The “False Self”: What I Do.
The false self also over identifies with what it does, and confuses “What it does” with “Who I am.”
Most of the things we have, enumerated above, also involve a lot of doing, which further cements our false identification with it. Certainly the occupation we have and the relationships we have often involve a lot of time and effort, and doing. Men tend to identify themselves very strongly with their occupation, while women tend to identify strongly with their relationships.
The false self also identifies with hobbies and recreational activities we both have and do. “I am a golfer/tennis player/bowler/knitter/avid cook/dancer/gym rat.”
In summary, the second part of the false self is the many lies that say “I am all the things I do.” While we all do many of the things mentioned above, it is important to realize that what we do is not who we are.”
The “False Self”: What Other People Think of Me.
The false self also over identifies with what other people think of it, and confuses the “opinions of others” with “Who I am.”
The false self believes the lie: “I am a more worthwhile person if other people approve of me; and I am a less worthwhile person if other people disapprove of me.”
The approval or disapproval most often relates to what the person has or does: “ He is very good at his job”, “She is an excellent cook”, He is a lousy golfer”, She keeps a messy house.”
In summary, the third and final part of the false self is the many lies that say “I am what other people think of me.” While other people will have various opinions about us, it is important to realize that those opinions are not who we are.
This ends for now our focus on deluded thinking, the lies represented by the roots of the weed. For more on the “False Self”, I recommend two books: True Self/False Self by Basil Pennington and Invitation to Love by Thomas Keating. The latter book not only discusses the true self and false self, but how they relate to the entire spiritual journey into Divine Union, a subject we will also be covering.
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