Self Identity: Who Are You?

Self-identity? Who are you really? We identify with many things, but this is just a process in our minds. In fact, this identification causes us to suffer.

Your favorite basketball team loses, and you suffer as though YOU lost. Your car is damaged and it feels like YOU are hurt. Somebody attacks who they think you are, and it is as though they could actually reach inside and poke at your true self. Is there a way to escape this unecessary drama and pain?

Perhaps, if you can see what you are not. Seeing this clearly can free you from much of the suffering that comes from identification. Try this simple meditation.

A Meditation On Self Identity

Get comfortable in a quiet place. Close your eyes, relax and take several deep breaths, breathing through your nose. Let your breathing fall into a natural pattern. Allow tension to drain from your body.

Now begin by asking: Where am I? What am I? Who am I? Let these questions sit for a moment in your mind.

Be aware of your body. Think of your leg. If you lost it, would you cease to exist? Are you your leg? Go through the parts of your body, asking "Am I here?" "Is this my self?"

Open your eyes and look around you. Are you those things? Maybe it you feel pain when your favorite chair breaks, as though it were you. But you're not that chair. Ask yourself which of these things you own are you. "Am I this?"

Close your eyes and say your name. Do you feel a sense of identity? What if you had no name? Ask "Am I really..." and say your name again. What's the honest answer? If this one is tough, say "I am..." and insert any other name. Notice how when you call yourself by another name, you feel differently. Your name-identity is a collection of ideas, something seen differently by you and others.

As feelings arise, ask "Am I this fear?.. this pain, desire, sadness, pleasure, anger? Your feelings are not you - they just pass through you. Your clothes, your body, your reputation - none of it is your true self-identity.

Do this meditation for twenty minutes, then take a deep breath and get up. Notice if you feel different - less worried or less attached to things, feelings and thoughts. Do the meditation as often as necessary, to remind you of what you are not.

Steve Gillman has meditated and studied meditation for over twenty years. You can visit his website, and subscribe to The Meditation Newsletter at: http://www.TheMeditationSite.com/newsletter.html

MORE RESOURCES:

Lessons in Gross National Happiness - Wall Street Journal

In Pursuit of Happiness: Elizabeth#39;s Story, #39;Why Won#39;t You Help Me?#39; - WSAW

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34834324.htmlcid=1272686015ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNGdQDVHugNvPUiuz1zcGSYs5IjO3QIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Elizabeth#39;s Story, #39;Why Won#39;t You Help Me?#39;/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWSAW,nbsp;WInbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Continuing our series, #39;In Pursuit of bHappiness/b,#39; Liz Hayes shares Elizabeth#39;s story. She#39;s a woman who contacted her church when she discovered she was in b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34833574.htmlcid=1272686015ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNGSmu9XOktM5MNsZhYiefbqCcAnswIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: No Stereotypical Abusers or Victims/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34835154.htmlcid=1272686015ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNFaBVq0Fd2QcAJVRKWtoAMjdADx6gIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Messages of Hope/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272686015hl=ennobrall 3 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

For Caps#39; Ovechkin, it#39;s all about the pursuit of happiness - Los Angeles Daily News

In Pursuit of Happiness: Davene#39;s Story, A Lifetime of Abuse - WSAW

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34771089.htmlcid=1272373351ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNHCWPFfLawZ9ycViilU-JF1ltNJRAIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Davene#39;s Story, A Lifetime of Abuse/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWSAW,nbsp;WInbsp;-/font nobrNov 19, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1In her series, quot;In Pursuit of bHappiness/b,quot; Liz Hayes shows us how one woman overcame unbelievable obstacles. quot;This is how I look at my life. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34772199.htmlcid=1272373351ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNHKQhHrGO-nt1y9Zou-Qc4EQFfSmgIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: quot;Erica#39;squot; Story, Childhood Bliss to Abuse/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-2fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34772464.htmlcid=1272373351ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNGwnr5enU9kz7-LRZAB6Iv0Isma6QIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b: Domestic Violence Kills/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-3fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/34741099.htmlcid=1272373351ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNFKPHhRYvS0wtX2z1AxdRoNeyJSMwIn Pursuit of bHappiness/b Part 1: 1 in 4 Women Experience Domestic b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272373351hl=ennobrall 4 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

How would you rate your happiness? - Marie Claire.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.thesmartset.com/news/news11200805.aspxcid=1272643769ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNFiXEDHt5C-pZjdlPa91zr4d3QUcgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=vdkrDiRczuAJimgurl=www.thesmartset.com/files/dailynews/images/CPS.OGM58.191108223140.photo00.quicklook.default-245x166.jpg width=80 height=54 alt= border=1brfont size=-2The Smart Set/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/health/282982/how-would-you-rate-your-happiness.htmlcid=1272643769ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNGmaxHV3gbCu6t5fODcILQKqvVFPAHow would you rate your bhappiness/b?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarie Claire.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Putting a figure on bhappiness/b is a difficult thing to do, but a new study shows most Britons rate their bhappiness/b at 7.8 on a scale of one to 10. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-1fd=Rurl=http://www.thesmartset.com/news/news11200805.aspxcid=1272643769ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNFiXEDHt5C-pZjdlPa91zr4d3QUcgDanes happiest, Bulgarians most miserable: EU lifestyle study/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Smart Set/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-2fd=Rurl=http://www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/hungarians_t-4/%3FcHash%3D334821f322cid=1272643769ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNHQvmEW0SX5IJsiyqfz9RYb2XKbBAHungarians third quot;glummestquot; in Europe/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCaboodle.hu/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-3fd=Rurl=http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/11/20/EU_Danes_most_satisfied_Bulgarians_least/UPI-86721227209368/cid=1272643769ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNGL5REqqIHf_TkqVpIS8_TROSD2KQEU: Danes most satisfied, Bulgarians least/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrUnited Press International/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-4fd=Rurl=http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_71094288cid=1272643769ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNFViq23kt7G9DWoPhoLKNp-3tBOkQnobrNews.bg/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272643769hl=ennobrall 10 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The history of happiness - Telegraph.co.uk

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087793/Are-miseries-Europe-You-having-laugh-.htmlcid=1272522368ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNHFYx69_k3KVWimnSdTsdN-AvSaBQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=ghnSdmH7jsIJimgurl=i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/20/article-1087793-0289FAE2000005DC-816_468x386.jpg width=80 height=66 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Daily Mail/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/opinion/2008/11/20/do2009.xmlcid=1272522368ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNG62MFyNKfgaIjDoI5k4Cp9sz2TjAThe history of bhappiness/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTelegraph.co.uk,nbsp;United Kingdomnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1I#39;ve been thinking about bhappiness/b recently because I#39;ve just read Christopher Jamison#39;s fascinating Finding bHappiness/b. The simple idea of this friendly b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-1fd=Rurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087793/Are-miseries-Europe-You-having-laugh-.htmlcid=1272522368ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNHFYx69_k3KVWimnSdTsdN-AvSaBQAre we the miseries of Europe? You must be having a laugh.../a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDaily Mail/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-2fd=Rurl=http://newslite.tv/2008/11/20/brits-are-78-percent-happy.htmlcid=1272522368ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNEXLcQ2ijpYCkeCzxA1F46ki1FujgBrits are 78 percent happy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNewsLite/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-3fd=Rurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3485876/Britons-rate-their-happiness-at-7.8-study-shows.htmlcid=1272522368ei=oEomSdPUG6qi9gTTgp1Lusg=AFQjCNFoIaXt9YjiqDmHdM4nYworZy4B7QBritons rate their bhappiness/b at 7.8, study shows/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTelegraph.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272522368hl=ennobrall 13 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Forty years of health, happiness and hoops - Northwest Asian Weekly

Make your holiday happiness checklist - Libertyville Review

Obama’s call to service meets the economic meltdown - Xenia Gazette

Economic growth doesn#39;t guarantee happiness for Latin Americans - The Miami Herald

Happiness - Google News

RELATED ARTICLES

Create a Balanced Lifestyle and Begin Living a Happier, Healthier and Enriched Life
Are you living a balanced life?Many people are not. Their lives are horribly out of balance and their quality of life is being severely compromised as a result.

Body, Mind, and Soul
Being in tune with your mind, body, and soul and how they work is theone most important thing you can do for yourself. We know now that,the three work together.

Chasing The Whats Next
Are you an adrenaline junkie who is looking for balance? I call people who achieve success, but yet also have a balance in life - Activators.However, a lot of times, as Activators, we become so entrenched in the cycle of doing, fearful that we revert back to our habits as Procrastinators.

How To Be Happy
Happiness is a state of mind, so your state of mind at this moment makes all the difference.You need to ask yourself, is it what you want, the thing that is going to make you happy?If the answer is yes, does this mean that what you have must not be good enough?We go through life searching, searching for a better job, better house, better car, better relationship, sometimes for many people this is a full time "occupation, always searching!It seems to be a vicious circle for many of us, because the last job was the better one, now it is not, somehow it's lost its appeal, just as when you bought your car, it was going to make you happy but that was only for a short time, you soon became unhappy once you saw another newer model, so the car that was your dream car is no longer a dream.

How To Live Happily Ever After
In life, many of us simply plunge ahead, only to realize later that some of the things we did, we wish we hadn't, and some of the things we didn't do, we wish we had. How do you keep yourself on the right track, the right path? And how can you live happily ever after? Here's how.

Happiness Increases Longevity...Where Do We Find This Gift of Life?
According to U.S.

A Bad Hairdresser Day
"Hey everybody!" Hairdresser Lady called out. "It's The Happy Guy.

7 Surprising Keys to Happiness
Have you ever had one of those days where you just wish youwere in a better mood? Perhaps you tried to shift your stateof mind to something better but struggled to achieve it.Sometimes we get stuck in our own 'stinking thinking' andforget how easy it is to feel happier, so here are sevensimple ways to lift your mood that many people have founduseful and some of them may surprise you!1.

Got Play?
Passion Love Action You! Playing with your own divinity, spirit, heart, and spreading it around you. YES! When I share with people that I'm a play activist, most people look perplexed.

The Year Of Happiness
I have decided to declare 2004 as the YEAR OF HAPPINESS for me. What about you? Yes, you can also do so! Anyone living in any part of the world has the right to be happy and enjoy every moment of his/her life.

How to Find True Happiness!
To maintain an unchangeable sweetness of disposition, to think only thoughts that are pure and gentle, and to be happy under all circumstances, such blessed conditions and such beauty of character and life should be the aim of all, and particularly so of those who wish to lessen the misery of the world. If anyone has failed to lift himself above ungentleness, impurity, and unhappiness, he is greatly deluded if he imagines he can make the world happier by the propagation of any theory or theology.

Today It Is ... Tomorrow It Will Be ...
What is your life like today? What do you want it to be liketomorrow? Today it is a good life for my wife and I. We are enjoying retirement and spending the winters in Florida.

Happiness Is Truly M.A.G.I.C.A.L. (TM)
The year is almost half over. Many of us are taking the time to reflect, to imagine new dreams and to revise our goals.

Seven Steps to a Better Day
Are you tired of the same routine day after day? Do you feel as if today is only a speed bump in the road between yesterday and tomorrow? Well, you're not alone! Many people live day-to-day with little hope for anything getting better. Some are trapped in corporate jobs where they are little more than rats in a maze.

How To Experience A Richer, Deeper, And Fuller Life
When we choose to move beyond the boundaries of the ego, we choose to step into a different world. We find ourselves above the matrix of conceived causality, alive on a unique plane of experience.

The American Dream - At What Cost?
When people are asked, "How many of you are content and happy with what you have?" the reply of an overwhelming majority of people is "Not me." And when they are asked what do they want most out of life, the typical reply is "I want to be happy," as if happy is some kind of a place, like Disneyland or Happy Land.

Being Happy
How can one be happy? Is it a tough question? To some it may be but not to all of us.Happiness is like a ray of sunlight which warms us and keeps us glowing.

Happiness Fleeting
"You cannot capture happiness no matter how hard you may chase after it. Happiness is something that follows you.

Getting Connected
"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet." -James OppenheimToday is very special.

There is a Cure for the Summertime Blues
I have never lived anywhere else where when you walk outside in the summer you not only feel like you have walked into a sauna, you also want to change your shirt after just walking from your car to your office (Tallahassee).At the same time, I really can't imagine ever living anywhere else.