical disabilities.

Most of your activities such as eating, sitting, working and sleeping are all done for the health of your physical body. What we all do is fail to address the need for peace and happiness of the real you, the soul within the body.

So back to the question, who are you?

I can not give you the answer as only you know. I have just set the question to make you think.

Mark Claridge specializes in teaching motivational and self-development skills. In his new e-book "Mindset and Match" he covers amongst other subjects how having the correct mindset can bring you all you want out of life and is available at http://www.mindsetandmatch.com. Visit his motivational web site http://www.inthe6th.com

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Ill. House impeaches gov, who vows 'not to yield' (AP)

AP - The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, setting up an unprecedented trial in the state Senate on whether he should be thrown out for abuse of power, including allegations that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Israel and Hamas ignore UN call for cease-fire (AP)

AP - Israeli jets and ground troops hammered at Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and Islamic militants fired barrages of rockets at southern Israeli cities Friday, ignoring a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire after two weeks of combat.

Jobless rate jumps to 7.2 percent in December (AP)

AP - The nation's unemployment rate bolted to 7.2 percent in December, the highest level in 16 years, as nervous employers slashed 524,000 jobs, capping one of the worst years in modern history for American workers.

Obama says his economic plan will be refined (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that he and Congress will "hone and refine" his nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan, as he seeks to patch fissures with senior Democrats over key features of the still-emerging plan.

Baltimore mayor indicted on theft, perjury charges (AP)

AP - Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Friday on charges that she accepted illegal gifts during her time as mayor and City Council president, including travel, fur coats and gift cards intended for the poor that she allegedly used instead for a holiday shopping spree.

Texas death row inmate pulls out eye, eats it (AP)

AP - A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it. Andre Thomas, 25, was arrested for the fatal stabbings of his estranged wife, their young son and her 13-month-old daughter in March 2004. Their hearts also had been ripped out. He was convicted and condemned for the infant's death.

Rare 'dinky' bird migrates to US for first time (AP)

AP - Birders with binoculars and cameras are flocking to a remote state park in search of a small yellow-chested bird that apparently crossed the U.S. border for the first time from its high-mountain habitat to the south.

Patrick Swayze checks into hospital with pneumonia (AP)

AP - Patrick Swayze has checked himself into the hospital for observation after contracting pneumonia, A&E President Abbe Raven announced Friday at a meeting of the Television Critics Association.

Masked man waits in line to rob Ohio bank (AP)

AP - A man may have tipped his intentions when he stood in line at an Ohio bank wearing a ski mask before staging a holdup. Police in Stow near Akron say a 24-year-old man was arrested minutes later on Thursday following a brief car chase.

AP NFL All-Pro Team includes 15 newcomers (AP)

AP - A changing of the guard and tackles and running backs and receivers saw 15 first-timers make The Associated Press 2008 NFL All-Pro team announced Friday. While such standbys as three-time NFL Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning and six-time All-Pro Ray Lewis made the squad, there was plenty of room for newcomers. Ten of the 14 offensive players and five of the 13 on defense had never been All-Pros.

Illinois House votes to impeach Gov. Blagojevich (Reuters)

Reuters - The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday for abuse of power, including a charge that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

Israel rebuffs U.N. resolution, pursues Gaza war (Reuters)

Reuters - Israel rejected a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Friday and warplanes and tanks pounded the Palestinian enclave.

Robert Rubin quits Citigroup amid criticism (Reuters)

Reuters - Robert Rubin, a former Treasury Secretary, resigned from Citigroup Inc on Friday following months of criticism of his performance at the giant U.S. bank, whose sinking share price led to a government rescue.

Obama team, Rep. Frank eye bailout fund overhaul (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama and a key Democratic lawmaker revealed plans on Friday to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund as a way to aid struggling homeowners and speed the flow of credit.

Jobless rate at 16-year high as payrolls plunge (Reuters)

Reuters - The unemployment rate surged to the highest in nearly 16 years last month as a deepening year-long recession forced companies to axe more than half a million jobs, government data showed on Friday.

Supreme court to decide voting rights law challenge (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Friday it would consider a challenge to a central provision of the 44-year-old voting rights law aimed at preventing states and local governments from making it harder for minorities to vote.

Bank industry slams lawmaker-Citi mortgage deal (Reuters)

Reuters - A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between Citigroup Inc and Democratic senators that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, saying it could make home loans more expensive.

EU seeks to finalize Russian gas monitoring deal (Reuters)

Reuters - The European Union sought to finalize details on Friday of a gas monitoring deal to allow the resumption of gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, which have been cut off for days over a pricing row.

Defiant Israel presses Gaza offensive as toll passes 800 (AFP)

AFP - Tanks and warplanes pounded Gaza on Friday after Israel defied a truce order from the UN Security Council as the death toll from the two-week-old conflict against Hamas passed 800.

Somali pirates say they have released Saudi supertanker (AFP)

AFP - Somali pirates said Friday they had freed a Saudi-owned supertanker, whose capture nearly two months ago caused panic in international shipping and spurred the world into tougher anti-piracy action.

Who are you?

Inspirational Inspirational