Who Are You? | Gabriel Tira

Disclaimer: this letter requires all your attention as it's gonna be mind-blowing, as the description says.

I am a software engineer.

I am an introverted person.

I am a procrastinator.

I am a single person.

How do you expect to reach the freedom, live a wonderful life, materialize everything you want, if you don't even know who you are?

We've been taught since kids to identify ourselves through labelling. No matter whether that label is temporarily or irrelevant, you have to be something.

You are not labels. They only help to describe parts of your behaviours and interests.

Amongst the numerous questions we simply don't ask because nobody challenged us to do so, I want to break the ice with one of them: Who am I?

Understanding this question will bring everything you need into your life. I mean it as I lived it myself.

Contrary to how usual explanations work, by telling "what we are", I choose to reverse engineer this concept and point out what I think about "we are not".

We'll be diving into the most spiritual and philosophical letter so far, so set your mind into "wait.. what?" mode and let's begin.

You are not your belongings

Say you own a car, a home, a nice watch, expensive clothes and the latest iPhone. What all these say about you?

Maybe it says that you earn a lot, but it's describing the financial aspect, which is just a part of you.

If you're losing or downgrading anything of what you own, you are still the same, only the belongings changed. So you are not your belongings.

You are not your body

Say you're healthy, having a nice physique, doing your day to day activities without issues. What all these say about you?

Maybe it says you're beautiful, attractive, strong, but they are describing the physical aspect, which is just a part of you.

Without challenging the universe, if you're suffering from an accident and lose a leg, you are the same, only the body has changed. So you are not your body.

You are not your mind

Say you're growth-oriented, thinking towards rational decisions with a non-judging approach. What all these say about you?

Maybe they say you can have neutral conversions that promote growth, but it's about the way of interacting with the exterior, which is just a part of you.

If you're having a temporary depression and your mind is seeing only the bad, you are the same, only the mindset has changed. So you are not your mind.

You are not your emotions or feelings

Say you're a happy, energic, charismatic and motivational person. What all these say about you?

Maybe they say that people can feel inspired by your actions and feel comfortable talking with you, but it's about the way you interpret the world, or the world interprets you, which is just a part of you.

If you're going through an unmanageable stressful period and you're angry, grumpy and blaming others, you are the same, only the emotional system is altered. So you are not your feelings.

All right.. What's left?

You may legitimately ask: Then.. Who's reading this letter?

You. But it depends, so let's elaborate on this question:

If you want to argue about this letter, it's the mind that fired
If you feel peaceful and calm, it's the emotional aspect responding
If you just observe my opinion and simply agree or disagree, it's you

You can only be an observer, either yours or the world's. You don't decide, don't command, you just are. And your mind, body, emotions and other parts of yours will act in accordance with who you are.

This is the consciousness -the influencer of every day perception and interpretation of life.

Have you ever had that feeling of peace and balance that no matter what life throws at you, you'd still be zen? Like a hallucinant state of calm.

It is related to how you feel about yourself in the spiritual way, meaning that you are aware of your values, accepted them, and strive for the better, no matter if external factors delay your progress.

It's about the values nobody can take away from you. They should be our aim to develop to reach freedom.

This is the soul -the guard against anything happening in the outside world.

Nothing and Nobody can actually hurt you

Of course, we are talking about the latest stage of awareness, where it should be understood that when we are referring to us, we well separate "us" from our actions and behaviours.

As discussed above, the deepest you is simply an observer.

This is why you cannot be hurt, because an observer never sits inside the arena.

The arena can be extremely diversified:

Work conflicts
Hate comments on social media
Governmental changes
The loss of a closed person
Ego-based reactions
Natural disasters

Every action is fired without our approval, right? We simply cannot control it, and that's ok. But here's the catch: neither of them will hurt us, just some of our parts at most.

What's the main benefit of this awareness?

If you cannot be hurt, you can just keep going after your dreams no matter what happens outside, until your last breath.

While you realize this, how are your fears feeling? They are just a creation of your mind. If you're not your mind, and you cannot be hurt, do they exist anymore? Fears are really only about protecting ourselves, but since there's no need for that, they simply vanish.

You see, above I kept repeating "What all these say about you" for a reason. This question points out that you cannot be described and associated with your mind, body, belongings or emotions because they are things of the moment.

Throughout life, you will live antagonistic experiences, which shape you (the observer) to become wiser. It doesn't mean that if you're going to have moments different to how you behave, you're not you anymore.

Nothing is permanent, don't attach to anything you cannot control, just live the present moment as is.

So, who am I?

Frankly, I cannot give a concrete answer to that, because you are the only one knowing every part of your life. With this letter I only hope you can start asking more questions and find it out on your own.

Who you are is the answer where there are no external circumstances.

There is one thing I'd like to clarify. While I said you cannot be hurt, only some parts of you can be, it doesn't mean you won't feel pain or go through suffering anymore. It's not about Disney cartoons.

We have 3 components allowing us to interact with the world:

The body
The mind
The soul

Religiously take care of each of them, as they massively improve the quality of life you're gonna experience. While they are not you, they are serving to express who you are.

Letter's Quest

Because this subject is already complex, I will keep this short. This is the scenario to work with:

The world is yours
You don't have a job, so no work colleagues
You don't have friends, nor family
You don't have any material things, not even clothes
Money doesn't exist
Anywhere you go you won't meet people along the way
Anything you do will have an impact on other people

Pick one of the methods to help visualise it: journaling or meditation.

Take your time to understand every condition in the scenario, and picture that world before going into the chosen method. It's a tough and powerful scenario, don't rush it.

Once there, describe every single detail you feel. At first, nothing may come up, but it's normal. Remember, it's one of the most complex questions, don't expect to solve it in minutes.

Don't get demotivated if nothing comes out after the first try, remember that you are here for the result; embrace the process towards living the freedom.

Until the next letter, I wish you success in everything you're up to!