Where do people draw their identity from?

[Mr_A]

Where do people draw their identity from?
What defines a person?

[Jeff Barker]

IMO, it's the present moment.

I can't exist anywhere outside it, so that's what I must be.

But how can a person be a moment?

The person is inside the moment.

The moment is everything inside it and that's all there is.

Another word for the moment could be consciousness, god, energy being.

But I think the best word for self identity is awareness.

You can never see awareness for it can't be validated via the 5 senses, but you can know it.

Jeff

[Freada]

Jeff I think this is an interesting answer. First to answer Mr. A's question I think most people define themselves by their work, their qualifications their children, their status in life...etc..personally I don't think this is useful and who a person is goes way beyond their job, status, etc...

I think true awareness exists in the moment...in the domain of pure experience. My question Jeff is you say you can know it...and if you can't validate it via the 5 senses...'how' can you know it? IMO this 'is' how you know it!!!

What do you think??

All the best and I really like your answer.

Freada.

[torilink]

I think the identity is drawn from experience & perception.

I'm not sure what you mean by "What defines a person" - do you mean as in a self defining or just a general thing?

[ixmatus]

I agree with Jeff, it does come from the present moment - it is a perfect but never finished intersection of space and counter-space in an ever evolving network of intersections and pathways.

Transient thoughts that define our changing and evolving environment, persona's, and mannerisms are nothing but orbital bodies that do define our identity. These transients make it possible to redefine identity according to the core virtues comprising that identity through an abstracted mechanism that enables the self-evolution and self-awareness that makes a true individual - an individual.

Cool thread topic!

[Terumoto]

I used to think I had it all figured out, but you can't figure things like this out because the questions are circular.

The identity defines the person, but what exactly is an identity? The identity of a person is what that person is. So what that person is defines what they are.

So I suppose, like you guys have been saying, the identity is drawn from the present moment, but it's a redundant thing in the first place.

[Mr_A]

This is why I asked the question
I believe we are born with a pure identity, but as we grow we become conditioned and manipulated to believe an outline of how a human being should act and feel, what humans being should say and do, and ultimately become corrupted by accepting the ideas and ideologies of what we are taught reality is.

Most people comply with what they are taught and accept the identities that they are given through this synthetic reality, I am my car, I am my bank account, I am my back round, I am a pop group. I almost feel like we were taught falsely of what reality is about and are excepted to draw an identity from this false reality and be content about it.

So whats the solution. Do I continue to question the very fabric of reality, or maybe i should accept it and just draw an identity from this reality and be happy about it. I'm at a stage where I can't even connect with my own name, someone might as well call me “Human 1537512846164”
Or maybe I should just numb myself with drugs, sex, money, power, status and wait for Death to knock on my door and say “Hey Mr_A times ups fool, lets go Chop Chop”.

Jeff Baker
it's the present moment.

I can't exist anywhere outside it, so that's what I must be.

And if indeed am i this moment, what should I draw out from this moment to say this is truly me. Where do I find my peace

[Old Soul]

identity...

my sense of worth , my identity , my purpose are all found in/source/ God
everything else is pretentious



Identity Crisis
please don't define me
by my working status quo
please don't slap a label upon me
because you think it so
I am not a bumper sticker
to be taken all out of context
or will i be reduced to an inatimat object
I am human my heart beats human in this place
And i do not believe the poor are a hinderance to the human race
Don't put me into a category so that carnal minds can make some sense
I know who and what defines me
and it is not blinded by pretense

[lovingawareness]

I actually wrote an entire article yesterday about identity, how amusing!

Loving Awareness: Breaking through the chains of identity

the first bit of it:

So what is identity? The etymology of the word comes from the Latin words for “sameness” and “over and over”. This in itself gives a good picture of it - a fixated pattern or image that can be repeated over and over. It can be looked at as a temporary protection against the unknown. Where there is the dark unknown and the feeling of helplessness come from it, then terror appears, and so there is a desire to control that comes from this. Identity is the standard result.

Because of the nature of interconnection between us, identities are not isolated towers etched in stone. Your identity depends on the interactions you have with others, particularly intimate relationships. The degree of “sameness” and repetition of behavior in relationships creates safety and protection more firmly than any amount of home security. Conversely, when someone’s behavior and identity fluctuates without agreement from everyone involved, a sense of betrayal and threat is often the results. When you question your identity, ripples flow outward that invite everyone surrounding you to also question their own identity. For some, this is incredibly fearful. To real degree, this can feel if one’s life is about to end - because in some ways, it is.

[consciousnessrising]

I suggest that people create the identity they want others to perceive them as, by the stories they present.
Since humans have a very limited ability to observe themselves, their stories are based in memories of past experiences with a generous amount of liberty taken to present a pleasing, self inflating persona.
I suggest that a person is defined by the way they react (or respond) to having their "buttons pushed".

[Michael Chui]

An identity is a collection of perceived differences with anything outside the identity.

Yep. Circular definition. Metacognition is cool.

[Old Soul]

Although this article speaks in terms of "giftedness"

it is still interesting and may lend some support to the views expressed here on the topic of identity:

SENG: Articles & Resources - The Gifted Identity Formation Model: In search of the gifted identity, from abstract concept to workable counseling constructs


Identity and Its Formation
Defining identity may be as complex as developing one's identity; even Eric Erikson (1968) was hesitant to offer a definitive explanation. It may be that the definition includes the unity and integration of all aspects of self, including the conscious and unconscious. It may be that another way to define identity is through answering the question, "who am I?"

If identity encompasses the complexity of all aspects of "who I am," then identity formation is the process of integrating and shaping discrete pieces of the self into a unique being. Erikson (1968) spoke of identity formation as "a process located in the core of the individual and yet also in the core of his communal culture" (pg. 22). He refers to the integrative and complex relationship between the inner self (all inner aspects and internal interplay of the self) and the outer world (self as it relates and contends with the external world). He described a "few minimum requirements" to consider when contending with the complex process of identity formation. The Gifted Identity Formation Model utilizes these requirements as the working underpinnings of the model:
Identity formation employs a process of simultaneous reflection and observation;
Identity formation takes place on all levels of mental functioning;
An individual judges himself in light of what he perceives to be the way others judge him, in comparison to himself, and to a topology significant to others.

[RichGrad]

Your parents play a big part in defining who you are. A lot of adult problems is a result of unresolved traumas from childhood and usually involve parental figures.