Next time you feel self-conscious, you might want to reflect on this: just who is this self I seem to be conscious of?
We live in a world of appearances, and when we believe what appears to be real, is real, we tend to get ourselves in trouble.
Self-consciousness is the perfect example of an appearance we mistake for something real.
In truth, self-consciousness is an illusion within a misconception.
As a reminder, an illusion is real; it’s just not what it appears to be. This particular illusion suggests that the self is actually a person. But what we think of as “myself” is simply a collection of our ideas, thoughts, memories, and perceptions.
The misconception in which the illusion lives, seems to suggest that because as humans we each occupy a separate physical body, we’re actually separate from one another, and have no natural connection with one another.
When we can’t recognize one another as sharing a common being, this illusion within a misconception gains strength. It seems as real and convincing as anything we experience, and the feeling of isolation it gives rise to can be unbearable.
But what happens when we’re fully engaged in some activity, or with friends, or family, or anyone we enjoy being with? This needy “self” each of us seems to have disappeared into thin air. Self-consciousness can’t live in “we,” it can only live in the apparent isolation of “me” and “I.”
Except for the time you’re actively thinking about yourself (which can be a good deal of the time) self-consciousness isn’t an issue. In other words, when I’m not thinking about myself, there is no self to be conscious of.
When you’re not thinking about yourself, you are simply the universe in action.
This is when you’re at your best. This is when you’re most like who you really are. It’s ironic, isn’t it, that we’re most like ourselves when we think least about ourselves?
The reverse is also true: we’re least like who we really are when we’re thinking about ourselves. The lesson to be taken from that is: you can’t think about yourself and really be yourself at the same time.
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