There is one important question we should all ask ourselves at some point in our lives, no, it isn’t what is my purpose but ‘Do I exist outside my history?’. My history of learning, experiences, culture, heritage, and understanding. Am I just a product of everything my soul and body has been exposed to? Is my life a reaction to all that has been done to me?
This question can take you very deep into your psyche if you let it.
In the stillness of your soul ask yourself, do I feel the way I do because I AM or because I have come to believe that this is the right way? In Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses ‘I am that I am’ a translation of the Hebrew phrase אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehyeh.
This is a very powerful phrase if you open up to it.
You are what you always were, no matter what was done to you, you must be true to your true self. So are you that? Or are you bitter because someone betrayed you, stole from you, abused you, wronged you? Every belief that you hold is it because life, circumstance, society, your parents, your loved ones, your friends, your society, your culture, your nation and your need for acceptance makes you? Now don’t get me wrong, if you live in a society that dictates that every life matters, every child needs to be protected and we should all live in peace and harmony, by all means, imbibe it.
It is when we are driven by hate, fear, and anger that we need to ask ourselves, is this how I truly feel or is it because everyone in my tribe thinks this way. Do you do things because you want to or is it to please those around you? While I understand that in order to survive or even just have a little peace in the household/workplace you might have to adjust, accommodate and compromise, do it for too long and slowly you might begin to align yourself with that viewpoint.
You see, it’s all about the questions we ask ourselves, not so much for the answers but the realization that sometimes we get carried away with the events. In this busy world where everyone is shouting down onto us from birth, advice on how to dress, eat, behave, think, and feel, we forget that we are more than a reaction. We are sentient beings who can, if allowed, think and feel for ourselves.
The human body is a glorious reminder of that. Lie detectors are based on the fact that our bodies resist the untruth, even a psychopath will fall prey to a sick body because that’s what happens when we immerse it in a toxic environment. Yes, ONE of the factors of illness is evil. The body is too pure to entertain evil willingly, hence the resistance, this stress creates illness. This is why in the bible often it is mentioned that if someone was sick there was an evil deed that needed atonement.
It all stems from the fact that we are pure beings designed for peace, love, and forgiveness. When we express hate, anger, frustration, bitterness, unforgiveness, we create an imbalance that results in disease, dis ease.
There are many cases, it’s hard to get a scientific validation as the dynamics are too volatile to create a standardized test, that correlates to the fact that stress causes illness. Now, stress isn’t evil but it puts the body in a state of constant strain resulting in illness. Stress comes from being in an environment that might be toxic, not being allowed to live on your terms, being fake, supporting hateful agendas, indulging in malicious gossip, slandering, trolling, etc.
That is why it is so important to meditate, no not only to breathe and take it slow but to ask yourselves, ‘Do I exist outside my history?’ Would I still feel the way I do about so many topics if I did not have the people I do around me? If I were alone on a remote island would I still feel the same way about these issues? If I had one year to live, what would I focus on? What do I want to learn? What do I want to experience? It’s the questions that really matter, not the answers, for it’s in the asking, in that silence when your memory, your learned observations haven’t yet kicked in, that you know what you have always known. You are what you choose to be, so choose wisely.
Musings of Antonia Rapheal 
Man is what he is.
yes but only if he consciously chooses to reflect his inner self, else it’s just a mirage, a reflection of what society expects… then he is in conflict, and the dialogue, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.’ ‘I feel unfulfilled’ etc. crop up.
All men are ignorant and to some extent moulded by society. By saying a man is what he is i mean he is a total reflection of everything that has has happened to him, his social self, inner self, dark self etc. Again what’s your definition of the inner self ?
Forgive me, as a writer I play on words and what I mean when I phrase a few words together is quite different from how anyone else would look at it. let me explain:
A man is what he is, means he is his true inner self.
A man is a mirror, means he is a reflection/a product, a creation of what he has been exposed to.
Inner Self: your true self, in harmony with your body, no lies, no deceit, no abuse… the first time someone smokes, drinks etc. the body violently rejects it. Even a pathological liar’s body will give off telltale signs, albeit subtle, that he/she is lying. Your inner self, is pure, responds to the truth, lives in harmony, is content, disease free. There are stories of old when people lived for hundreds of years, there was rarely a mention of someone ill …. it is how we were designed to be.
We have lost the way and while I doubt we will ever find our way back again, I am hoping we can at least try, we can ask the right questions….
I agree that the inner self forms an integral part of the human nature but what about the spiritual self, the social self, the unknown self…..?
Perhaps both of us have different nomenclature?
what you call the spiritual self (I am assuming) is what I call the inner self. Your social self, once again I make an educated guess, I call the personality, the unknown, I presume you mean the subconscious??
No… The social self is not the subconscious. My take is that a man is the sum of all his selves, fake or real that doesn’t matter.
I never said that the social self was the subconscious, but the unknown self. Anyway, these are your terminologies, not mine. It is hard to explain when although we use the same language what it means differs greatly. You have your own interpretation and understanding of your existence, as I have mine and they are very different.
You believe that because you accept the programming that you have received it makes it innate, which I disagree with. I believe that humanity is innate everything else is foreign. Which is not to say that it is wrong, as long as we are aware and understand it to be so. Question everything and judge it from your fundamental essence of love and truth. As Jesus said, know the truth and the truth will set you free. But the truth takes courage, we are so comfortable in our make believe worlds that we suppress, ridicule and sometimes fail to understand the simple truth.
How can one figure out the truth from the lies ?
It’s the questions that really matter, not the answers, for it’s in the asking, in that silence when your memory takes a back seat….. your true self will emerge.
Now that you are asking the right questions, listen for the answers, anything I tell you will be another programming, you must find your own. Regarding knowing the truth, you will feel it deep within, you’ll know, if you are brave enough to let go, to empty your cup, …
Are you saying there are no eternal facts ? Absolute truths ?
There are but you cannot trust someone else’s opinion, you need to discover it for yourself, if they are eternal and absolute, which they are, why do you need someone else to tell you what they are? You should be able to feel it deep within and if you don’t, well you aren’t deep enough yet.
The truth is a testament in itself, anyone who tells you the truth is lying and someone who has discovered the truth will not tell it, only show you the way to discover it. Your truth, your path … Truth is universal but how one understands it is a process unique to every soul, depends on the baggage you carry, the perceptions you have embraced as your own…. all these need shedding… empty your cup, it’s too full.