There seems to be a convergence of opinion from many sources that the ‘self’ we cherish so much is actually an illusory construction.

What do I mean by ‘the self’? Well, whatever can be meant by that: in trying to justify the existence of a personal self, there have been many theories, ultimately each is as confused and confusing as the last.

To paraphrase Barry Long, there is no self other than the frustrating notion of one, just as the concept of ‘the feathers of an elephant’ does not exist in reality except as a frustrating notion. An elephant just does not have feathers and we just do not have ‘selves’. This fundamental fact is missed by many people, whether doing consciousness research or ‘personal growth’ practices, or whatever it may be- the assumption that there must be a self underlies a lot of the confusion in modern society.

Apparently when the Dalai Lama first heard of the concept of ‘self esteem’ he just could not understand what was meant by it, being brought up in a culture which does not have this concept of a concrete self or individuality as separate from the whole.

If anyone is inclined to disagree with any of this, please just shut your eyes and find ‘the self’- you cannot do it. You can of course point to yourself as having a ‘separate’ physical body and distinct personal character, you can see thoughts arising and disappearing, but a coherent ‘self’ holding all this together cannot be found. You can and probably always have assumed there must be one, but an assumption is not a fact, and the assumption will be found to be false on close examination.

Why is the notion of self so deeply entrenched in modern societal thinking?

Here is Adam Curtis:

“The way power works in the world is: they tell you stories that make sense of the world. That’s what America did after the second world war. It told you wonderful dreamlike stories about the world … And at that same time, you were encouraged to rise up and ‘become an individual’, which also made the whole idea of America attractive to the rest of the world. But then this very individualism began to corrode it. The uncertainties began in people’s minds. Uncertainty about ‘what is the point of being an individual?'”

“The politics of our time are deeply embedded in this idea of individualism,” he continues, “which is far wider than Westminster, consumerism or anything like that. It’s how you feel. People think, ‘Oh, if it’s within me it must be true.’ But it’s not the be-all and end-all. It’s not an absolute. It’s a way of feeling and thinking which is a product of a particular time and power. The notion that you only achieve your true self if your desires, your dreams, are satisfied … It’s a political idea. That’s the central dynamic of our life.”

Because you’re worth it? He nods. “Because you’re worth it.” He gestures out of the window, towards the Westfield Centre, Europe’s biggest and most eerily calming shopping mall. “That’s what Westfield is about. What you desire is the most important thing. But a great paradox of our time is that what you desire may not be coming from within you.

In short, the concept of the self or individual is used by corporations to flatter you, make you feel special, and make you buy stuff. This also cuts you off from the truth that there is no self, nothing to seek for, and separates you (as the illusory idea of a self) from your essential contentment and perfection (despite the undeniable challenges inherent in relative physical reality). Once cut off, you need something like a new iPhone in order to make yourself feel whole again, but because it’s only a substitute for true contentment, the satisfaction does not last for long.

Here is Douglas Rushkoff to explain more about the corporate culture’s use of this concept of ‘the self’:

To solve the problems of poverty (both real indigence and the poverty consciousness of those who always want more) and environmental destruction in this world, we need to change the economic model to a non-debt based one:

Buy the book: Web of Debt: The Shocking Truth About Our Money System And How We Can Break Free

And in order to do that, we need to unhook ourselves from the illusory concept of a self which needs to stay separate and consuming at all times.

Strong medicine can be found here: The Open Secret.

As this is basically an addiction, and the source of all other addictions, we should not expect it to be easy to ‘get clean’, however it is utterly necessary and we can be glad that it is becoming more and more obvious, mostly thanks to the reduction of power in the corporate media sector which has had a vested interest in keeping all this hidden for centuries.

We are born into this world knowing nothing and we accept what we are told as children. For my part I have never really understood what was meant by ‘the self’, I just assumed I should go along with it as if it were a real ‘thing’ as everyone else seemed to give the impression that they knew what ‘it’ was. I am now starting to realise that maybe they were also bluffing, even if that bluff has now become so entrenched that it has almost become real.

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