There is No “I” Separate from You
Avoiding the Way of Madness
“The real reason why human life can be so utterly exasperating and frustrating is not because there are facts called death, pain, fear, or hunger. The madness of the thing is that when such facts are present, we circle, buzz, writhe, and whirl, trying to get the “I” out of the experience. We pretend that we are amoebas, and try to protect ourselves from life by splitting in two. Sanity, wholeness, and integration lie in the realization that we are not divided, that man and his present experience are one, and that no separate “I” or mind can be found.”
Alan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity
Alan Watts makes an interesting observation that we get into trouble when we believe that our thoughts and feelings are separate from us. We believe that when we say, “I am feeling sad”, that “sad” is something separate from “I”. However, the reality is that we are just sad. Our being is sad. The collective energetic pattern that we are is in a sad state.
Why does this matter? Are we just splitting hairs in a useless philosophical argument?
I don’t think so. I actually think that this is a clue to our sanity and our feeling of wholeness.
If we separate our feelings from our collective being, they are not considered part of us. “Sadness” is something “out…
