When I ask people the question "Who are you?" I'm usually
greeted with silence. People are not sure; in fact, some have 
never even stopped to think about it. Can you imagine living 
all your life without knowing who you really are?

	Once people recover from the initial surprise of the 
question they respond with all kinds of definitions, most of 
which are based on their character or abilities. "I am Anna, I 
am a teacher, I am a mother, I am good-natured, I am artistic, 
I am a driven individual, I like helping others," and so on.

	Would you agree that who you are is a collection of 
your experiences, memories, thoughts, feelings and beliefs? 
Most people tend to agree with that.

     Let's examine this deeper. Are we our experiences and 
memories or are these only events that we have encountered no 
more? Are we our thoughts? 

	If you answered yes, then let me ask you this: Can we 
change a thought? Of course we can. So who then is changing the 
thought? Is there someone "bigger" than the thoughts who can 
change them if he or she wishes to? The thought cannot change 
itself, the same way a book cannot turn its own pages, or a car 
start its own engine. So who inside can do it? You may say: "I 
do. I can change my thought." So in that case you are not your 
thoughts, are you?

	Are you your feelings? As with thoughts, you can say 
that you have feelings but not that you are them. And what about 
beliefs? Are you your belief system? Many assume that they are, 
but we need to use the same rationale: we can change or update a 
belief or an attitude. It may be hard to do, but it can be done. 
You may have beliefs and attitudes but you are not them, wouldn't 
you agree? 

	In that case who is this person who is having thoughts, 
memories, feelings and beliefs? You may say it's the PERSONALITY.
Many psychologists would agree with that, but who was there 
before you developed a personality? Who is the entity who has 
the personality? 

	You may answer again, "I do." In that case, who are you? 
We are back to square one, but at least we know, at this point, 
who we are not. We are not, at least not totally, our thoughts, 
feelings, or personalities.

	The word "person" comes from the Latin word "persona," 
which means a mask. Indeed, people wear all kinds of masks that 
enable them to play all kinds of dramas. But even if you wear a 
thousand different masks, there is a face behind the mask. I 
call it CoreSelf.

	We present many selves including the self that we would 
like others to think we are, the self we actually think we are, 
the self we are afraid we are, and then, of course, the core 
essence that we really are. When you take off the masks, you 
find the true face of who you are. 

	In his famous statement, Descartes declared, "I think, 
therefore, I am." From a spiritual perspective, the more 
appropriate statement would be, I think, therefore I THINK I am. 
Who we think we are is nothing but a bunch of thoughts! Who we 
really are is beyond thought.

	Try this awareness exercise for a moment: take a few 
deep breaths in, suspend all thoughts, perceptions and feelings? 
Who remains after you pushed away everything? 
	
	Our CoreSelf is indeed the spiritual essence that we are 
really made of. Below our egos and excessive mental processing 
it lays waiting for us to discover it. When we learn to 
recognize it and deepen our awareness of it, good things happen, 
automatically, without the need for goals or use of will power. 
We are then in sync with who we truly are. Therefore, to be more 
of who we are, we have to reduce our pre-occupation with thoughts 
and feelings and become more aware of our surrounding, without 
criticizing, judging, blaming and complaining. 

	To live life more fully, a life that is purposeful, we 
first need to know who we are and make choices based on this 
inner wisdom. Then, we can begin to experience a strong sense 
of freedom, joy and inner peace. Take a deep breath in, exhale 
slowly, suspend all mental processing for a while. Who are you?

"Surely, we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, 
but spiritual beings having a human experience."  Pierre 
Teilhard De Chardin

This is an adapted excerpt from the book: Shortcut to 
Spirituality: Mastering the Art of Inner Peace
Official site: http://www.ShortCutToSpirituality.com