Sense Of Self

Guy explains that the cycle of wanting doesn’t end when we get what we want because the unconscious mind thrives on the sensation of itself, continuously seeking the next fulfillment. The satisfaction of desire is fleeting, and as soon as one craving is met, another arises to take its place. True freedom comes not from resisting or suppressing desires but from seeing through the illusion that wanting or not wanting can ever bring lasting peace...

In this answer to a viewer's question, "letting go" author Guy Finley explains that liberation from any addiction begins with seeing the dual nature of the divided mind that claims to not want the pain of the addiction, while at the same time being attracted to the sensations that come with getting the next fix.

In this answer to a viewer's question, "letting go" author Guy Finley talks about how there is a part of our consciousness that will seek to derive a false sense of self out of anything, even if it means going into pain over something that is unwanted.

In this answer to a caller's question, Guy explains that the true purpose of interior storms, trials and challenges is to shake us loose from the painful illusions and sense of self that we unknowingly cling to.

In this short video, Guy talks about being self-conscious: thinking about how you should look a certain way or be a certain kind of person. Becoming aware of the pain inherent in thinking about yourself is the first step to freeing yourself from it.

Most people spend their entire lives exploring worldly sensation. But we eventually come to a place where we realize that we have come to the end of exploring the world through our senses, and begin the process of exploring the interior world. The exploration of the interior world is mind exploring mind, instead of body exploring body, which is the activity of our outwardly directed senses.

There is no "self" without relationship. In reality, the observer and the observed do not exist apart from one another. However, in the absence of higher awareness, the lower level of self believes that it is separate from what it sees as being outside of itself. This is the source of suffering. The gift of being able to see that the observer is the observed is the reconciliation and the end...

Topics covered: Real existence is being rooted in an awareness that doesn't pursue anything because it is already a part of everything; There is no addiction that doesn't begin with a sense of self that feels incomplete; In order to win the approval of others, we have to sell ourselves. Our sense of self is dependent upon exterior conditions; There is no fear without the fear of disappearing, without the fear of losing myself...

Key Lesson: Learn to let your love of exploring new and open spaces replace all of the ever-diminishing pleasures... found in all the old familiar places.

Topics covered:  What we see outside of ourselves as separate objects are connected and never not touching one another. Everything that exists affects everything else; All of creation is in constant labor, because there is never not something being born. Spiritually speaking, we don't generally understand the suffering that is inherent in the labor of birth; Pain is a mistaken love for something small that promises to love you back if you give yourself to it.

Remastered Classic Talk: 5/17/17 - 

Part 1: We are told that life is everlasting -- but see that nothing lasts! We are taught there is no death, and yet we see it everywhere around us! We dwell in the middle of an immense contradiction wherein one part of us feels the possibility of a life eternal, but that sees, and fears -- in the same moment -- only the inevitability of the opposite.

Part 2: The Great and Timeless Teaching -- that which can't be taught -- can only be learned through humility.