Chapter One Verse One

You are not your body. The body is solely manifest. It is easy to consider the separation of the flesh, but less so for what is part of the flesh.

The first striking element of this verse is the use of the word ‘you’. This seems to demand some sort of definition of ‘you’ or the self, but as we see in later verses the function of ‘you’ here is to be a stand in for the consideration of self as layers are stripped away to see what remains. The importance does not lie in defining ‘you’, but the continued consideration of what ‘you’ is and what previously assumed elements may be stripped away.

Saying “You are not your body” may seem nonsensical to the average person. It is the most tangible part of the self; I can see my hands working in tandem with my desire to type this out, and any effect on the body feels deeply personal. Yet it is merely a tool. Humans tend to identify with the tools directly under our control, especially when said control becomes so instinctive to solely feel as part of the will. In this way, we do not say “His car nearly hit my car” but “He nearly hit me”. Likewise as we do not become one with the car when we are in the driver’s seat, we are not our bodies.

Any part of this flesh may be removed, as long as life is sustained, without becoming less of ourselves. This becomes more complicated in considering the brain in this way; as it is discussed specifically in the next verse the topic of the brain as part of the body will be left for that later discussion.It may be helpful to regard the brain as a special case, for the sake of concentrating discussion. This is not to say the brain is apart from the body, but simply to make clear the structure of this discussion to avoid confusion as it will be discussed tomorrow.

The word ‘solely’ implies a separation between the body and anything which is not manifest, so what is manifest? Manifest is the physical, the actualized plane. Typically this is attached to the idea of the traditional five senses. I can see the pen next to my laptop. I picked up said pen and felt its weight and the texture of its plastic. It rattled when I set it down. There is not much to report in terms of taste and smell, beyond the slight reflection on where a philosophy degree has gotten me.While we could delve into ideas on empiricism, that would be wasting energy on a tangent. Our focus is on interrogating what is outside that initial ‘you’ as parts are stripped away.

Specifying the separation of the body does not imply that it is any less important, as alluded to in further verses. To continue the car metaphor, while it is not part of us we still look after it as it plays an important part in our lives (not to imply everyone owns a car; regardless most will understand the comparison). While keeping it fueled and maintained is the baseline for it working, cleaning your car and making it nice to be in will improve quality of life. Now consider your body in the same way, except you spend every* moment of your life in it! Your body being solely manifest means that who you are is not tied to the physical form you occupy. It can, however, be an excellent medium for self expression. 

“It is easy to consider the separation of the flesh” as it can be boiled down into a simple thought experiment. If you lost a limb, you would still be you. Certainly, you would be affected by it as it would be a significant change requiring adjustment, but you would still be you. If your car broke down on the side of the road, it would represent a drastic shift in your day-to-day, but eventually walking would be the new normal. If the hands I use for typing were to disappear, the means by which I put out my ideas may change but eventually I would adjust to speech-to-text or dictation and from the audience stand-point there would be no change. This part is an invitation to do the work, to sit down and consider your relationship to your body, with the encouragement that it is not an insurmountable task.

“[B]ut less so for what is part of the flesh.” And here we return to why the brain may be considered a special case: it is so central to our manifest form that even its consideration as such requires separate deliberation of its connection to the manifest and what may lie beyond. This will be explored more in the coming days, however if you’d like to read ahead on this chapter it is posted in full here.

How Waking Thoughts are the Architects of our Daily Demeanor

I once read that our first thoughts in the morning are the most crucial for setting the tone for the rest of the day. I pondered on this over a long time period and have finally understood why this may be the case. I will present the “why”s in the following piece. The saying goes that our first thoughts in the morning are the most crucial because they are the starting point for where we situate…

Who am I? What does it mean to be me? There has been a recent surge of interest towards the nature of the Self and consciousness. As a person who is interested in the philosophy of mind, I’d like to briefly examine my take on the Self. The Self is a puzzle that has perplexed me more than what Chalmers refers to as the hard problem of consciousness. I have never doubted the fact that my “self”…