Wonderful discussion, Alexandra! You got it!! Imagine if between your roles (behaviours, shadows, etc.) and our physical body, there is something called your inner being? You know, a place where emotion flows, thoughts arise and action is guided? Isn't this where you have to look for who you are? You won't find it outside, I guess?
Yes…. many traditions have tried to describe it in different ways. That quieter place beneath the roles, thoughts, and emotions... the place we don't always notice because we're so busy identifying with everything happening on the surface.
Perhaps that's the interesting part of our life and our self-discovery. It's less about finding a new answer and more about gradually seeing what has always been there.
I agree with this so much. We’re all so much more than our names, jobs, roles, bodies, or whatever we happen to be feeling in the moment. I especially loved the part about how even our strengths can become cages when we start believing they’re the whole of who we are. Really well done!
I think strengths can become just as limiting as weaknesses if we begin to believe they're the whole story. They’re part of us, but they’re not the entirety of who we are.
I’m so glad that resonated with you. It’s one of those ideas that changes the way we see ourselves once it really sinks in.
Alexandra, your words are truly inspiring! 'The mirror was never designed to answer the question, Who am I?'—such a powerful line that gently cuts through the chaos of daily life. The calm, rhythmic flow of this dialogue between the self and the soul feels so grounding and reassuring. It's absolutely a magnificent piece of work!
Thank you 🙏 I think we often look outward for something to confirm who we are, and it can feel unsettling to realise that the answer isn’t really there.
And I’m really glad the rhythm of it felt grounding to you. That was the intention - not to explain too much, but to create a space where it could be felt rather than figured out.
We are all of it . And we are the common pattern that kept coming up in every experience, age perhaps? And some of us however is not us , it’s a projection from others.
There’s something quite grounding in it… despite all the changes, all the different versions we’ve been through, there’s still that quiet sense of continuity.
Not something you can easily define, but something you recognise.
It’s almost like everything shifts on the surface, but something deeper remains familiar throughout.
There’s something very real in what you’re pointing to.
That sense that we spend so much time identifying with what we’ve gathered… memories, roles, ideas… and only later start to question what sits behind all of that.
And I understand why that line from Krishnamurti stayed with you. “The observer is the observed” can feel a bit abstract at first, but in a simple way, it’s pointing to this:
When you look closely, the “observer” - the one watching your thoughts, your reactions - is not separate from them. It’s shaped by the same conditioning, the same past, the same patterns. So what we call “observing” isn’t always neutral… it’s often still part of what’s being observed.
And sometimes, in moments of stillness, there’s a different kind of awareness… not analysing, not judging, just noticing without adding anything. That’s usually where things start to feel quieter.
What you wrote about the “journey starting when we discover who we are behind all this”… I think many of us sense that at some point.
It doesn’t arrive all at once though. It tends to unfold slowly, in moments like this.
Wonderful discussion, Alexandra! You got it!! Imagine if between your roles (behaviours, shadows, etc.) and our physical body, there is something called your inner being? You know, a place where emotion flows, thoughts arise and action is guided? Isn't this where you have to look for who you are? You won't find it outside, I guess?
Anyway, who am I talking to? You already know.
Thank you - I really enjoyed reading this.
Yes…. many traditions have tried to describe it in different ways. That quieter place beneath the roles, thoughts, and emotions... the place we don't always notice because we're so busy identifying with everything happening on the surface.
Perhaps that's the interesting part of our life and our self-discovery. It's less about finding a new answer and more about gradually seeing what has always been there.
Thank you for such a thoughtful reflection.
I agree with this so much. We’re all so much more than our names, jobs, roles, bodies, or whatever we happen to be feeling in the moment. I especially loved the part about how even our strengths can become cages when we start believing they’re the whole of who we are. Really well done!
Thank you Andrea
I think strengths can become just as limiting as weaknesses if we begin to believe they're the whole story. They’re part of us, but they’re not the entirety of who we are.
I’m so glad that resonated with you. It’s one of those ideas that changes the way we see ourselves once it really sinks in.
Thank you for such a thoughtful refelction. 💛
I still do not understand this at all.
I am happy to help… which part is not clear?
Alexandra, your words are truly inspiring! 'The mirror was never designed to answer the question, Who am I?'—such a powerful line that gently cuts through the chaos of daily life. The calm, rhythmic flow of this dialogue between the self and the soul feels so grounding and reassuring. It's absolutely a magnificent piece of work!
Thank you 🙏 I think we often look outward for something to confirm who we are, and it can feel unsettling to realise that the answer isn’t really there.
And I’m really glad the rhythm of it felt grounding to you. That was the intention - not to explain too much, but to create a space where it could be felt rather than figured out.
I appreciate you reading it so deeply.
You are always welcome, Alexandra! Thank you for providing valuable information!
I love this! 🙏 thank you! The song is filled w such beautiful words I resonate with.
I am so happy this article and the SONG resonates with you :) thank you for sharing your thoughts.
This was a great read. Debating who the "I" is always gets my philosophical juices flowing.
I know exactly what you mean.
There’s something about that question that never really gets old… every time you come back to it, it opens slightly differently.
And I think that’s part of why it stays interesting. It’s not something you solve once and move on from… it keeps unfolding as you do.
Glad it sparked that for you.
Thanks for this reflection. It’s enlightening and thoughts provoking.
Thank you - I’m really glad it gave you something to sit with.
Sometimes it’s not even about finding answers straight away, just letting the questions stay with you for a bit.
I appreciate you taking the time to read it.
Feels like.
Soooo complicated.
We are all of it . And we are the common pattern that kept coming up in every experience, age perhaps? And some of us however is not us , it’s a projection from others.
I also feel we are what we Love to do.
Love this revelation: Yet there is still a familiar sense that all those versions were lived by the same someone. :)
There’s something quite grounding in it… despite all the changes, all the different versions we’ve been through, there’s still that quiet sense of continuity.
Not something you can easily define, but something you recognise.
It’s almost like everything shifts on the surface, but something deeper remains familiar throughout.
This conversation is so healing.
We are not the accumulation of memories and ideas and experiences. We are more than that.
It's something to realise that whatever we gather or accumulate is not what we are, but what we gathered,like our body.
The real journey of life starts when we discover what/who we really are behind this mirage of memories, accumulation of ideas, thoughts and the body.
Observer is the observed - J Krishnamurthy used to say it......... whatever could it mean ? 🤔
There’s something very real in what you’re pointing to.
That sense that we spend so much time identifying with what we’ve gathered… memories, roles, ideas… and only later start to question what sits behind all of that.
And I understand why that line from Krishnamurti stayed with you. “The observer is the observed” can feel a bit abstract at first, but in a simple way, it’s pointing to this:
When you look closely, the “observer” - the one watching your thoughts, your reactions - is not separate from them. It’s shaped by the same conditioning, the same past, the same patterns. So what we call “observing” isn’t always neutral… it’s often still part of what’s being observed.
And sometimes, in moments of stillness, there’s a different kind of awareness… not analysing, not judging, just noticing without adding anything. That’s usually where things start to feel quieter.
What you wrote about the “journey starting when we discover who we are behind all this”… I think many of us sense that at some point.
It doesn’t arrive all at once though. It tends to unfold slowly, in moments like this.
And after a while I stop questioning the story. - what do you want?
I wonder what do you want? What is it that you want?
I see what you mean .. “They begin as useful adaptations.
Then they become expectations.
Eventually they become prisons.”