Define I

[WokeBloke]

So the word I is perhaps the most important word in the English vocabulary. So I'm curious to hear your definition of I. What does it mean to you?

[silene]

To me it means self-reference. The human organism as a whole, referring to itself (we're just another species of monkey after all   )

Edited November 13, 2021 by silene

[BipolarGrowth]

I is ________. Amorphous, ever changing. 

[WokeBloke]

7 minutes ago, BipolarGrowth said:

I is ________. Amorphous, ever changing. 

Cool definition! And what does I refer to in your view?

Edited November 13, 2021 by WokeBloke

[WokeBloke]

5 minutes ago, silene said:

To me it means self-reference. The human organism as a whole, referring to itself (we're just another species of monkey after all   )

Yes I like that. The word the organisms/creatures use to talk about their their life.

[BipolarGrowth]

4 minutes ago, WokeBloke said:

Cool definition! And what does I refer to?

It is always referring to something new, but for most people it’s the body/mind. Spiritual practice eventually shows you more and more variance in this pattern until it can never really be caught again other than being seen as experience itself. Cessation shows, for some who interpret it in this way, that even experience/consciousness is not consistent and can be removed. So it’s nothing, but probably not what you think I mean at all when I say nothing. 

[silene]

24 minutes ago, WokeBloke said:

Yes I like that. The word the organisms/creatures use to talk about their their life.

We're all in a struggle for survival, which inevitably involves creating boundaries between what "I" is identifying with, which is trying to survive, and everything else, which is maybe a threat to our survival, resources for us to consume (crossing the boundary into I), or neutral.  I doesn't only refer to my individual body/mind, but extends whatever else is within my identification circle, such as my family, my social circle my community, my nation etc. So I guess if I can extend "I" wider and wider, I'm getting closer to God. 

The birds in my garden are territorial, have a sense of I without using that word (although who knows what the birdsong means) so this isn't just a human structure. Maybe humans, taking self consciousness further than most animals, are therefore better placed to understand and transcend I-ness, with all it's associated frustrations and suffering. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by silene