You’re overinvolved in your life
By Nancy B. Loughlin
Published in News Press on March 21, 2017
There are two of You – You1 and You2.
You2 acts, interacts and reacts. You1, your genuine self, manages You2.
Socrates said, “Be as you wish to seem,” and this supports the double-You perspective. Two Yous: one the creator and one the creation, your authentic self vs. your persona.
You2 is the wild child. You2, immersed in the stuff of world, is led by human senses and the attraction and repulsion of likes and dislikes.
In the course of spiritual evolution, the process of Knowing Thyself, the awareness of two selves comes into focus. With serene detachment, You1 witnesses life’s emotional challenges and plot twists, every Triumph and Disaster, while You2 splatters the canvas.
Sometimes, You1 forgets who is in charge and becomes a clingy Pygmalion. The separation between the two Yous is muddled if not erased. The result can be overwhelming attachment and even addiction to the spirits in the material world.
Fix it. Apply the brake, and say aloud: “I’m overinvolved.”
Yes, You1 can be overinvolved in You2’s life. (Yes, you can be overinvolved in your life.)
Mind the Duality
Try this: Think of all the elements in You2’s experience you preface with the word “my.”
My home. My job. My kids. My boyfriend. My wife. My body. My reputation. My problems. My stresses. My feelings. My childhood.
If you preface anything with “my,” you acknowledge ownership and responsibility. Yes, it is your duty to take care of what you believe to be your property. Just know this becomes challenging and overwhelming, particularly when claiming ownership of people.
“My” Meditation
Imagine if you stopped saying “my home,” and instead said “the home” and replaced “my job” with “where I work.”
What if you stopped referring to your intimate partner in the possessive and strictly called this person by name? What if you dropped ownership of all the baggage of your challenges and past experiences?
Theoretical physics teaches an important truth. The universe is made of relationships, not objects. It’s our interactions with what we perceive to be real, not what we own or “own.”
You1 is detached and free and flexible. You2 is attached, imprisoned and limited.
When turmoil overwhelms us, we can’t see the world for what it really is — illusion. Acknowledge your over involvement, and re-identify with your true self.
