You Are Not Book.indb - Stephen H. Wolinsky Ph. D.

CHApTER 7
The self-Centered “I”
“The . . . self or “I” is always a representation, a story
we tell ourselves about ourselves in an effort to capture
the “true self” or the “real self.” Just as there is no way
to establish a precise correspondence between what we
say about the world and what is actually going on in
the world, there is no way to establish a precise correspondence
between what we say about ourselves and
what is actually going on in ourselves.” (Joseph Natoli,
A Primer to Post Modernity, p. 19)
Probably the two most confusing questions in the
psycho-spiritual game are 1) “What is ego?” and 2)
“What can “I” do about it?”
Ego at one level is the “I” that appears naturally from
the body as a way to enhance the body’s survival. In short,
the “I” and all its abstractions serve only to reinforce itself
or its survival. To illustrate, the thought “I am good,” reinforces
I am, and its survival. The thought “I” am bad,” also
reinforces the I am.
In other words, intrinsic to all “I” thoughts is that they
reinforce the concept of existence and I am and hence the
survival or isness of itself; in this case the I am. Simply put,
the “I” thoughts support and reinforce the I am’s “belief”
that it is.
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