Wilber and identity

We tend to think of identity as an admixture of the genetic component and the traits developed by the accidents of personal history.  At worst we are defined by our consumer choices or more recently by our activities on the web as in ‘I link therefore I am ‘ or ‘I browse there you are’!

Wilber however points us to a notion of Supreme Identity which I take to be what others call the Higher Self, or God within.  He says;

We are the victims of an epidemic case of mistaken identity, with our Supreme Identity quietly but surely awaiting discovery. And the mystics want nothing more than to have us awaken to who, or what, we really and eternally are beneath or under or prior to our pseudo-self. Thus they ask us to cease identifying with this false self, to realize that whatever I can know, think, or feel about myself cannot constitute my real Self.

My mind, my body, my thoughts, my desires – these are no more my real Self than the trees, the stars, the clouds, and the mountains, for I can witness all of them as objects, with equal felicity. Proceeding in this fashion, I become transparent to my Self, and realize that in some sense what I am goes much, much beyond this isolated, skin-bounded organism. The more I go into I, the more I fall out of I.

EKW.25     EKW = Essential Ken Wilber pub Shambhala

Author: Roger - Dr Roger Prentice

Now I write, teach and coach mainly self-understanding. At advanced levels About 21stC 'interfaith as inter-spirituality' - and how we can grow closer to our True Self. In the past I : . 1) I ran courses and give talks at conferences and in universities and colleges in the UK, China, USA, Canada, Scandinavia etc. . 2) I provided materials, outlines and lessons for Schools. . 3) My range of interests include personal development, learning and teaching, photography and film, the arts generally, spirituality and educational practice and theory. . 4) At the same time I continue developing the human-centred studies SunWALK PDS (People Development System) - a whole-person, high-achievement model for individuals, and for use in, NGOs, schools and other organizations. . 5) The key question that continues to animate me and my work remains, "What is it to be fully and positively human?" . Contact me via onesummit AT gmail DOT com (replace At with@ etc.). . All good wishes Roger (Dr Roger Prentice) . For those interested; My first degree is in English and Education. My masters is in Adult and Community Education. My doctorate presented a new holistic meta-model of education called SunWALK. View all posts by Roger - Dr Roger Prentice