Having a self

In the Buddhist tradition the self is often seen as a construct of ideas and I am no expert on religion but I know in the Hindu tradition the Self is the part of us that most deeply connects to God. I think at times the ego and the Self concepts get mixed up or confused. Carl Jung believed that the healthiest ego was the one open to messages from a deeper Self or centre of consciousness, the way to which can often be blocked by social conditioning or other defensive, overly limited rationalisations of who we truly are.

That said without a healthy ego we cannot fight for fair treatment at times or take good care of ourselves. Conversely at certain times of transcendence the dissolution of a separate sense of ‘ego’ connects us to the deeper mysteries of life and love, leading us to a place where boundaries are not so clearly defined and we open our very being to the totality or oceanic experience of life.

Never the less I found reading the following meditation from Tian Dayton really spoke to me today and I felt the desire to share it here :

Having a Self

Today I live in the understanding that not matter what happens in my life – who stays, and who leaves, or what my circumstances are – there is one person who will not leave me, and that is me. I have a self today. I lost myself to disease, to living, to the thousand decisions that became my life and my sense of self. When I needed to come home to me, I was not there. I didn’t know what I thought or felt. I couldn’t tell what was going on inside of me. I didn’t know when I called out my name, who would answer. I have worked hard to find me again. I can separate my disease from who I really am. Today I know that I am the one person I can count on and trust to stay with me. I know that as long as I have my self, I can handle the rest.

To thine own self be true.

And it shall follow, as the night follows day,

Thou canst not be false to any other man

William Shakespeare