If you suggest to someone that she is disconnected from herself, she may not immediately acknowledge it, saying, “Not me. I’m connected with myself.” But there are signs that appear when you’ve been disconnected from yourself. Check whether any of the following are happening in your own body and mind.
Do you find it hard to change negative emotional states or thought patterns? Did your hope or expectation of a better life vanish long ago? Do feelings of irritation or anxiety keep arising for no particular reason? Does your physical and mental energy feel depleted, or do you feel lethargy and lack of ambition in just about every area of life? Do you have a growing feeling of inner emptiness and a lack of direction or meaning in your life? Do you find yourself drowning in momentary pleasures to relieve your stress, like overeating, alcohol, gambling, drugs, or sex? Do you feel emotionally numb, tending to lose interest in the people or happenings around you? Are you cynical about yourself, disparaging, and unable to feel your own worth? Everyone experiences highs and lows in life, so it is not unexpected to experience such things a few times in our lives. The problem is when negativity goes beyond a temporary experience, becoming repetitive or routine. When this is the case, we are unmistakably becoming disconnected from ourselves—a condition without love for ourselves, of neglecting or hating ourselves, where inner wholeness and joy have disappeared. I have discovered a single, powerful question that lets you diagnose whether you are disconnected from yourself: “Who am I?” Before asking yourself this question, close your eyes and concentrate carefully on the feelings in your heart. Then ask yourself with complete honesty and sincerity, “Who am I?” Listen for the answer that comes from within you. Try to feel the response that comes from your heart. What answer do you hear? Who are you? Is your name who you are? Are your external appearance, your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences, and your knowledge who you are? Are your family or position in society, your profession, and your possessions who you are? These things are what you have, not who you are. Do you feel your true self—who you really are— existing without your nametag, without the knowledge or ideas you’ve accumulated? Does your being itself feel precious and beautiful, here and now, regardless of what you’ve achieved or failed to achieve? Is it really a big deal if you don’t know who you are? Yes, it definitely is! Why? If you don’t know who you really are, then who is the self, the “you,” who’s been living up to this point? You’ve been living as who, as what? To get to the truth of your situation, you have to ask yourself some hard questions: Whose life am I leading? Are these my thoughts, my emotions, and my desires? When we say that someone is disconnected from themselves, we’re referring to that person’s true self. So, if you think, “Not me. I’m connected with myself,” then you first need to take a look at who or what that self is. Carefully look within to see whether that self is just your thoughts, emotions, desires, and ideas, or whether it is your true self, living and breathing in your heart as your true essence, independent of outer conditions. Look at what you’re currently connected with, what you’re living for. We need to discover who we really are to escape from suffering. If you dig deep, really deep, into the cause of all the suffering you feel in life, you’ll realize that all your problems start there—in not knowing who your true self is, in not being connected with your true self. Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Best Life Media, from Connect: How to Find Clarity and Expand Your Consciousness with Pineal Gland Meditation by Ilchi Lee. Copyright © 2019 by Ilchi Lee. All rights reserved. You can learn more about the book at https://ConnectByIlchi.com ________________________________________ ILCHI LEE, author of CONNECT, is a dedicated advocate for a peaceful, sustainable world, a New York Times bestselling author, and an innovative leader in human brain potential development. A true believer in the power of each person to change themselves and the world around them, Ilchi Lee has developed many mind-body training methods, including Body & Brain Yoga and Brain Education, and has helped millions of people globally find their true potential and develop it for the benefit of all. For more information, visit ilchi.com or https://ConnectByIlchi.com The book is available at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or your local bookstore. |
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