Identity

Greetings all,

This week has been all about emotion it seems.  I've been busy in the studio and planning for the month of October.  I have two trips scheduled, some teaching, and in person session opportunities in Ohio. Every so many months I check in on some of the metaphysical message boards to see if there are any topic threads I find intriguing or if there is someone looking for some information I may have come across in my development.  I found one post by a skeptic that really got me thinking.  A lot of people tended to tell them that they were approaching consciousness technologies improperly (they meant well I am sure).  I am pretty sure now that the original poster never saw my response which is unfortunate.  I think I may have been one of the only people to suggest they get medical care from a licensed provider.     Still in my response to their post that all this stuff was new age bull, I came to a personal realization that may help not only myself but all my clients to deepen their experience.

The person was dealing with severe depression and while I think psychiatric care is essential in such cases I also know how much perspective can affect treatment outcomes.  I sensed that this person had their identity tangled up with their diagnosis.  In such a case how could any treatment shift them out of their condition?  How do you shift into  "not you"?  If you and your condition are entangled at such a deep level that you consider it part of your identity I don't see how you could become anything other than that condition.  Before dealing with any condition it would be wise to determine to what degree it is used in defining someone's identity.  This will vary of course depending on temperament, attitudes, social feedback, paradigm, and just how much they trust authority figures (such as health care providers in this instance) to dictate reality.

I began to see how many times I defined myself by a condition or limitation.  Rather than experiencing a condition I become it.  Now I am not suggesting we ignore serious physical or psychological conditions what I am suggesting is that we stop identifying ourselves by them.  I have started working on my own self using energetic shifting techniques to first disentangle my identity from specific conditions or limitations.  I've also started testing it out on a few close friends (oh you brave few beta testers).  So far we have all experienced a more expanded feeling.  Still identity is nothing if not a habit.  I suspect it will take a sustained effort over a period of time to disengage our identity from our conditions.

How about you?  Do you define yourself by a medical problem, relationship challenge, or psychological condition?  What would happen if you defined your identity by your passions, your strengths, and your aspirations?  Who would you be without your "issues"?  Are any of them serving a less developed part of yourself?  So if you are not your conditions, issues, or challenges who are you?  Let me know when you find out.

Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle