me not-me exercise (discovery of self)

[wstein]

This is my exercise for beginners who want to discover who they are.

As many times a day as you can manage, take the first thing that comes to mind and quickly label it 'me' or 'not me'. Do this for all manner of things: objects, beliefs, thoughts, lifestyles, actions, etc. Example: dog - not me, faith - me, curly hair - me, being nice - not me, walking - not me, green - not me, fast - not me, lust - me ....

At first this will be little more than a random guess. If you keep a journal, write them down. Do not get too hung up on the labeling thing. Just go with whichever feels more 'correct'. Do not worry about being consistent, reasonable, or right. Do not go back and change your answer, stay with your first answer.

After a few hundred of these assessments, they will not feel so arbitrary any more. Over time you will start to notice patterns. These are the clues you are seeking. Maybe you notice that outdoor things are you and indoor things are not. After several patterns emerge, most will notice that a certain (physical or emotional) feeling accompanies the you patterns and a different one for the not you patterns. At this point you should drop the labeling and just watch for those feelings. You now have an indicator that you can use to seek out 'yourself'.

It's lovely to see something practical on the forums. Thank you for sharing x

[Maguru]

Originally Posted by wstein

This is my exercise for beginners who want to discover who they are.

As many times a day as you can manage, take the first thing that comes to mind and quickly label it 'me' or 'not me'. Do this for all manner of things: objects, beliefs, thoughts, lifestyles, actions, etc. Example: dog - not me, faith - me, curly hair - me, being nice - not me, walking - not me, green - not me, fast - not me, lust - me ....

At first this will be little more than a random guess. If you keep a journal, write them down. Do not get too hung up on the labeling thing. Just go with whichever feels more 'correct'. Do not worry about being consistent, reasonable, or right. Do not go back and change your answer, stay with your first answer.

After a few hundred of these assessments, they will not feel so arbitrary any more. Over time you will start to notice patterns. These are the clues you are seeking. Maybe you notice that outdoor things are you and indoor things are not. After several patterns emerge, most will notice that a certain (physical or emotional) feeling accompanies the you patterns and a different one for the not you patterns. At this point you should drop the labeling and just watch for those feelings. You now have an indicator that you can use to seek out 'yourself'.

Did this work for you? In other words, did you find 'yourself' and who are you?

amazing - thanks gonna give this a go - :)

Pretty cool Mr stein...:)

[wstein]

Originally Posted by Maguru

Did this work for you? In other words, did you find 'yourself' and who are you?

I try to stick to my experience, this is no exception. I created this method as I went along, so yes it worked for me. It has also worked for others.

[Maguru]

Originally Posted by wstein

I try to stick to my experience, this is no exception. I created this method as I went along, so yes it worked for me. It has also worked for others.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean? Is this an exercise in self-awareness?

[wstein]

Originally Posted by Maguru

I'm not sure I understand what you mean? Is this an exercise in self-awareness?

its an exercise in (your own) self-discovery

[CrystalSong]

At this stage of the journey it seems it would just give my brain/ego a serious boost to do it's favorite thing - believe its the whole self and look for ways to validate that belief, or redevelop idea of separation. It's always trying to regain ground :P
Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the goal of the exercise? That's totally possible!

[wstein]

Originally Posted by CrystalSong

At this stage of the journey it seems it would just give my brain/ego a serious boost to do it's favorite thing - believe its the whole self and look for ways to validate that belief, or redevelop idea of separation. It's always trying to regain ground :P
Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the goal of the exercise? That's totally possible!

The ego does complicate things a bit. For the most part the ego 'should' be quite happy to 'judge' me's and not-me's perhaps even boastfully. For the most part it doesn't distort most things, only things regarding itself. There is lots of inaccuracy in the beginning of this exercise, that is not important. When one gets far enough into the exercise, when there are feelings identified with me and not me, its too late for the ego. You can use the feelings to bypass what the ego is telling you and go to your 'core' self.

It might be possible for ego to skew the labeling part in the beginning to prevent this from working. It might also be possible that you learn to identify the ego not yourself, though that is not the goal its still useful. I have only seen this followed through to completion a dozen times or so but no one has reported ego preventing it from working.

The goal is to find out who you are at the core. To find out your inner character, your wants and desires, what is in alignment with your being and what is not. Ego, intellect, emotions, other people, religions, governments, and families are telling you who they want you to be. Sometimes with all that noise going on its hard to hear your own voice as to who you are. This exercise is to find out who you are.