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The Ghosts Within: Our Self Image Is a Lie

Ghosts are usaully thought of as something that exists after we die. We imagine a piece of us that haunts all of the places we lived when we were alive. But what if there is another kind of ghosts that is around even while you are alive? What if your self-image is actually a kind of ghost or lie?

As we usually think of them, ghosts are insubstantial forms that come and go. They are not quite solid or real, and most people can't see them. And yet how substantial or real are our images of ourselves-our ideas about who we are? If you have an image of yourself as an attractive person one day and as an unattractive person the next day, how real was either image? And can other people see your self image? What does it mean if you have a self image of being unattractive and someone acts attracted to you anyway? Maybe they can't see your self image. Maybe your self image is a kind of ghost.

We may not be willing to learn that our idea of ourselves is not real because we are used to thinking these ghost like images are who we really are. We end up wondering, Who could I be if what the image I have of myself is not real? What else exists here besides these ghostly self images I take to be myself?

There is a strong sense that we do exist, that we are real. But does this sense of existence and reality come from our image of ourselves? Or does the sense of being real and of existing come from somewhere deeper within our being? It's difficult to know for sure since the image and the sense of realness can both be present at the same time, and our egoic idea of ourselves can co-opt that deeper sense of realness we naturally have.

One accurate way to measure how real something is to ask how long does it last. The more reality something has, the longer it tends to last. Your ideas about yourself come and go (like a ghost) and don't last that long at all. A thought is over so fast that often we can't even remember what we were just thinking.

A new image or thought about ourselves is constantly arising to replace the last thought or image. And sometimes we aren't thinking about ourselves at all. So all our self-images images and identifications are not very real. They are like ghosts in our minds.

What about the pure sense that you exist right now? Does that come and go? How often do you have the opposite sense-that you don't exist at all? The sense that you exist is more real than your ideas about yourself because it doesn't come and go. You exist, but your ideas about yourself are just ghosts. What you are is not contained in your ideas or identifications. What you really are is still here even when your ideas about yourself fade away, like ghostly images in a movie.

It is the real you that matters. You can become more curious about this real you than you are about the false ghosts of identity. What is the real you made of? What is it like? What does it want? What can it do? These are rich and meaningful questions to explore, but remember that the real answers are not to be found in your ideas about yourself. The truest answers can be found in the simple sense that you exist.

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Well recognised spiritual teacher, Nirmala has been offering satsang and one-to-one spiritual mentoring since 1998. He offers free spiritual books and many more ways to experience his teachings on endless-satsang.com. This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.

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