Expanding Identity - Identity as Acceptance

[integral]

Traditional View of Identity

Typically, people view identity as a set of characteristics they ascribe to themselves. This might include:

- Personal attributes (e.g., "I am kind," "I am ambitious")
- Social roles (e.g., "I am a teacher," "I am a parent")
- Beliefs and values (e.g., "I am a vegetarian," "I am an environmentalist")
- Cultural or national affiliations (e.g., "I am American," "I am Buddhist")

This view sees identity as largely self-declared and internally defined.

Identity as Acceptance: A Paradigm Shift

The perspective you're proposing reframes identity not as what we say about ourselves, but as what we accept about reality. Here's how this view works:

1. Identity Through Acceptance
   - Your identity is shaped by what aspects of reality you're willing to accept as part of yourself or your experience.
   - It's not about labels you give yourself, but about your openness to different facets of existence.

2. Resistance Defines Boundaries
   - The aspects of reality you resist or reject form the boundaries of your identity.
   - These boundaries create separation between "self" and "not-self."

3. Expanding Identity
   - As you accept more of reality, your identity expands.
   - This expansion isn't about adding more labels, but about dissolving the resistance to various aspects of existence.

4. Fluidity of Self
   - In this view, identity is not fixed but fluid, changing as our acceptance of reality shifts.

Examples

1. Professional Identity
   - Traditional view: "I am a doctor."
   - Acceptance view: Accepting the responsibilities, challenges, and realities of medical practice, including difficult aspects like patient suffering or medical limitations.

2. Personal Traits
   - Traditional view: "I am a kind person."
   - Acceptance view: Accepting both your capacity for kindness and your potential for unkindness, recognizing the full spectrum of human behavior within yourself.

3. Moral Stance
   - Traditional view: "I am against violence."
   - Acceptance view: Accepting the reality of violence in the world and potentially within yourself, while choosing non-violent actions.

Practical Application

1. Self-Reflection
   - Instead of asking "Who am I?", ask "What am I resisting in reality?"

2. Expanding Comfort Zones
   - Deliberately expose yourself to aspects of reality you typically avoid or reject.

3. Mindfulness
   - Practice observing your automatic reactions of acceptance or resistance to different experiences.

4. Integration
   - Work on integrating previously rejected aspects of reality into your sense of self.

This perspective on identity encourages a more profound, dynamic, and inclusive understanding of self. It shifts the focus from self-declaration to self-awareness and acceptance, potentially leading to greater personal growth and a more authentic way of being in the world.
 

Expanding Identity: The Journey to True Self

The Concept of Self and Reality

In this philosophical perspective, we start with the premise that a human being is, at its core, inseparable from the totality of reality. The "self" or "identity" we typically experience is not our true nature, but rather a construct created by rejecting or separating certain aspects of reality from our conception of who we are.

The Creation of Limited Identity

1. Rejection and Separation: We create our initial sense of self by distinguishing between "me" and "not me". This process involves rejecting vast portions of reality as separate from ourselves.

2. Cultural and Personal Influences: Our upbringing, culture, and personal experiences shape which aspects of reality we accept or reject as part of our identity.

3. Comfort Zones: This limited identity creates a "comfort zone" - a familiar, but restricted, sense of self that feels safe and manageable.

The Process of Expanding Identity

1. Recognizing Limitations: The journey begins with recognizing that our current identity is limited and doesn't encompass all of reality.

2. Confronting Rejected Aspects: We start to confront aspects of reality we've previously rejected. This could include traits we dislike in ourselves, actions we consider unethical, or parts of the world we've ignored.

3. Gradual Acceptance: Slowly, we begin to accept these rejected aspects not as separate from us, but as part of the larger reality of which we are a part.

4. Expanding Comfort Zone: As we accept more of reality, our comfort zone expands. We become more at ease with a wider range of experiences and aspects of existence.

5. Dissolving Boundaries: The boundaries between "self" and "other" start to blur as we recognize our interconnectedness with all of reality.

The Example of Killing

In this framework, the capacity for killing serves as a poignant example:

1. Initial Rejection: Many people reject the idea of killing as something separate from their identity. "I'm not a killer" becomes part of their self-concept.

2. Recognizing Reality: Expanding identity involves recognizing that killing is part of the reality of life on Earth. From the food chain to cellular pcesses, life and death are intertwined.

3. Acceptance Without Action: Accepting killing as part of reality (and thus, part of one's expanded identity) doesn't mean endorsing or engaging in harmful actions. It's about acknowledging this aspect of reality rather than rejecting it.

4. Broader Understanding: This acceptance leads to a more nuanced understanding of life, death, and the complex web of existence.

The True Self

The endpoint of this expansion is what some philosophies call the "True Self":

1. All-Encompassing: The True Self is an identity that has expanded to incorporate all of reality, rejecting nothing.

2. Beyond Dualism: It transcends the dualistic notions of good and bad, self and other, being and non-being.

3. Unity with Reality: In this state, one recognizes their fundamental unity with all of existence.

Practical Implications

1. Self-Acceptance: This perspective encourages radical self-acceptance, including aspects of ourselves we might typically reject or judge.

2. Ethical Consideration: It doesn't negate ethical behavior but encourages a more nuanced understanding of morality based on interconnectedness.

3. Reduced Judgment: As we accept more of reality as part of ourselves, we may find ourselves judging others less harshly.

4. Increased Responsibility: Paradoxically, as we expand our identity to encompass more of reality, we might feel a greater sense of responsibility for the world around us.

This perspective offers a framework for personal growth and self-understanding. It suggests that our journey of self-discovery is really a process of expanding our identity to align more closely with the totality of reality.

---
Claud AI Assisted. 

Edited July 17 by integral

[Salvijus]

I bet you regret starting that thread about vegetables by now

Edited July 17 by Salvijus

[integral]

4 hours ago, Salvijus said:

I bet you regret starting that thread about vegetables by now

😂😂 people wouldn’t engage with it unless it was spicy 🌶

how to spice this up??

Pacifism is reality dysmorphia. Tibet had to go to war with China not participate in pacifism, they miss played the landscape they misplayed the chessboard.

An ideal is not always the best move in a position. If your opponent only understands war then you need to fight fire with fire.

This is why we don’t have turquoise countries.

Pacifism is a higher virtue in many situation but it lacks adaptability. If flexibility is something high consciousness pacifism agrees with that’s great but let’s not call it pacifism anymore.

A pacifist identity needs to incorporate larger parts of reality.

High consciousness idealism versus high consciousness realism

Edited July 17 by integral

[CARDOZZO]

Gold post. Putting into practice 😉