INTRODUCTION

Hellooo hope you’re doing well, drinking your alkaline water, protecting your heart all those good things. So who am I? Well for starters I am someone who may have a slight obsession with the concept of identity, but I suppose when you feel like an alien the only sense of relief you can find is a self definition or label. Who am I? I mean I look human, but I don’t seem to be having the same experience as %99.9999999 of the population. Why is that? Why do I naturally laugh and cry when I’m not suppose to? Why are my inherent dreams and aspirations so foreign from the perspective of my peers and authority figures? Why am I just…so different? These narratives started to orbit around my consciousness at such an early age and I didn’t have anyone to express these thoughts to. So the internet became my therapist. I dove into Jungian Analytical Psychology, Zodiacs, Buddhism, Alan Watts, Ram Dass, etc…anything I could find to comprehend my existence. So I guess I’m what you call a ISFP/INFJ, Cancer Moon, HSP, Existentialist🫠. Now these labels did give me a sense of purpose, a sense of direction, a way to navigate my inner and outer worlds more effectively; but they never got to the root of the issue : Who am I? At my core I started to understand that in order to truly answer that question I would need to go beyond the conceptual realm if you will. I think everything changed for me when I saw this video on YouTube.

Now everyone I have researched had articulated the insights described in this video but it was something about the way it was worded that really spoke to me. This is a documentary about a man named Ramana Maharshi that had the same question as me : Who am I? When he was a young boy his father had passed. He attended his funeral, looked at his fathers body, and couldn't wrap his head around what he was seeing. I mean his father was there….but everyone had told him he really wasn't. So that begs the question : Where did his father go and if that body wasn’t his father then who is? He used the curiosity of his outward experience to trigger a profound process of self inquiry . In other words the only thing he wanted to know was who..or rather what he was. After this brief, yet intense moment of introspection he discovered that he wasn’t his body, nor was he his mind, rather he was the observer of the two. He was the still presence behind or in between the drama of life rather than life itself. This may be hard to wrap your head around but think about it like this. As you’re reading this paragraph your attention is only focused on the movement of this page, or the words on this screen. You have to completely ignore the background to logically comprehend what I’m saying right now. We get so caught up in logical comprehension that we start to identify with that ability, and ignore our true self : the still presence, or the background. This might sound silly but pay attention to the space between the words for a second, stop reading and simply start giving the background your attention for a moment. You may notice a subtle feeling of relief in your body or mind, this is known as the process of mindfulness or simply being present. Now this feeling is a bottomless well you can dive into anytime you want! Exploring the depths of your self can be a little intimidating but you can dip your toes in here and there until you feel ready to swim, or reside in a meditative state. There are countless benefits to this practice and I invite you to take a minute or two a day to give some attention to yourself, the observer, the still presence, the background of life, etc… Humanity has given you many names, but the names are something you will want to avoid if you want to experience complete self understanding. Now this experience is so powerful that Ramana felt compelled to stay in it, Jesus Christ felt compelled to stay in it, the Buddha felt compelled to stay in it, the list goes on. I seem to have caught the bug as well and I want to share how I stay in it through my own practices and through music. So we’ll talk again don’t worry ;) I hope this inspires you to explore the beautiful depths of yourself and Keep Your I Open.