The Freedom of Disidentifying with the Personality: A Path to Inner and Collective Liberation
As mindfulness practitioners, we're often encouraged to explore the nature of our minds, particularly the various aspects of the personality that shape our perception of the world. A valuable practice in this exploration is recognizing the different parts of the psyche, each with its own set of beliefs, assumptions, and fears. This contemplative tool, as Caverly Morgan highlights in The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together, can create profound space within ourselves. It invites us to ask the essential questions: Who am I? Who am I truly?
The Illusion of a Fixed Self
When we identify with any of the many forms of the conditioned mind, we start to believe that who we perceive ourselves to be is solid, fixed, even permanent. Our identity becomes tethered to beliefs and ideas that we cling to, assuming them to be unshakeable truths. This identification not only shapes how we treat ourselves but also how we relate to others. We lose touch with our deeper, more expansive sense of self, forgetting that we are not just the sum of our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions.
A useful contemplative practice involves recognizing that we are made up of multiple aspects: one part of us may love something, another part may resist it, and yet another part might feel indifferent. These seemingly contradictory parts are simply expressions of our broader being, each like a wave in the vast ocean of our consciousness. The key insight here is that we are not just one wave; we are the ocean itself.
The Power of Inquiry
In The Heart of Who We Are, Morgan urges us to engage in deep inquiry, asking: What remains constant amidst the shape-shifting of our lives? When we look beyond the ever-changing aspects of the personality, what do we find that is unbreakable? What has remained unchanged throughout our lives, from childhood to adulthood?
These questions are not meant for the conditioned mind to figure out in a linear way, but rather as invitations to explore directly through our own experience. In a world where everything is in constant flux, what remains the same? Through inquiry, we begin to see beyond the fleeting identity structures and tap into the unchanging essence of who we are.
The Veiling of Our True Nature
When we are identified with our ego or personality, we often seek external sources of peace, contentment, or happiness. We believe that these things are attainable once we achieve certain conditions—be it success, possessions, or approval. But in this search, we confuse our true nature with the content of our lives. This is where the veiling of our true being occurs.
Morgan reminds us that no aspect of the personality is inherently bad or wrong. However, when we become overly identified with any particular part of ourselves—whether it’s our role as a "justice warrior," a "caretaker," or a "perfectionist"—we limit our experience of life. We forget that these are only temporary expressions, not the whole of who we are. The practice of disidentification allows us to recognize that the wave we’re riding is not the ocean, and that we are the ocean itself.
The Practice of Love and Disidentification
So how do we begin to disidentify with these various parts of our personality? Morgan points to love as the key. Each part of us, no matter how contradictory or fragmented it may seem, is ultimately seeking love and happiness. Even the seemingly harsh or rigid parts are simply coping mechanisms trying to meet unmet needs.
This principle applies not only to personal relationships but also to collective movements for justice and social change. When we understand our own conditioning, we can engage in collective efforts not from a place of righteousness or blame but from a place of shared being and mutual care.
From Personal to Collective Liberation
As we begin to disidentify with our personal egoic structures, we naturally open the door to collective liberation. Consider, for instance, the dynamics of social justice movements or political discourse. If we approach these efforts from a place of deep recognition of our shared humanity—rather than from entrenched identities—we can move beyond the dualities that often fuel conflict.
This doesn’t mean we relinquish our passions or causes, but rather that we shift how we engage with them. Instead of acting out of separation, we can manifest our care for the world in ways that are more inclusive, more aligned with the truth of our being.
Engaging the World from a Place of Love
Ultimately, the practice of disidentification leads us back to a place of harmony. By recognizing the different aspects of our personality and seeing them for what they truly are—temporary expressions of a deeper being—we allow ourselves to act from a place of presence and love. As Morgan beautifully states, through practice, the seemingly fragmented parts of ourselves have the opportunity to realign with Love and truth, to return home, to act from being.
In both our personal lives and our collective movements, the question remains: Who do we bring to the table? What parts of ourselves are we identifying with, and how does this shape our relationships with others and the world around us? When we meet others from a deep recognition of our shared humanity, rather than from the limited lens of our personalities, everything shifts.
As we step into the truth of who we truly are, we create the possibility for true and lasting change—not just in our own lives, but in the world at large.
Mindfully Yours,
Dr. Pamm
Source: “The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together” by Caverly Morgan.