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Most of us think of a ghost as something that only exists after we die. We imagine it to be a piece of us that continues to hang around and haunt the places we lived while alive. What if there are ghosts of yourself that are around while you are alive? What if what you think you are, or your self-image, is actually a ghost? Ghosts are thought to be insubstantial forms that come and go. They are not real or even solid, and most people have a hard time seeing them. And yet how solid or substantial are our internal images of ourselves-our beliefs and ideas about who we are? If you think of yourself as an unattractive person one day and then as an attractive person the very next day, was either image real? And can anyone else see your self image? What if you have a self image of being unattractive and someone is attracted to you anyway? Maybe others can't actually see your self image. What if your self image is a kind of ghost. We don't usually see that our image of ourselves is a kind of ghost because we really believe that it is a true representation of what we are. We may be left wondering, Who am I if what I believe I am is unreal and does not exist? What else am I besides the ghost like images of 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. Our images of ourselves are constantly changing and fading away to be replaced by another thought about ourselves or a thought about something else altogether. So those images or identifications must not be very real. They may just be 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. This real you is the you that matters. What would it be like to be more curious about this real you than you are about the false ghosts of your self-images? What are you really? of? What is the real you like? What does it really want? What can and can't it do? These are great questions to explore, but remember that the real answers are still not to be found in any ideas about yourself. Look in the simple sense that you exist for the truest answers
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Internationally recognised spiritual teacher, Nirmala has been offering satsang and individual spiritual mentoring since 1998. He provides free spiritual books and many more ways to experience his teachings on endless-satsang.com. Don't reprint the same version as everyone else. Get your own unique content spirituality article here.
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