Impostor Self

HOW TO FREE YOURSELF FROM THE IMPOSTOR SELF

When you can identify the true cause of all human suffering! (Unhappiness)

You will discover the real solution for enduring bliss for yourself and all humans.

Unhappiness is the true cause of all human suffering.

What is unhappiness?

It is the power of I-thought.

And what is I-thought?

It is a powerful and contagious illusion of the self.

Impostor Thought:

THE I-THOUGHT!

THE IMPOSTOR SELF!

I-thought is so strong that nearly all 8 billion of us are trapped inside of it.

And it is within I-thought that we manifest a world of unhappiness.

The false self maintains a fictional identity, convincing the real you that the false self is real.

And what is the real you?

The real you is the opposite of your false self.

Then what is your false self?

The false self is your story. It is your body. It is the self that insists it is real.

The false self is always searching for something. Searching for joy, for peace, for safety, for love. The false self is always seeking a state of mind.

“As long as one retains a trace of individuality, one is still a seeker and not a true Seer effort-free, even though one’s penance and one’s powers may be wonderful indeed.”

-Sri Ramana Maharshi

What understanding would change your life the most?

I have dedicated my life to understanding it and trying to help others do the same. I’ve taught spiritual practices such as meditation, breathwork, yogic practices, healing, energy methods, psychology, and coaching. Today, I still teach many of those practices, but now I take a slightly different approach.

One day, I met someone who said to me, “You are not your thoughts.”

I took those words to heart, and the impact they gave me reverberated to my soul.

Then who am I? I thought.

There was Silence.

Who or what is guiding me, if not I?

Silence still.

Everything I know is my thoughts. My memories. My feelings. My self.

My thoughts are my story. It is who I am. How could I be otherwise?

Then it hit me. I was taking all of those things, my thoughts, my story, my self — and separating it from my awareness in Silence.

Just by considering the possibility that I was not my thoughts, I suddenly felt profound, radiating Silence. I suddenly noticed something without. A Silence.

And within that realisation, the landscape in front of me began to shine in bliss. Without any inside. Without any outside. Like all was emptiness shining as clarity. And then in that space I heard the inner voice that asked:

“How can this experience endure, or did it always shine this bright?”

I am here to share the timeless wisdom of ancient seers, and help answer existential questions about The Absolute Reality, such as:

Who or what am I?

What is my relationship to God, the Source, and Existence?

What is my highest purpose in life?

How do I find freedom in life?

Is there such a thing as freedom without death?

What is freedom?

Is freedom the only constant in a world of change?

What do I actually want from life?

Why do I exist?

The Map To Total Freedom:

This simple map answers some of our most complex thoughts and feelings.

Imagine a white piece of paper. On it, there are these simple drawings.

Now imagine the paper as a form of awareness. Why? Because awareness is what allows other forms to exist.

Without the paper, the drawings cannot be.

The paper is a metaphor for the ultimate awareness: supreme consciousness.

We call it the Seer.

The Seer is the ultimate awareness, because it itself cannot be Seen.

What does this mean?

It may be easier to understand what can be Seen.

Anything you can be aware of can be Seen.

You can be aware of yourself, your thoughts, and your feelings.

But all of this awareness is based on objects.

Objects are not truly separated from each other, except in shape and form.

You are not an object. You are the seer of it.

None of these things can be the ultimate Seer.

So what is aware of these things?

It is you, the ultimate Seer!

You are the paper. You are the white background.

And what is this you?

It is awareness itself!

Nothing can exist without consciousness.

Yet we incorrectly attribute consciousness to our thoughts.

By being aware of them, we step outside of our thoughts.

Yet, we are still conscious!

What is this silent peace between our thoughts?

If awareness can be outside of thought, what is it?

This white paper, is it energy?

How is consciousness different from light, which makes objects visible in darkness?

When we look for the Seer, we find nothing - we find silence - presence. But everything we know began from nothing, when the First Light appeared.

The drawings exist on the paper, but there is no distance between the drawings and the paper itself.

Your energy, your thoughts, your body, absolutely everything you can be aware of is the drawings.

Your awareness of them is the paper. Without awareness, no object, no drawing, no you could exist.

How far away is any object from the paper?

Is there truly any distance between the awareness, and that which it is aware of?

Is it not possible that your thoughts and your body are no different from the consciousness that believes they are there?

Is it not possible that the drawings, this tex as another expaple, and the white paper exist together?

This is the idea of the Divine Radiance that shines forever.

In concept, Shiva/the Witness/Silence is the white paper, and Shakti/the Energy/Everything are the drawings.

But there is no separation between the paper (Witness) and the drawing (the Witnessed).

Let us explore the reality that you are Infinite Consciousness vibrating in eternal Bliss. This is the ultimate union, the permanent oneness to be revealed. It is the one true freedom that always was, and always will be.

SELF-Knowledge lost and found again throughout history

This teaching is for those who have a strong desire for liberation or enlightenment. The beauty is that what you find is the realisation of permanence. What you sought was always true: that your absolute nature is completely satisfied all the time. It is infinite - eternal - awareness - love - bliss.

The experience of freedom is the freedom of no longer seeking. No more looking for peace, joy, knowledge, love, abundance — and especially not for freedom itself. These things have no place in fundamental reality, and this teaching is intended to help you grasp that the truth is beyond time and space. It is eternal — and you are part of that eternity!

When seen clearly, this realisation is irreversible. As long as you consider yourself a living human being, you may once again become trapped in I-thought, but the Seer beyond thought will have been awakened to the Seen that is your thoughts, and sooner or later, you will remember what you truly are by seeing it — the ever-presence before the stories, the body, the world, and the universe.

The teachings help us recognise that ‘I and God (paper and drawing) are not separate entities, and that all here is God, or Source, or whatever you like to call it. This is the understanding that existence shines as blissful consciousness. We meet and contemplate specific teachings on this winding journey of discovery to a place we never left.

We are not affiliated with any specific religion or established belief system.

But when understood clearly, the teachings that we share allow us to freely draw insights and understandings from the traditional Advaita Vedanta, Shaktipat Siddha Yoga, scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Ribhu Gita, Upanishads, Advuhuta Gita, and Tao Te Ching, The Bible, and discuss and contemplate quotes and teachings from spiritual Seers such as Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Anandamayi Ma, Lao Tzu, Buddha; Dilgo Khyentse and Longchempa, Jesus, Seers, Yogis and others.

These contexts often beautifully express the human experience and its many aspects visited throughout time. We explore the psychology of the individual, unresolved emotions, deep-rooted and unconscious pain, and poor concentration and its consequences. Ultimately, this knowledge is intended to help make intelligent choices, recognise a wider sphere of existence, and align our being with divine ethics. In simpler terms, it helps clear your mind and make existence a more natural, happy experience.

Religion often promises a heavenly afterlife, which cannot be proven or disproven. Speculation subjects such beliefs to an emotional experience here in life — hope and doubt. Instead, this teaching focuses solely on divinity, here and now. It can be intellectually clarified, seen, and experienced. Divinity is beyond human speculation, dogma, and belief.

Our true nature cannot be contradicted, whether by a scientist, a quantum physicist, a biologist, a cosmologist, a psychologist, or a spiritual master (yogi). We exist, and ultimately, existence cannot be explained. Still, existence can be clearly experienced, beyond body, mind and beyond all stages of consciousnes, and the realisations you have can be undeniable and enduring.

Nisargadatta Maharaj:

Questioner: The being is the witness?

Nisargadatta Maharaj: There are two witnessing stages, beingness witnessing all manifestations. The witnessing of this beingness, consciousness, happens to that eternal principle, the Absolute.

Liberation is not the result of reaching a higher state of consciousness.

Liberation is the freedom to explore many realms of existence, or stages of consciousness, which change all the time; and understanding that you are what never changes. Consciousness is like an unbounded field of awareness. Each state is a unique perspective of this field, offering different experiences.

However, any viewpoint or understanding, can only be within the field you experience directly, and that field itself is just a small part of many fields, of the One Consciousness.

Looking within, the boundless reality is revealed: you are not separate from the Divine Silence, your true nature is satisfied all the time, unhappiness is ignorance of our true nature, and ignorance is the only obstacle to the infinite and timeless being, “I”, the one awareness, or the Seer. In other words, you must reconnect with the real you.

Here, there is a realisation that it was never a “me” that had an experience with this Oneness, because anything that approaches the Oneness loses all identity. What had the experience? ME? A thought that tells a story about the experience after it happened. Reaching the Oneness does not require any effort or energy. It is not something that is done. Instead, we drift away from the Oneness through the power of I-thought, which confuses us and can make us forget our true nature in a moment’s instant. And by accepting the Oneness, we return to it just as instantly.

Knowing this, it’s possible to understand that no me, ego, or anything can enter the Oneness, where there is no longer any distinction between inner and outer. The outer is the inner, and the inner is the outer. All IS your true nature: whole - complete - satisfied all the time.

Only a thought tells you otherwise!

In this realisation, your true nature is not bound by the cycles of birth and death. The realisation is the vision, and the vision becomes the guide — guiding you to freedom. In freedom, there is nothing left to know, there is nothing left to be, there is nothing left to see. The universe is a manifestation of your blissful being, the universe is actually the blissful being, because there can be no separation between awareness and that which it sees, and that is it! This is already accepted because this is how it already is, and always has been. This clarity is the ultimate liberation. You cannot leave what you are, and that is the moment of realisation.

What about practices and techniques?

Various techniques can help us enhance our experience of life, such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, nutrition, selfless service, bodywork modalities, plant medicine, native rituals, psychedelic therapies, and more. 

However, it is important not to misunderstand their purpose. Because we are living things, it may benefit us to employ physical, mental, natural, medicinal, nutritional, and other techniques or therapies as a temporary passage to liberation. But the methods themselves only provide temporary freedom proportional to one’s commitment and knowledge.

Someone seeking enlightenment may ask the following questions:

“Does taking action lead to achieving freedom? When I am aware of the fact that the world change all the time, enlightenment is timeless, no matter what changes all the time; like thoughts, feelings, states, our bodies, our life-world-circumstances.”

“If I am born free, doesn’t that mean I don’t need to seek freedom?”

“What if I am not yet aware of my freedom?”

Or be of the following mind:

“I want to have a sense of calm, safety, and happiness in a constantly changing world. But my sense of freedom is based on objects in the world. I need to have a place to live, a home and food to eat. I want comfort, just like everyone else.

Sometimes I struggle with success, and all of my emotional states are fleeting. If my sense of freedom depends so much on my reality, how can I break free from this cycle?”

Remember that seeking something means admitting that you do not have it.

To achieve freedom in repetitive actions and techniques, you must first come to the conclusion that your true self is already limitless, whole and complete, was never born, and will never die. It is present everywhere, and during the process of knowledge and experience, you start to feel and see that existence is shining as peace, pure joy, and bliss. This knowledge can make it possible to come back to that realisation through action. You must know that you are already free, and dissociate these actions from the freedom that they lead to. It is a paradox.

Then what is a paradox without a thought?

This leads us to…

The most important thing in life;

The quality of your consciousness determines the quality of your life. By discovering your true nature, you will achieve permanent inner peace.

Peace is your home — regardless of life’s circumstances or the actions taken.

When peace is your home, no circumstances can change it, hide it, or take it away.

The BIG misunderstanding

Most of us go through life with a big misunderstanding. We do not realise that it is our understanding of life that makes us feel disconnected, lost, and confused — and not our life experiences themselves!

Trapped in I-thought, we believe ourselves to be individuals, not the constant expression of Divine Radiance that surrounds us.

The trick of the impostor self is the acceptance of a limited frequency, where we can only experience the primitive components of a greater field.

Thought is the boundary of separation within that field. Beyond thought, it is not possible to recognise the whole energy field by “thinking”. To experience it, we must leave our thoughts behind — and accept the light energy that we already are.

By addressing this ignorance, we can start to take better care of our experiences and connect more deeply with the world around us. It is true intimacy, with all.

Knowledge of self-realisation is old. We don’t know its origin, but history shows that many seers have explained it in various ways, leading to the ultimate conclusion — this knowledge belongs to no one, has no name, and exists outside of time and space!

Think of it as compassionate wisdom. It doesn’t expect immediate acceptance, but rather, opens the possibility to be understood in time (or outside of it!).

Scientifically, the process of self-discovery eliminates existential doubts that create inner conflict. Beyond doubt and conflict, there is a universe of truth and potential — and this universe is within all of us. Once you stop searching, you will realize that you exist as a calm and joyful presence in perfect harmony with everything around you — including yourself.

Trapped in I-thought, we must walk the path of self-discovery to free ourselves from false notions about our true nature. This is the responsibility of every human being, because you are the only one who can achieve this. Nothing and no one can give you the state of true nature — because it was always yours and yours alone.

The knowledge it takes to achieve self-discovery only exists to serve its purpose. Once achieved, the knowledge dissolves, leaving you in its place.

We use the single concept of truth to eliminate all false concepts about ourselves. But truth itself is a concept, and like the dissolving knowledge, it also fades. But we remain. And with us is the realisation that we exist before all concepts.

When you listen to contemplation about Joy forever, it is important to be open-minded and receptive to new ideas. A reminder, this has nothing to do with any belief. It is about knowing what you already know. During contemplation, it is easy for you to confirm the simple logic of who you are, and who you are not. 

Are you aware now? 

Who is aware? 

Do you create your thoughts, or do you discover them? 

Who is aware of the thoughts? 

Do you know what will happen in five minutes or in two hours?

Do you agree that everything changes all the time? 

Do you agree that your past story is a series of thoughts? And that your future is a thought too? 

If your true nature is constantly joy-shining divinity, then why create a state here for tomorrow with a thought you do not create?

It is because that is our only role: to attain a state that is already here, beyond the ever-changing mind-body composition of states. 

We could ask who tells you what you like and what you do not like. And so on. The answer is always the same. It is the self. And our role is to follow it home to joy-shining, permanent divinity. 

Having a teacher or guide can help you understand the logic of self-discovery, but it is up to you to confirm the experience. Once you do, you may no longer need a guide. When you discover that the shared knowledge is true, you become the guide. Your constant inner silence is your true teacher.

At the same time, self-investigation comes with paradoxes. This journey does not cancel out worldly obligations, such as unwelcome thoughts and emotions, bad habits, work life, bills, or relationship and family difficulties.

But when you view your small self from a higher perspective, the journey not only becomes possible, it becomes lighter and more joyful. When your true identity has been revealed, it is natural to feel more energetic, creative, and alive. This is because the weight of the illusion has been lifted.

Carrying the ultimate realisation with you through life makes happiness possible, even in the face of existential difficulty. Your true nature is pure Joy!

In the journey of self-realisation, there are two Elements: Concepts and Awakening

Concepts involve the formation and sharing of knowledge and understanding. You may learn things by yourself, or with others. You can also learn from others. The learning experience itself is not an awakening.

But we use concepts to be free of concepts, which is a place of awakening.

This may be better explained by defining these elements:

Concepts:

Concepts refer to thinking about infinite consciousness or any other

spiritual topic. It’s essential to note that thinking about liberation or

realisation is different from experiencing it.

Awakening:

The final, direct experience of infinite consciousness, where all suffering, the body, and the universe disappear forever, leaving only infinite, eternal love and bliss. This is a thoughtless experience.

On the journey of self-realisation, we are met by a fork in the road.

In one direction, we can put an end to our false selves and all forms of suffering by embracing the perfect consciousness, love, and bliss of our true selves for eternity.

In the other direction, we continue to live in I-thought, believing ourselves to be nothing more than a temporary body, our life and story ended by inevitable death.

You can live thousands of lives in ignorance and suffering, not knowing that our true nature and ultimate reason for life is Pure Joy — and it is here and now.

Which way should we go?

The beauty of life is our freedom of choice. But know that the world in which we exist is a manifestation of I-thought’s stories about itself, where we can only experience limited feelings about those stories. Here, unhappiness is a currency traded by egos, uncertainty is the only constant, and all things end in zero-sum, including our false selves, when our bodies return to the earth.

The impostor thought fights back with tricks

When we listen, hear, and come close to the truth, the impostor thought, or the ego, the I-thought, or Me-thought, does what it does best — and resorts to deception.

It is very good at convincing us that we need to be happy, loved, and successful, and to have these things, we must seek them. But if we look around, we can see that despite having everything we want, the I-thought is never completely satisfied, and we are still capable of behaving in ways that are harmful to ourselves, others, and the planet.

We are not truly satisfied because the state of the world and the state of our mind changes all the time. The only way to be free of seeking freedom is to face and melt the I-thought, the illusion of who we are not. However, many spiritual teachings do not properly address how to overcome its tricks.

To be free from thought is to be free from illusion

What is I-thought?

Like our bodies, I-thought is a seed that exists between incarnations. It is a short-lived expression of energy trapped in the body, and considers the body its home. As we go through life, it is constantly trying to convince us, our true self, that we are nothing more than these thoughts, this body, and temporary just like it is — when in reality, the body itself is a manifestation of eternal divinity.

To melt the impostor self, we must find peace and fulfilment outside of all thoughts. We must recognise that thoughts do not belong to us, that we are only the Seer of them. To understand, we must enter a state of deep sleep, only now awake, where the ego is suspended.

In one model of understanding, you are bringing the silent stillness of deep sleep into the waking world. In deep sleep, there are no objects, world, mind, body, or other. This stage of awakening reflects the disappearance of objects. It is possible to function in the world, but knowing the difference between one object and the other may be difficult. A state of Oneness is taking over.

When you are awake in this state, you are in absolute peace and harmony.

In a deep sleep state you realise that your thoughts ‘arrive’ or are ‘found’ and not actually created. This silent stillness becomes a presence of which you are part of, here, even in the waking world. Objects become thoughts, and all thoughts melt into Oneness. Fully awake in a state of deep sleep, you can fully function in the world, but you no longer chase your thoughts, and your thoughts do not chase you.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, recognised by Buddhists as one of the greatest realised masters, said:

Whatever thought occurs in that state…

Without stopping or analysing... Watch its very nature…

The rising does not hide the absolute nature.

Whatever occurs... Relax right there.

Don’t follow thoughts about the past. Don’t anticipate thoughts about the future.

Whatever thought occurs in that state…

Without stopping or analysing... Watch its very nature...

Its arising does not obscure the absolute nature.

Whatever occurs... Relax right there.

Don’t follow thoughts about the past. Don’t anticipate thoughts about the future.

If you maintain this recognition of thoughts…

You will feel they will not truly begin, remain, or end.

You are not a thought

The thinker is a thought. You have to be aware of the thoughts to separate yourself from them. We can ask ourselves who is aware of the thoughts, and the inner voice will answer: “I am aware”, and you will see that the inner voice is a thought too. The one that is aware of the inner voice is pure silence — peace.

Here, the I-thought reveals itself and becomes vulnerable — because our true self understands that all thought is an illusion. And by separating ourselves from it, we find ourselves in a stateless state outside of thought, at one with divinity. In this way, we recognise that all thoughts are the impostor self. And from this height of ultimate awareness, all is finally seen. The body, the senses, the thoughts and feelings does not hide the absolute nature.

The Great Sage Ramana Maharshi said:

Do NOT believe in your thoughts!

I am the body is a thought

I am the mind is a thought

I am the doer is a thought

Worry is only a thought

Fear is only a thought

Death is only a thought

In yogic culture, it is said that the I-thought becomes gradually trapped in our ‘heart’ as our true self grows stronger. It is no easy feat to overcome our thoughts. They are ever-present, and only truly die with the body. But we can learn to ‘tune in and tune out’ I-thought as we embrace the realisation of our true selves. The stronger our realisation that we are not our bodies, the weaker these thoughts become.

Our suffering starts with the birth of the I-thought

The Great Sage Ramana Maharshi would say that the I-thought rises rapidly into the brain from the body below, originating from the right side of the heart. It arises from the spacious awareness, from the pure feeling of being, from a deep silent source, giving the very convincing feeling that you are this physical body. It rises just as you wake up. You get the very convincing feeling that you are this physical body, a temporary and fragile organism. The I-thought is only a thought, also known as the impostor self.

It is the ruler of all your thoughts.

This practice becomes more realistic when you come to the realisation that your body was never yours to begin with. It has always belonged to the universe, to God, to nature — but it is certainly not yours!

Self-inquiry is a powerful tool to cutting through the illusion of the self.

We must unlearn to identify ourselves with our thoughts, which include our story, our traumas, and our bodies. It is the most natural practice we are capable of, and it is accessible to everyone.

When we learn to isolate our thoughts, we recognise that they are a cause of conflict between feelings. The mind can be like a well of negativity where we go to draw water in the form of painful thoughts, which can be manipulated and controlled. By not identifying with thoughts, you are like the sky (paper), and thoughts are the clouds (drawings) passing by. Here, emotions such as love, peace, happiness, joy, bliss, and contentment rise to the surface of our being. The quality of our thoughts equals the quality of our moods which determines the quality of our life. 

Beyond this the seer of sky and clouds as one unity of pure nothingness, that shines as pure love. No thought can determine if you are sad or happy. All is.

The one true concept

Truth itself is a concept, but we must find it to erase all concepts, including truth. The reason for this is that truth is a state of seeking, in and of itself.

Beyond this, there is only an pure awareness that requires no concept, no truth, no understanding. It is simply understood by itself as eternally unfolding.

So what do we want from life? 

When we choose to exist as our thoughts, the world will persist as it has done. Conflict, suffering, unhappiness, and uncertainty. We can recognise that finding enduring safety, peace and joy in a world that is constantly changing is impossible. But by closing the separation between our true selves and divinity in a state of deep sleep without I- thought, we can bring divinity to the waking world!

Just hear this:

The distance between divine radiance forever and not is believing one thought is true; one thought can create the separation between a moment of pure joy and a moment of fear or confusion. One thought can be the reason whether you see this concept as real or unreal. What if you are not your thoughts, but the witness that sees the thought without separation?

When seen without separation, the seer and the seen are well-being, then bliss, then lovebliss.

Instead, it becomes possible for us to be conscious of what we have and what is actually important. Quality of consciousness for all. Our planet. Our air. Our water. Our food. Our shared existence.

By manifesting divinity, we can experience natural laws that exist without thoughts, egos, or suffering. Like a flowing, crystal-clear river of divine intelligence moving through all of us, it reveals all laws have one source:

Consciousness enduring eternally in the wholeness of divinity. And when our actions lead to wellbeing of the whole, there can be no more needless suffering, and we can finally exist as the living manifestation of infinity. Just by being our true self, eternal bliss is already the manifestation of tomorrow, forever. We can always wake up to a new day, a new mind, a new body, a new world, a new universe, a new life.

All is new, all is well, all is Grace.

I wish you a day like this so you can live all days like this, in divinity.

THE MAP TO TOTAL FREEDOM: