One Of The Most Important Questions For You To Ask Yourself On A Regular Basis

Do you really want to grow, find your true purpose in life, connect with yourself and others on a really deep level, find inner peace and have abundance in all areas of your life? 

One of the most powerful questions, and ways to access this state, is to ask ourselves “Who Am I?”.

So how do we answer this profound yet simple question? 

And why does this help us find the connection, peace and abundance that we’re looking for?

Most of us will answer that question with our name, our job titles, who we are (father, husband, son, brother), where we live (I’m a Canadian), our material possessions, our bodies, our minds, or what we do. 

But if you think about it, most of this is arbitrary and constantly in a state of change. Our jobs change, our relationship to people changes, our possessions change – as do our minds and bodies.

These answers stem from our conditioning when we are young children and start to discover our possessions, and then identify with what’s mine – “my toys”, “my friend”, “my house”. 

When we become adults we identify with our clothes, our cars, our degrees and titles. 

We then start to identify with our beliefs, values, ideologies and philosophies, and if other people’s opinions vary from ours, or they don’t fit in with our views, many times we create division when regarding these people.

We also begin to judge others – we voice strong opinions about those who we deem are not like us or do not meet our standards. 

This comes from our ego. Our ego likes to separate us from our true selves, and from others.

Many then think that we are better than others based on how we observe others should live their lives, what we own, where we live and our accomplishments. 

This is one of the main causes of human suffering, family feuds, and most conflicts including wars.  As we separate ourselves from others, this creates division against each other when in reality we are all very similar and all connected. 

One of my favourite parables is from author Eckhart Tolle, which shows us how to identify with the material world and ourselves.  

A beggar had been sitting by the side of a road for over thirty years. One day a stranger walked by.

“Spare some change?” mumbled the beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap.

“I have nothing to give you,” said the stranger. Then he asked: “What’s that you are sitting on?”

“Nothing,” replied the beggar. “Just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember.”

“Ever looked inside?” asked the stranger.

“No,” said the beggar. “What’s the point? There’s nothing in there.”

“Have a look inside,” insisted the stranger.

The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.

The Moral of the Story

• “I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even closer: inside yourself.“

• “Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it, are beggars, even if they have great material wealth. They are looking outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation, security, or love, while they have a treasure within that not only includes all those things but is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.”

So once we come to this realization and revelation and we stop identifying with material things outside ourselves, we are on the right path to finding out who we really are, to gaining inner peace and lasting happiness. 

When we let go of opinions and judgment, which are really only energies that are a projection of our own insecurities and suffering, we begin to focus on ourselves, instead of looking at others. This is when we are able to heal and go deep into finding the answers we are looking for. 

We soon discover that like the parable above, the real gold is on the inside. 

We really are pure awareness and this awareness is never changing. 

Awareness is alway there, it has not changed and does not change our entire lives.  

Awareness is pure bliss. It is nothing, yet is the key to everything. 

This is our true Self. We are the waves, as well as the ocean. We are the witness to our lives. We are the witness to our thoughts. 

For those that have a strong ego identity to what they’ve accomplished, their favorite sports team, their political party et cetera, this concept can be very frightening. To realize that everything that has made you who you are today isn’t real – that it was built on false beliefs – can be overwhelming and hard to digest.

However for many others this can be very freeing and liberating, especially when we realize we are not our thoughts, our bodies or our minds. 

So how do we find this magical place inside?

By learning embodiment practices that get us out of our heads and into our bodies. 

By learning how to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Some embodiment practices you can incorporate into your life include spending time in nature, yoga, journaling, processing and sitting with our emotions, self-reflection, and connecting with those we love. 

All of these practices get us closer to this place inside of pure unbound consciousness and awareness. This is where we can live from a place of love, peace, joy and happiness. When we find this place we will also be able to face some of the suffering we all will encounter with more ease and grace.

If you want to learn more embodiment practices, join us at awakewarrior.com and sign up for our 6 module course.