Moving Away From Your Manufactured Self

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Things Learned From...

Atmamun: The Path to Achieving the Bliss of the Himalayan Swamis, by Kapil Gupta

On the Manufactured Self:

"When you look in the mirror, you see a body and a face.

You have completely and totally accepted this body and this face as You.

You choose to dress this body in a certain way.

Groom yourself in a certain way.

Part your hair in a certain way.

You have opinions about many things. Opinions about politics, society, abortion, finances, hard work, raising children, education, diet, philosophy, religion.

You decide to walk a certain way.

All of these things are strategically designed to portray the image that you have of yourself.

This is what you call Your Personality. All of this is what you call You.

And it is what I call the Manufactured Self."

"The problem with manufacturing anything is that it requires continuous maintenance.

It requires constant support.

It needs to be looked after and checked upon and groomed and trimmed.

And in this way it very much becomes a burden."

"The vast majority of your ideas, opinions, likes, dislikes, and philosophies were not ones that you were born with.

You acquired them like pieces of clothing.

They became the scaffolding for this manufactured self.

And each day that you awake, you have to jump into the skin of the manufactured self. It is a role that you play."

"If someone says something against this self, you feel a powerful need to protect it.

If it does not get what it desires, you feel disappointment.

If it loses something, you feel sad.

If it gains something, you feel happy."

"...you think that this is normal.

And the reason that you think this is normal is because everyone around you also does the same thing."

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.