Chapter 3 – Levels of identity
The new physics opens the path for understanding that we live in two worlds at the same time – a visible/material world and an invisible/nonmaterial world, and that each one is equally real. In the visible, material world – where we are used to existing – everything is separated and the world is divided in bits and pieces, objects and events. In the invisible energy world, everything becomes increasingly more connected the closer to the source we come. This understanding has consequences for our everyday perception of reality. And also for our “sense of a self”.
We humans can only learn what our senses can take in, and our senses are adapted to our current understanding of reality. To be able to understand more of reality, we need to widen our consciousness and be more “multisensory”. We need to open ourselves to insights beyond the intellect.
Within personal development, we often talk about different identity- or maturity levels that we humans – and even society – have the opportunity to reach. These levels – usually divided into three or four steps – are often related to age, and named for example, the young adult, the middle-aged and the wise man but it is an individual choice whether we take these steps. We could quite possibly be 80 years old and still be at level 1.
Here, I would like to call:
Level 1 – the ego (the unconscious “I”)
Level 2 – the personal self (the conscious self) and
Level 3 – the transpersonal Self (our higher Self)
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Crisis as opportunity
Personal growth often starts from a feeling of dissatisfaction. We have come to a point where life suddenly seems meaningless and empty. What previously gave life substance, now feels indifferent. We find it difficult to recognize ourselves and understand nothing. The former security has vanished. We question ourselves and our opinions. Life is often seen as frightening and unreal and it is easy to think there is something “wrong” with us. It is not so easy to see that my experiences are due to my growing out of my previous interpretation of reality, and that I now am on the way to a new level. But with patience, we have the opportunity of reaching a deeper rooting in ourselves.
So what can we do to more easily take a leap in our development – regardless of whether we are stuck in a crisis or would just like to know more about how we ourselves and life works? In the next chapter, we will look into how we develop our ”self” from birth.
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