Levels of Self existence

So what exactly is my "Self" ? Where and how do I exist ?

Some believe that the human body defines our existence, while others hold the mind responsible for the awareness of self. Many rely on an entity that is separate even from the mind – generally called the spirit or soul and often endowed with a higher level of consciousness.

One way to explore the various inter-related parts or states of existence is from a functional perspective. We then perceive the following as separate entities.
- the body or physical self, which physically interacts with the world around us
- the personality or emotional self, which dictates how we react reflexively
- the intellect or the mental self, which makes decisions and directs conscious effort
- the consciousness or the spiritual self, which observes the experience of existence

The body is the visible, tangible and touchable aspect of our self – for others and ourselves. Our senses interact with it and create this powerful measure of identity. I am here, I am there. I am talking, I am eating. I see you, I hear you. One reason this identity is so powerful is the process of projection. We see other "bodies" and relate to them as other individuals. This helps us form a conception of ourselves, similar to it – and hence the identification with the body. Even our language uses terms like every-body, no-body and any-body while referring to people.

My behavior and all my interactions with other people and things in the environment are actuated with the body, but driven by the unique programming that defines me. In the exact same situation, two people will see and hear different things. Even if they have the same sensory experience, they will process it differently and each react in their own unique way. Their individual neurophysiology – the way their sensory organs filter incoming data and the way components of their brain (hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus and amygdala) process what they receive – is unique to them. This limbic system mobilizes our emotional self and hence our personality.

Most of us react reflexively in response to stimulus from our environment – whether it's a thunderbolt or a simple expression of anger by a friend. This reflex is the result of feedback from our subconscious programming and rarely in our control. It is later on, about 500 milliseconds (or half a second) after the initial stimulus, that the thinking, conscious part of our brain gets notified. By the time the frontal cortex gets the message, however, we may have already reacted. The intellectual self is the third level of our being and is what differentiates us from the animals. It has the power to reflect, consider, gather additional data and then determine what to do next. It may decide to do nothing. Recent studies have shown that people who use their left pre-frontal cortex more often have stronger connections along that pathway and respond with love and compassion more easily. On the other hand, those that create stronger pathways to their right pre-frontal cortex (through overuse) tend to respond with anger and frustration more often.

Finally, there is something, a separate entity of my being, that perceives and observes the intellect. "My body" can feel pain, so I am not the body. "My feelings" can be hurt, so I am not the emotional self. "My mind or brain" can be tired, so I am not the intellect. Whatever is left, whatever is beyond those levels of experience – is this higher self. We can call it the conscious or spiritual self.

That is who "I" am.