Some 2,500 years ago, the Lord Buddha spoke about the five causes of suffering:
- Not knowing who you really are.
- Attachments to things that are impermanent.
- Aversion to things that are impermanent.
- Identifying with the ego and all its stories.
- The fear of death.
He went on to say that when you rediscover who you truly are, all other causes of suffering will disappear.
I believe you should rediscover because your true self is, and has always been, with you. You’ve just forgotten it. You’ve allowed it to become covered over by all the beliefs, memories, and desires that fill your life. At one point we were all perfect, blissfully happy, and enlightened, living in Satya Yuga (the Golden Age), a Garden of Eden. However, like the prodigal son, we were tempted to wander off and explore, but instead became lost and confused, forgetting our real identity.
Some years ago, I was in India. The teacher I was studying with invited me to travel with her to a small village deep in the Himalayan foothills. The last leg was on the back of a truck that delivered supplies to remote places. Upon our arrival, we were warmly welcomed with a minor celebration. When it was time to sleep, I was shown to a simple hut containing a box-like wooden bed. It was only then that I thought of my luggage. It wasn’t in the room. We looked where the truck had off-loaded supplies, but it wasn’t there either.
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It was decided that my bag had been left on the truck, which had long since departed. This village had no shops. No phone service. I went to bed wondering what I would do. The next morning, a young man I hadn’t seen before came to my room with some breakfast. He looked around the room and asked, “Where are your things?” My bag is lost, I told him. “But I brought it up yesterday and put it safely in the drawer under the bed,” he said.
And there it was! I had been searching outside when everything I needed was right there, the entire time.
Everything is right here, right now. We just need to look within. It’s time to return home and embrace your true self. Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
You were born to rediscover yourself.
Let the Inner Wisdom Unfold
Take a moment to ask yourself, “Who am I?” Then ask, “What is my purpose?” There are many stories that we create about ourselves. Some are good and some may just cause confusion. Now ask yourself the same questions, but this time bring your awareness into your heart. Ask your heart for guidance and just listen to its response. You can close your eyes if it’s easier. Maybe some different answers will come this time. Either way, the real reason you are here, and your ultimate purpose, is to rediscover who you truly are.
Finding your true self is a process, a journey. Like a funnel, it starts off wide and may include many complimentary things, but gradually comes into narrow focus. As we become more and more aligned with our true self, the inner wisdom unfolds. Life becomes magical and effortless. But we need to be patient: The universe might have plans for us, greater than we can imagine.
When I was young, my father was an engineer who travelled the world. I thought this was a great life, and I decided to become an engineer who would build roads all over the world. In college I quickly realized that this wasn’t right for me, so I stopped. Fortunately, soon after, I learned to meditate, and I immediately knew I wanted to teach meditation. After teaching for a few years, I met and began working with Deepak Chopra. Ever since then, I have travelled the world, helping people find their roads back home.
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Take a moment to reflect on your life. Ask yourself: Am I living my true purpose? Is your life full of confusion, attachments, fears, negative expectations, and drama? Or do you find that your actions are mostly spontaneously correct? Do you automatically know what to do in most situations? Does your life feel effortless and supported by the world around you? If this is you, congratulations. You’re getting close.
Below are five ways to help you rediscover your true self.
5 Ways to Start Rediscovering Your True Self
Meditation
In today’s chaotic and confused world, it’s easy to lose our way. We’re constantly bombarded by marketing campaigns, social media, and fake news. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to good advice. But ultimately, we have to find our own path.
As the writer Diane Grant said, “It’s better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction.” But how do we know which direction is right for us? The surface of the mind is where the ego lives, and the ego thrives on drama. We need to look deeper. Light removes darkness, and meditation is the light to guide us on our journey within, to access the silent field of infinite possibilities where our true self lives.
Meditation isn’t about making your mind quiet; that’s impossible. It’s about finding the quiet that’s already within you. Silently repeating a mantra or simply observing our breath takes us from activity to quieter levels of thinking, until we slip into the spaces between our thoughts. We are not our thoughts. We are the one who thinks them, so the only place where the thinker of the thoughts can be is in the space between them. This is the real you, the witness to all thoughts, emotions, and activity. By regularly journeying back and forth, we begin to integrate the memory of who we are into our everyday life. Life once again becomes magical.
Detachment
Learn to let go of the things that no longer serve you. Attachment creates limitations. The known is our prison, and the unknown is infinite possibilities. Be spiritually brave and committed, and trust in the infinite organizing power of the universe.
Live With Awareness
If you live with awareness, every moment is a meditation. You always have a choice: Learn to be a conscious choice maker. The people and situations in your life aren’t as important as how you react to them. Where you put your attention, your energy goes. Don’t waste your energy on unnecessary things and learn discernment. Your desires shape your life; be careful what you wish for. Always ask your heart, “Do these desires and reactions serve my growth and spiritual unfoldment?”
Life can be viewed as a series of problems or opportunities. Look for the gift and spiritual growth in everything. Focusing on things as problems only leads to stagnation. Know when to find your way around obstacles, rather than spending time and energy trying to remove them. Focus on walking your own path of purpose.
Be open to new ideas. Nature is filled with different plants and creatures because God kept trying out new ideas.
Affirm
Repeat affirmations to remind you of your purpose. You can create your own or try some of these.
I welcome uncertainty.
When doubts arise, I will first doubt the doubter.
When things don’t seem to be going my way, I trust the universe has greater plans for me.
I will be patient and always choose love.
This moment is perfect and from its perfection, I will create a perfect future.
I am grateful for all the blessings I have in my life.
Bring the essence of the affirmations into your navel center. Imagine planting the seeds of them there. This is the seat of your personal power.
Start Now
There’s a Buddhist proverb that says, “If you are facing in the right direction, all you need do is keep walking”.
Stop thinking. Start doing. Have fun. Your true self is waiting for you!
Roger Gabriel is Chopra Global’s Chief Meditation Officer and a member of the Chopra Center Certifications’ Advisory Board. Want to learn from him directly? Enroll in the Chopra Meditation Certification, the Chopra Meditation Enrichment course, or the Chopra Meditation Foundations course.
