Who Are You? The Mystery of Existence and The Importance of A Rich, Inner Experience

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Who Am I?” What comes up when you do ask that question? I imagine that most of us start with labels or descriptions of our life. For example, I could say, “I’m a 5’8” Asian-American therapist that weighs 155 pounds. I was born in Mountain View, California but now live in New York City.” But would that encompass who I am in any meaningful way?

I don’t think so. In fact, I think that description is mostly worthless because it says nothing about what is going on in my subjective everyday consciousness. So maybe we’re our thoughts and feelings? That would better describe our inner, subjective experience. But have you really examined your thoughts before?

I had a thought just no that I’d like to eat some dumplings. Does that say something about who I am? And where did those thoughts come from? The words used to describe my need for dumplings came from language. And language is something I was taught. But where did the desire come from? And for that matter who is writing these words on this computer screen? I had no outline or even plan for what I was going to write today. Yet somehow, deep in my unconscious, I’ve gathered the language to write several hundred (somewhat) sensical words. What exactly is happening here? As I type this now, I…