Who Do You Think You Are?

Who do you think you are? My parents used to ask me that all the time. Actually “ask” is a little to light. Let’s just say they were forced to “strongly inquire” as to who I thought I was. As I’ve gotten older, strangely enough, I seem to ask myself that question…a lot. I still don’t have a definitive answer as to exactly who I am, because each time I come with an answer, I get several more questions to go along with it. Part of my intention in putting up this site is to discover more about who I am, what I want, and what I can offer others.

I know we all have a certain “image” of who we are. On the opposite side of that, those we interact with have their own “image” of who we are. Sometimes what they think of us and who they think we are end up being drastically different from the image we have of ourselves. Most of the time we end up actually being somewhere in the middle of our own self image and the image that others hold of us. Those outside opinions can be good for us sometimes. I know, I know…the modern day mantra is to just “be yourself” and not care a bit about what others think about you as long as you are being “true to yourself”. I’m not saying you should totally give yourself over to the opinions of what others think about who you are. I’m just saying that you can use those outside opinions as a temperature gauge to find out how close you really are to who you think you are. Ask your closest friends or loved ones “who do you think I am?” Get them to be honest with you about your assets and your faults. If you really want to know the truth, insist they give you the truth. Sometimes what they say might match up exactly with what you think of yourself. Other times you may be awakened by how differently their opinion of you is from what you think of yourself.

Do you want to know more about yourself? Then try this little exercise:

1. Go into a quiet, comfortable room where you can spend a few minutes alone without any distractions
2. Get into a comfortable position, turn on soothing music if you like
3. Close your eyes and start to clear your mind
4. It’s natural that distracting thoughts will try to enter your mind during this time. Simply tell those thoughts that they are not welcome now, and it’s time they go
5. Repeat in your mind the words “I am, I am” while imagining the entire universe opening up to greet you with warmth and recognition
6. Try to stay in this meditation for at least two minutes, but if comfortable, stay there for as long as you like
7. As applicable thoughts and images come to you, try to identify the ones that feel like they are being “pushed” over to you
8. When you come out of the meditation, take notice of the way you feel, if there are any images or thoughts sticking in your mind. Try to write these down as quickly as possible. Also document your meditation experience such as other thoughts, insights, or feelings you have afterward.

I cannot guarantee that you’ll have some sort of life defining experience (you might!), but you’ll most likely learn a lot about yourself by spending at least a few minutes in total isolation with nothing but your thoughts.

-Ty