Post: The “I” That Does Not See
Perhaps the most overused word, at least in American culture, is the word ‘I’ along with its related pronoun forms ‘me’, ‘mine’, and ‘myself’. It’s a fascinating exercise to hear the self-referential verbiage of the first-person pronouns consistently come out of people’s mouths in almost every type of conversation they engage in.
Click Here to read the rest of the article: the-i-that-does-not-see_030408.doc
March 12th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Hi. I enjoyed reading this post. I understand what you are trying to communicate here regarding on-going self-reference. Ultimately it leads to an increase in the illusion of separation from the whole. And as part of the whole we have created culture and society that reinforces separation. One of the most amazing outcomes of this type of experience is how we as ‘individuals’ fail to see the part we play in the creation of the world around us; being our own lives, communities, relationships, and governments and instead always look to someone else as the cause. And also how we are constantly looking outside ourselves for our happiness and wholeness (myself included). But what can we do? I have the feeling that all ‘I’ can do is shift my own focus, which has offered ‘me’ the opportunity to notice my own behavior and words and reactions, and in the grace of being able to see my participation in the collective separation I notice that my behavior starts to shift in ways that are more beneficial to the greater good.
March 12th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Yes, you’ve gathered the meaning and context of what I was trying to convey. The question before us whether we as individuals will be able to develop the perspective beyond the ‘I’ to see the world from the singular, self-referential place that is the realm of the ego.
I will get one other person to look at this essay and get another perspective. We will see how the thread develops from there.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:26 am
An interesting essay — one that raises points that many would do well to ponder!
I think you could take it even a little further: For example, when one spouse is driving the other one nuts — the one who’s being driven nuts is being driven nuts because s/he is still rooted in “I.” The first spouse can reflect and change; the second spouse also has an opportunity to shift gears and recognize that the “other” is not other but also “self.” Then, as Tina noted, that “I” can respond to the situation in a way that honors the connectedness rather than the apparent separateness. This helps us–all of us–shift away from the attitude that the “other” needs to be different in order for “me” to be happy.