It’s important to know who you are. Because if you know who you are, you can’t get fooled into thinking you can be fixed.
This is the essential problem of everyone. We have been taught from a young age that there’s something wrong with us that needs to be fixed. So much of our insanity is us trying to fill the hole of that and trying to fix it.
There’s a stupid platitude that goes around in spiritual circles – you’ve heard it, right? “You don’t need to be fixed; you’re fine just the way you are.” It does us no good because it’s talking about the wrong thing.
Who you are, your essence, your inner Enlightenment, your self-mastery – can’t be fixed. It’s not that everything’s okay; it’s just that there is nothing tangible there that can be fixed. Who you are is a total blend into all of existence.
Any idea about fixing your inner Enlightenment is crazy. Any idea about fixing your inner awakeness is crazy. It would be just as crazy as saying we need to fix the universe. The total blending of you into all things is this great immense emptiness, nothingness, and everything. It’s a moot point to want to fix it.
On the other hand, you have this false self that has been built up since the day you were born. That ego, that inner wound – it can’t be fixed because it’s such a mess. It’s the exact opposite of your inner self. This ego, this false self, can’t be fixed; it has to be completely dropped.
So, when you hear the platitude that everything’s fine and you don’t need to be fixed, well, it’s bull. If you’re being driven by your ego, if you’re being driven by your wants, needs, fear, and agony, that’s not fine. That thing is awful; it can’t be fixed; it has to be dropped completely.
The second you know who you are, that ‘thing’ doesn’t have a hold on you any longer.
Imagine a scenario where it’s you, living your life. Your brain is thinking all sorts of crazy stuff, emotions are doing whatever needs to happen in the moment. Anger comes up, fear comes up, joy comes up – but it doesn’t change you in any way because you’re this solid being who knows who you are.
We need all our pieces.
Anger very often is necessary, particularly in our world. I believe it’s probably necessary for human beings in any time and place (otherwise we wouldn’t have it). But you can’t fix that thing; it’s not you, and you can’t fix yourself either.
When you know who you are, it’s obvious. It’s not like, “Oh, I know who I am; I’m enlightened. Now let me go read a book on how to be enlightened.”
No. It’s obvious – “Oh my gosh, I’m me, I’m a human being, I live in a world, I live on a planet, I live with other people, I breathe, I sing, I dance, I get angry.” You don’t have that ache of separation any longer.
This is why it’s absolutely critical to figure out who you are, and this is what Non-Duality is trying to show you. All the crazy practices we do: Inquiring, “You are not that.” Always looking for the separation. Always slicing through misconceptions. Those practices help remove the crust of illusion so you can peek through.
Know absolutely that there is an inner core of you that is awake and alive. Find that, and then you can’t get fooled ever again into thinking that you need to be fixed.