Daily Reflection
A moment of peace and contemplation for your day.
The Wisdom
The false self grows out of unconscious being. It is a fragmented amalgam of many selves tenuously bound together by a façade of normalcy. It is a divided house built upon an imaginary foundation. The false self is essentially a psychological process occurring in the mind that organizes, translates, and makes sense of incoming data. When this process mixes with the self-reflexive movement of consciousness, it produces a sense of self. This sense of self then pervades consciousness as a sort of perfume, causing the mind to mistake a process for an actual separate entity.
The Reflection
The self you have become convinced is the "real you" is a phantom that exists only as an abstraction in your mind, animated by the conflicted emotional energy of separation. It is about as real as last night’s dream. When you stop thinking it into existence, it has no existence at all. At the core of this false self is a void of deficiency, and the false self orbits around this abyss in terror of oblivion.
The Practice
Today, investigate the "I" you refer to constantly. When you say, "I am hungry," "I am annoyed," or "I am successful," ask yourself: What is this I? Is it a thought? A memory? A sensation? Trace the thread back through your identifications. Strip away the masks. See if you can find a solid entity, or if you only find a process of thoughts passing through a silent presence.
The Mantra
"My true nature is presence, not personality."