To understand the creative process behind this book, you need to see the whole picture. It was written in cycles, non-linearly, and without a plan.
It's like building a house without blueprints. You begin construction without knowing the final result, but you keep moving forward. It's like a jigsaw puzzle: as you place pieces, the image clarifies, even with many blind spots still remaining. You maintain faith in completing the whole thing. Changing your self-concept can’t be done in any other way, but you will realize this while reading this book.
Changing Your Self-concept
This book is about changing your self-concept to be more in alignment with your true self. It offers unconventional ideas and thought provoking concepts, not traditionally valued by our modern society. However it also offers a unique opportunity to see our lives from a different perspective. The quest for becoming our true self is not merely philosophical but it is deeply practical.
Alignment with your true self means recognizing your inherent oneness. Therefore, becoming your true self is oneness with the source and this book will show you the way to the truth. The way is also the destination because it is the state that you want to embody. By embodying your true nature, you will realize that you are already that. The point is not for you to understand the concept of true self but to experience its being, your being.
Once you start reading this book from the first chapter onwards, some definitions and concepts in this book may be rather abstract and difficult to grasp because you haven’t realized it personally. You haven’t experienced your true self personally and probably wouldn't see it clearly for yourself.
It's like progressing through school grades. You start in first grade and move upward. Second grade offers a vastly different perspective than first grade, and you encounter complexities unimaginable. The image clarifies with realizations. Skipping first grade would leave you lost. Like many fiction authors, they first set the stage before the main plot unfolds. Beginning with the main plot would leave the reader disoriented.
We strive to attain distant future goals, but often forget to live in the present moment. The problem is that our future aspirations may not align with our current self-concept. We are not one with it.
Dissatisfaction with our current circumstances often motivates us to change our lives. We set goals and envision a future self, being dedicated to improvement.
However, focusing on specific goals can be limiting, preventing us from seizing unexpected opportunities. We become closed off to new possibilities, fixated on our chosen path, and clinging to our dreams, fearing that letting go equates to failure. In this way, we try to protect a false identity that we’ve built, and prove our worth through achievement.
We know we must change—transforming our identity toward our ideal. We must realign our present self-concept with that ideal.
Our identity is our self-concept—a set of beliefs we hold. To realign with that ideal, we usually envision it and work toward it with effort. We create a life plan and hope it unfolds as desired.
The truth is that we don't have to hope or strive, always trying to attain something in the future. We impose many limitations on ourselves by creating an ideal that we view from our limited perspective.
We can’t expand higher than our source. Who is that source? Who is that essence always present within? It is God’s essence.
We can’t see it from our limited perspective but our ideal is a limitation that we are unconsciously imposing on ourselves. Our ideal is not necessarily God’s ideal. Why not envision our source, our higher self—our most authentic self? We should embody this higher self and its inherent qualities, which are already within us.
By exploring the nature of reality, we learn not to identify with our false self, our three-dimensional persona, but with our true self.
Therefore, changing our self-concept doesn't require striving and effort. It's about finding our true self, realizing that self from within, and accepting that as ourselves. Either way, it doesn’t require effort because we already are that self. We are only unaware of our true nature.
The Nature of Reality
In our modern society, we believe in an objective 3D reality—one that we can see and touch. We believe in tangible things that can be supported by facts. When we encounter a different perspective, we simply dismiss it as non-factual.
Can you imagine something existing beyond this 3D reality? Can you imagine higher-evolved beings? Is it possible that our reality is not what we think it is?
We perceive a clear separation between objects and ourselves in our 3D reality. The oneness of all is not visible because we cannot see who we truly are. We are interconnected as one. There is one substance and one state of mind encompassing everything, including us. "We" includes more than just mind and body; consciousness is also present.
We perceive the world through our state of consciousness. This state, combined with our self-concept, shapes our perception. Different arrangements of this state create different perspectives. If you identify with your ego, your perspective will be ego-based, perceiving the world through self-importance.
This identification with our character stems from past memories. You recall your name being repeated countless times, years of work, and instances of illness. You identify with your name, profession, and experiences of sickness.
We often identify with our minds and bodies, believing this defines us, but there's more. The combined function of mind, energy, and spirit—a wave-like entity—is an infinite living mind. It's a mind in constant motion, flowing through space.
The problem is that we are unaware of our inner selves and our true being. We are conscious of our minds and bodies, and identifying with denser forms lowers our vibrations and energy. This negatively impacts our state of being, leading to negative feelings and sensations.
We often resist these negative feelings and sensations but they are part of ourselves. We must learn life lessons to release these limiting energy patterns that are stuck within us. By integrating life lessons that we are supposed to learn, we can live peacefully with a balanced mind and without excessive reactions to our external environment.
We must master our thoughts to release anger, bitterness, and resentment; dissipate energy to master emotions like fear and cultivate calmness; and respond skillfully to situations to master attitudes like arrogance and pride. Thoughts, emotions, and attitudes correspond to mind, energy, and spirit; together, they represent a unified whole.
The problem is that we often fail to recognize our purpose, seeking happiness externally. We pursue goals and outcomes, becoming attached to them.
Expectations are a form of attachment—outcome-based happiness. This arises from overemphasizing the external world, relying on instant gratification and future anticipations. Anticipating the future limits us in many ways. Our purpose is to embody a new way of being—an unconventional way of life. There is no specific outcome to achieve; it is not something we do as a character, but who we are. Our being is our state at any given moment, and we should cherish this state as we experience life.
After reading this book, you might pause on concepts like the effortless state, surrender, and the practice of non-doing, questioning how a 40,000-word book could be written in a state of non-doing. The secret is to stop pushing and allow information to come to you. You don't force things; you dance with life as a partner. You can't demand a dance partner move a certain way; you flow naturally with grace and dignity, responding to each movement. Life is your partner and not a hostage that you are threatening if things don’t go your way.
Finding Your True Self
True self is our inner essence and true being present within. We are supposed to embody that essence to be in alignment with our higher self.
Finding your true self isn't the hardest part. The hardest part is maintaining unwavering faith when everything seems to go wrong and continuing to move forward when you're ready to give up and revert to your old way of life. The difficulty arises when you know theoretically what you should be doing, but lack clarity when you need it most. You're suddenly in a blind spot, subconsciously aware that your ego has taken over, but unable to understand how to escape it because everything seems blurry.
Self-realization of our true self is done through introspection and perspective shifts. It is achieved only through direct experience, such as during meditation. To reach your true self, present within, you must release the conditioning patterns of your old identity and change your perspective on who you are.
Our experience is uniquely subjective. The argument against objective reality isn't merely philosophical; it's deeply practical. It suggests that our deeply held beliefs, often formed unconsciously in childhood or through ingrained societal conditioning, create a filter through which we experience the world. This "perceived reality" often limits us, trapping us in cycles of suffering driven by fear, attachment, and the need for control. The ego is the primary architect of this limited perspective, clinging to a false sense of self defined by external validation and achievements. The path to self-realization, therefore, involves a dismantling of this ego-driven construct. This isn't about self-deprecation or denial; rather, it's about self-acceptance – embracing all aspects of oneself, including the "shadow self," those parts we repress or disown. The goal is to become a whole individual.
This book offers various techniques to navigate this process. Self-inquiry, through practices like journaling or contemplative introspection, encourages a deeper examination of one's beliefs, motivations, and emotional responses. On the other hand, effortless attention helps release any internal resistance by directing attention to different parts of the body.
The concept of "non-doing" and allowing things to take their natural course helps us in accepting our true self. The "effortless action"—often associated with Taoism and similar philosophies—suggests that true action arises from inner alignment, not forced striving. This alignment with a "higher self" or "divine essence" suggests a connection to something larger than the individual ego, a universal consciousness or life force. In this way, when we no longer force things, it is no longer solely our will because we recognize our oneness with the source.
Furthermore, the book explores the inherent challenges of this journey. Becoming your true self can be uncomfortable, requiring courage to confront deeply held beliefs and emotional wounds. The book addresses common obstacles, such as resistance to change, doubt, and moments of regression.
The book "Self-concept" is pointing to the way. It can't provide a step-by-step guide or a pattern that would work for everyone. Everyone's experience and journey is unique. To become your true self, you need to experience life in the present moment.