A meditation on form identity versus essence identity. The speaker argues that most people lead with external markers, but spiritual maturity means discovering something deeper underneath. A framework for understanding who you actually are.
One child says to the other child, look, I can do this. You can't do what I can do. I can do this. But you can't. Or the child is, my dad has a bigger car than yours. You can't say to that child, don't do that. You are emphasizing your form identity. But you know that's what's happening. It's a natural tendency in humans to emphasize. It could be a possession. I have more than you. It could be my body looks better than yours or is stronger than yours or bigger than yours or taller than yours. Or it could be, I have an ability that you don't have. Children start with that and it's that I can play the piano. What can you play? I play the ping pong machine. So the emphasize form identity is a natural thing. It can be. There is a point where this should come to a natural conclusion. I would say in a more evolved humanity, the emphasis of form identity as a person reaches adulthood a little bit after is replaced. At the moment, this is not what's happening, but can be replaced by something more genuine and deeper. And that is finding your essence identity. That's underneath your form identity and that is spiritual dimension. Finding the spiritual dimension in yourself so that who you think you are is no longer. You still have a form identity. Yes, that level is still there. Undoubtedly you have certain abilities. You're good at this, you're not good at that. You're better than the other person in this thing, but not as good as in the other thing that remains. But it no longer gives you your sense of who you are.
Why alcohol feels like relief, and what it is really giving you | Eckhart Tolle
