Hello friends. In a number of videos that I've done recently, I have been emphasizing, the whole confusion around, what we call identity. So, why is this important?
Because all our fears, our defenses, our anxieties, including the anxiety that some have about death, has to do with identity. So what I want to propose to you today is that we have one absolute identity, which we can call existence as the goal of our identity. And then we have multiple, multiple, provisional identities, multiple.
And in order to navigate life, we have to know the difference between our absolute identity and multiple identities. Because multiple identities continue to change and evolve. Let's break this down a little bit.
So in our world, of course, we are obsessed with labels, categories, and defined roles. And defined rules. But there's a profound truth that often gets overlooked at our most fundamental level.
And that is our existence itself is our only identity. Everything else, our jobs, relationships, beliefs and societal roles, are simply parts we play on the stage of life. And remember Shakespeare, the world's a stage where everyone must play a part.
This realization has far reaching implications on how we view ourselves and interact with the world around us. Fixed identity is an illusion. Fixed identity as a person is an illusion.
From an early age, we are encouraged to define ourselves. We're asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? As if choosing a career is equivalent to choosing an identity.
And as we move through life, we accumulate more labels student, professional, spouse, parent, and leader, follower. We internalize these roles and often mistake them for who we truly are at our core. But these identities are fluid and changeable.
A person can shift careers or begin relationships or end relationships, adopt new beliefs, or take on different societal roles. If our true identity was tied to any of these things, we would cease to be ourselves when they changed. Yet our fundamental sense of existence, you know, that which we call "I" or "I AM" persists through all of life's transitions.
So what is constant? Existence is constant. What remains constant throughout all of our life changes is the simple fact of our existence.
Our consciousness, our awareness. Okay. Our awareness is the only constant, our being.
This existential core is a blank canvas upon which all other identities are painted. It is the stage upon which we act out our various roles, recognizing existence as our primary, identity is liberating. It frees us from the anxiety of trying to fit into a predefined category, or live up to external expectations.
It allows us to approach our roles with a sense of playfulness and experimentation, knowing that we can change or discard them without losing our essential selves. Viewing our various identities as roles we play rather than fixed aspects of our being, allows for greater flexibility and authenticity in how we navigate the world. Like actors in a play, we can fully inhabit a role while maintaining awareness that it is not the totality of who we are.
This perspective enables us to adapt more easily to change, explore different aspects of our personality, connect more deeply with others by seeing beyond surface level identities and approach challenges with greater creativity and resilience. So recognizing existence or awareness or being or consciousness as our core identity doesn't, of course, mean rejecting all other forms of identity. Rather, it provides a stable foundation from which we can engage with the world more consciously and intentionally.
We can choose which roles to play and how to play them. Always grounded in the knowledge that our true self transcends any particular role. This existential approach to identity aligns, of course, with many philosophical and spiritual traditions that emphasize presence in the moment and cultivating awareness of our deeper nature beyond surface level appearances.
So is it possible to exist without assumed identities? Well, in theory it is. And if we did, and saw our provisional identities as the roles we play, we would be totally liberated from all the fears, because provisional identities continue to evolve, to grow.
It's a never ending horizon. But the core essence awareness is that upon which we build these roles. It is our destiny to play an infinity of roles, but we are not the roles we play.
And because existence is awareness and awareness is borderless and infinite and formless. It is not subject to birth and death. Birth and death happen to the various identities we assume, even as in a single lifetime.
An identity that is an embryo, an identity that is a baby, an identity that is a toddler, a teenager, mature adult, etc. , etc. but if we understand that the core of our existence always arises from the matrix of multiple identities, then our true self never dies because it was never born.
And so, give me your feedback whether this makes sense to you, because this is how you go beyond the fear of death as well. Also remember, Digital Dharma is going to be out very soon, and, you can order it now from bookstores. And if you have any questions you want to engage with me, then engage with DigitalDeepak.
ai and you don't need an app or anything. You can use a browser either on your phone or, on your handheld device or your computer or iPad or whatever. And, you can engage with me in my voice and we can have a conversation and explore these ideas together.
So check out DigitalDeepak. ai. Thank you.
