The Search for Self Identity

Show Notes

Who do you think you are? What do you think you are?

We can all find myriad ways to describe ourselves and we often rely on these descriptors to give us our ‘sense of identity.’ “I’m a mother of three, a nuclear physicist, a passionate tango dancer and an advocate for animal rights…”

The problem with this approach is that our descriptors are always subject to change, and even subject to debate in some cases.

We’re only ‘young’ until we become not so young. We’re only ‘successful’ until we redefine what success is, which is often based on someone else’s judgment. We’re only X until it becomes more fashionable to be Y and it suits us better to become one of those…

So is it any wonder that most of us have this gnawing sense of uncertainty. We’re trying to build a sense of identity on the shifting sands of circumstances and subjective judgments. And as soon as we do settle on a solid sense of identity, something changes to make it shaky again.

Thom’s got your back though. By the end of this episode you’ll ‘hardly know yourself,’ but if you follow Thom’s counsel, you’ll know yourself better than you ever have.

Episode highlights: 

[00:50] Who We Are and What We Are

[02:02] "I'm a This. I'm a That."

[03:17] "Nobody Knows Me at All"

[04:30] The Distinction Between Consciousness and The Absolute

[06:21] Change Defines Relativity

[07:57] I Exist

[09:28] The Evolution of Psychology

[11:13] Nurturance Shapes the Way You See Yourself

[12:47] The Vedic Concept of Psyche

[14:24] Are We Alone in The Universe?

[15:21] "What Are We Actually?"

[16:05] The Body is Constantly in Flux

[17:15] Unsatisfying Pronouns

[18:46] Out of Africa

[20:28] What Are You Actually?

[21:20] Tat Wale Baba

[22:49] Ageless Rishi

[24:07] A Forest Dweller

[25:00] "I am London"

[26:04] "That Also"

[27:10] Also "That Also"

[27:55] A Mantra is Resonant With the Thinker of It

[29:19] "I Am Totality"

[31:13] A Return to Homeostasis

[32:35] In Symbiosis With Our Environment

[33:48] The Microbiome in Our Gut

[35:18] An Exchange of Energy and Intelligence

[36:38] I Am Not this Body that Changes Constantly

[38:03] The Crescendo of the Development of Human Consciousness

[39:32] Rigid Attachment

[40:23] "Don't Say the C Word"

[41:45] There is Nothing Worse Than a Human Being Not Knowing Why They Exist

[43:01] Vedanta - The Highest Science of the Vedic Worldview

[44:44] Brahman and Brahmin

[46:26] Totality is Not Separate

[47:46] Brahman is Not Pervaded or Infused into Anything; It IS Everything

[49:07] The Fulfillment of the Search for Identity

[50:07] The True Santosha

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Creators & Guests

Producer

Brett Jarman

I'm a long-term Vedic meditator, learning from Thom Knoles in the early 1990s. Having put my skills to work as a business consultant and mentor since 1999, I'm currently in training to become a Vedic Meditation Initiator myself. Once qualified I'll combine the two passions, showing business owners and professionals how to enhance their professional and personal performance with Vedic Meditation being a key component.

Producer

Susan Chen

A former Wall Street Research Analyst, with a BA from Harvard under my belt, I studied with Thom Knoles, the pre-eminent authority of Vedic knowledge, and spend two months of the year continuing my study of Vedic knowledge in India. I was inducted into the Shankaracharya tradition in a 12-week immersion program by Thom, with Shri Shri 1008 Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri, Supreme Authority of Vedic knowledge in India in 2106.

What is Vedic Worldview?

Join philosopher, educator and celebrated speaker on the cognitive sciences, Thom Knoles for inspiring insights and wisdom to support your personal evolution. Thom is an renowned expert on the relationship between quantum physics and human consciousness, and on the 5,000 year-old body of wisdom known as The Veda. For over 50 years, he has personally taught Vedic Meditation to tens of thousands of students and consulted to governments and private corporations throughout the world.