Posted by llrrrpp on July 26, 2006, at 2:20:24
In reply to Identity? Is this about finding yourself?, posted by Declan on July 25, 2006, at 19:18:49
Self Not-self.
I like a series of talks by Gil Fronsdale. He's got a PhD in Buddhist studies. you can download his MP3s for free from some website.
I had a couple of a ha moments when listening to him describe the buddhist idea of identity. mainly it comes down to exclusion. Self is not what you own. Self is not what you believe to be true, Self is not what you desire. Self is something you do. The actions of the moment define your identity. not the actions of the past, or the actions of the future. There's no room for should-a would-a could-a's. It's what you ARE, no less no more. simple huh?
ha!
Ego, Self, Identity, Individual. I'm guessing you're using these terms differently than I'm using them. It was SOOOO hard for me to talk about SELF to my psychologist. I felt like I was faking it. like I was using the psychologists "lingo" for the sake of discussion, even though I don't believe in the self as Western psychology typically uses this term -- not that there's some set, agreed-upon definition.
I'm still having a lot of problems on this board. I just don't know how to talk about self-esteem, when my concept of 'self' is so different.
-ll
poster:llrrrpp
thread:670464
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/esteem/20060725/msgs/670605.html