Astro Weekly: The illusion of self

What does it feel like to be reading this? If you are a human being, it probably feels like you are absorbing these symbols via the eye and subsequently unmixing and interpreting them (this happens very quickly, and we usually do it subconsciously). But what does it mean for “you” to be interpreting these words? What do we mean when we say that we are seeing the words with “our” eyes? Not only does it feel like we are something separate from the words, it feels as if we are separate from the very body that experiences them. It seems more likely to me that we are not separate from the words. Doesn't there have to be a conscious experiencer to imbue them with meaning? Additionally, there is no evidence to suggest that there is a separate entity residing somewhere between the ears and behind the eyes to whom all experiences are happening.

Our overly complex human brains have deluded us into feeling that we primarily and independently exist inside of our heads. What are the implications of this? To start, let us recognize that much of the longing, pain, jealousy, and greed that we experience arise as a direct consequence of feeling that our true self is separate from external events. I think this is because it feels that when something happens to us, we take it personally (why me and not someone else?). I think this feeling of separation also deprives us severely of the true beauty of existence. It is much richer life to be an integral part of the universe than a lonely soul detached from it. A recognition that our experience is not separate from our surroundings makes life simpler, more beautiful, and ultimately more worth living.

The bottom line—we are not what we think we are. Let’s try together to loosen the shackles of human intuition and escape the prison of the self-obsessed mind.