How do you define the self?

[fromthe heart]

Eastern Religions area? It probably won't make much difference. There aren't that many of us Eastern types in RF.

Tell me more about Cathecism, por favor....

That's too bad that there aren't more of Eastern religions here at RF...It's fasinating to hear about how some other cultures see life,live day to day with their belief system. I congradulate you on helping us better understand your ways and faith.

 

[michel]

Eastern Religions area? It probably won't make much difference. There aren't that many of us Eastern types in RF.

Tell me more about Cathecism, por favor....

Which is all the more reason why you should educate us.

 

[Cold-Stone]

Part of philosophy is the strategic method of asking a question. Thus you will have trouble because you are asking about D before establishing A,B,and C.

The question should be, how do you define the defined? What is knowledge, and how do you know the know is the know?

Via these "bases," you can then answer such question as "How do you define the self." If you CANNOT answer these issues FIRST, then you will NEVER be able to answer your question (or any question) absolutely.

And thus you are left with the old Sophists and and Skeptics that eventually sacked Plato's academy. You will never be able to define or know ANYTHING.

Cold-Stone Advantage

 

[EnhancedSpirit]

Self = collection of matter particals vibrating at a specific frequency that is determined by the sum of all your experiences (throughout many lifetimes).

I came up with that all by myself

 

[Maxist]

The "self" described here is simply put a state of mind. Many non-theists (such as myself) would describe it as a concience, meaning that sociopaths do not have souls, and so are not human. However, it is not, it is simply the state of mind people go into when they realize that the world is a cruel, blatent, bleak place. For a time they go into themselves in panic, cutting off from the outside world. Eventually we leave our "selves" and are, in the longrun, better off for it.

 

[YmirGF]

Or the soul, or whatever you happen to call it. What is "you"? Is it seperate from your body? From your mind? Completly connected, not seperate at all? Your emotions, your thoughts, your intellect, what?

Some of you make rather interesting points, others, not so interesting.

How do I define the self?

1. Focus self = the ego or "the actor". This little fellow is designed to deal with three dimensional reality. Sadly, most folks in our world may be considered to be ego-bound just as one would describe a body builder as being "muscle-bound". The ego is a fundamental essential in dealing with physical reality and the Buddhist ought to reconsider trying to annhiliate it.

2. Inner Self = the source of reincarnational aspects, residing outside of time as we know it. The inner self can also be referred to as the soul or the entity. The ego is the outer manifestation of the Inner Self. The inner self is purely a state of being that is first and foremost, energy. As it is energy, it cannot directly affect physical reality and turns to the ego to get its job done. They are supposed to work hand in hand, hence the silly theories of doing "god's will". The inner self is not the totality of what god is.

3. Source self = The centre of the inner self. In some respects the ultimate aspect of the self. This is the source of all religious dramas. Divine manifestations such as Buddha, Krsna and the Christ are symbols of this central inner reality.

4. The unknown self = this aspect is beyond all of the above. It's aspect is not translatable into physical terms, nor does it know physical existence. It is not altogether convinced that physical systems exist or are in fact real. Its primary role is that of a creator, even though, it itself has been created.

Note: I perceive fully three additional stages beyond these given, however I am unable to describe them in any meaningful way. All I know is that consciousness is open ended and therein lies the key. All aspects of the self are forever changing, becoming more of what it is they already are.

Consciousness of the above is the key. The kicker is, even though I imply fully seven division, please try to appreciate that there are no real divisions in the self. It is all a matter of perception, and in the viewpoint taken. I also strongly suspect that there are many more aspects of the self that are presently unavailable to my understanding. It is once again, all in perception.

Hehe. If you think this is far out... you outta get a load of how I perceive what you might call God.

 

[chillmode1]

Your soul is a trans-dimensional being with an independent will that filters through your mind to use your body. Your brain acts like an antenna to pick up your soul's vibe with which you control your body. People with mental disorders often have problems with their brains which screw up the reception. When our bodies die our souls are loose to either be ghosts or go back to God.

so why do we only get like 80 or so years to live to decide where we go for eternity. wait so a soul is already with god ? then it goes into a human body?
who decides that. ?

 

[ΩRôghênΩ]

The physical, mental, and spiritual awareness of our reality instilled into us by our father in heaven

 

[white_wolf]

so why do we only get like 80 or so years to live to decide where we go for eternity. wait so a soul is already with god ? then it goes into a human body?
who decides that. ?

We have these years, not to decide for eternity, but to eternally decide. Our lives are dynamic and unending. Imagine a forest, constantly bending and weaving to the patterns of sun, wind, heat and cold. We are alive in every sense, and our spirits are not stagnant beings which have two options, heaven or hell.

A soul is already with God, yes. We are one tree in this eternal forest, constant yet changing, always breathing with the passion of life. God is the source, undefinable. God is that white canvas upon which creation is brought to life. Christians call God, Father. Others? The Great Spirit, still others, the Void, the No-thing.

Just remember, in your life, in your journey,
To discover, to tap into the source,
is to blossom endless life.

 

[Cuthberta]

Or the soul, or whatever you happen to call it. What is "you"? Is it seperate from your body? From your mind? Completly connected, not seperate at all? Your emotions, your thoughts, your intellect, what?

Who knows?

Aren't there more important things to consider?

 

[Sunstone]

Buddha taught the concept of anatta, or no-self; meaning in simplest terms, that the self is illusory, and impermanent.

Many people -- perhaps most people --- tend in practice at least to think of themselves in terms of their relationships to various things. "I am a mother, wife, homemaker, president of my bridge club, vice president of my charity, on the school board, a Methodist, and kind to others." That is, one defines oneself in terms of one's relationship to one's children, husband, home, bridge club, charity, community, church, and people in general.

But all these things are impermanent, subject to change, subject to happenstance, and ultimately insecure. Therefore the definition of one's self in terms of these things is impermanent, subject to change, etc.

When these things change, when we loose them or even when they change just enough that we must re-examine ourselves, it can cause us emotional pain and suffering to the very extent we were emotionally attached to these things.

For this and other reasons, to become attached to one's realtionships to things, even to things like kindness, makes one a hostage to fortune, prone to suffering, and to emotional ups and downs.

 

[Mavrikmind]

I think our spirit continues after death. Think about it this way. I would hate to think that all the love, anger, curiosity, devotion, beauty and other emotions and memories we collect during our life would cease to exist. that would be an awfull wast of time.
I think we all underestimate the power of our concious selves or our force of will. I think our inate curiosity of the unknown is just too powerfull to just blink out of existance. I'm not going to pretend to know what happens after our bodies die. realistically nobody knows.
Personally it doesn't bother me, not knowing. I just don't think that our beauty, compassion and capability to love is extinguishable.
There for my perception of this is we have an everlasting soul, spirit, whatever you like to call it.

 

[Hema]

The real self is the soul which was never born and will never die. This soul is part of God, we are Jeeva Atman or individual soul and God is the Param Atman or Super Soul. We are like drops of water taken from the ocean that is God. This is similar to how the Bible says that God created people in his image and likeness. The body is only temporary. When our time in this physical body is up, the elements which make up the body return to the earth where they came from.