There has been only one
time in my life when I heard a voice speak to me during meditation.
I can’t say who or what it was, but the message was short
and deceptively simple: “Be who you are.” It happened
about four years ago when I was trying to understand why I am not
being sustained financially for the writing, coaching and teaching
work that I do, especially because it is my deepest love and passion,
and I am committed to service over the wealth, fame and power that
many in the personal and spiritual growth field seek. Whereas many
people move on to something else if they don’t attain their
self-defined idea of success within a self-defined timeframe, those
who are driven by something greater than their own human desires
and volition can’t simply shake it off like an overcoat that
has gone out of fashion. I am certain many of you empathize, and
yet also struggle regularly with why “do what you love and
the money will follow” hasn’t been true in your case
either when you know who you are and feel you have a definite purpose
on Earth – but it’s just not coming together for you,
no matter how hard you try.
But knowing – and being – who you truly are, regardless
of whether it brings you the material success the world determines
your worth by, is a place of awareness that is attained by a minority.
I see the other side so frequently - that so many people don’t
know who they are at all, and stumble aimlessly through life, bouncing
like a pinball against whatever random bumps cross their paths. I
am reminded of the Talking Heads song “Once In A Lifetime”:
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
wife
And you may ask yourself-Well...How did I get here?
Which can lead to this:
And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? … Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD! … WHAT HAVE I DONE?
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I was driving with a friend of mine
a few months ago, listening to this song, and he asked, “How
many people do you think have felt that way?” I replied, “More
than we could ever guess.” For some, it’s called a
mid-life crisis. For some, it’s a dark night of the soul.
Many keep “re-inventing themselves” on the surface
in an attempt to figure out who they are, only to morph into something
else when each phase doesn’t last, if their re-invention
does not include genuine inner reflection and subsequent transformation.
So how does one get in touch with who they are – really? The
question “Who am I?” is one that has eternally plagued
human kind. One of my favorite teachers, Ramana Maharishi wrote this:
“What is the use of knowing about everything else when you
do not yet know who you are? Men avoid this inquiry into the true
Self, but what else is there so worthy to be undertaken? The only
thing that keeps us from realization is the belief that we are not
realized...
“Pursue the inquiry ‘Who am I’ relentlessly. Analyze
your entire personality. Try to find out where the I-thought begins.
Go on with your meditations. Keep turning your attention within.
One day the wheel of thought will slow down and an intuition will
mysteriously arise. Follow that intuition, let your thinking stop,
and it will lead eventually to the goal.” - Ramana Maharishi,
from In Days of Great Peace by Mouni Sadhu.
When attempting to figure out who and what we are, the process
of elimination of who and what we are not is an excellent starting
point.
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife! *
*“Once In A Lifetime” from the 1990 album Remain
In Light by The Talking Heads, released on Warner Brothers Records,
written by David Byrne.
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