Tag: meditation

I’m going to deviate from my normal coffee praising posts for a moment and venture into a slightly philosophical topic. This is something I wrote a while back but didn’t post it here. I’m going to add it now with some minor editing. It’s kind of a musing of mine, but I wasn’t sure how it would fit into the rest of the content. Perhaps I will find a way to blend it into other subjects I stumble upon.

I spend a lot of time in deep introspection. Maybe it’s just because I am often bored and alone, or maybe I’m just a pondering sort of guy. One idea that has often popped up in my mind is that we do not appear to be a single person. We appear to be a combination of at least two persons or entities. I believe that understanding can shed quite a bit of light on the situation in which we find ourselves.

The first person (entity) is the inner self. The inner self is your observing mind. This is the self that observes the universe around you. I think this self is mostly what philosophy and religion is talking about when they discuss the concept of a soul. It might also figure into quantum physics because it is basically of the observer of the universe. It is the part of you that actually explores existence and reality. I like to think of it as the reality explorer. I my opinion, this is the real you, but it’s hard to put your finger on it. It’s kind of ethereal.

The second person is the outer self. This is the self that everyone around you sees. It’s not really you but is a kind of vehicle for your inner self. You most easily see the world around you by viewing it through the eyes of this physical vehicle. You also have access to all the other forms of feeling this vehicle is capable of sensing. It is often referred to as the physical body, or the animal body. It also has a brain that is geared toward taking care of this body. It is an animal, just like all the other animals you see around you. Your inner self, or reality explorer self, is very tied to this particular animal and through it senses space and time.

This is where it gets tricky. It is very easy to confuse these two selves. You not only feel this other self’s physical sensations but can also feel its emotions. This other self is trying to survive in a physical world, and it will pull you toward goals that improve its quality of life. Very often, it wins. In most cases, both selves are working toward similar goals, but not always. Life problems begin to occur when these two selves have conflicting goals. The communication between you and the animal is very good but not perfect. Sometimes when you tell it to do something it revolts because it has other plans. It also often responds better to training and habits than direct commands.

For instance, you want to lose weight, but your physical self wants to eat a sugar glazed doughnut. Who is going to win this battle? It would be better if you controlled other factors, like not going around places that have doughnuts, as it will have to use a lot of its energy resisting temptation. Another way to lose weight might be getting more exercise. Your physical self has to use energy to accomplish this and may become tired. It may therefore resist this action. A better way might be to train it by creating a daily habit. The animal self is prone to follow patterns and habits, so it may respond favorably to this new lifestyle change.

Most of your life has actually been spent training and interacting with this outer self, and sometimes being frustrated by your inability to perfectly control it. Every person is different. Some people have a very docile and easy-going outer self, while others are in for the ride of their lives.

Do you sense this duality? Have you ever felt like there was a struggle within? Do you sometimes talk to yourself? How do you deal with temptations? How do you train your outer animal? Who’s really in control? Let me know your thoughts on this deep subject, and please like, share, and subscribe!