sense of self...

"So why are we so afraid? Because we have this idea of who we are that is limited and separate. We have an image of ourselves as somebody who can be hurt or damaged or offended."

"We have to see, through our own investigation, that this sense of self, this sense of separateness, is an illusion…

It is that little conclusion – that I am the person I imagine myself to be – that opens us up to fear.

Because that person we imagine ourselves to be also imagines that it can be hurt at any moment, that illusory sense of self sees life as very dangerous.

Someone can come up and say an unkind word, and the illusory sense of self immediately go into conflict and pain and suffering.

We feel insecure because our sense of self can be harmed so easily."


Adyashanti