Don’t fall for this trick

When we don’t know who we are, we can easily begin to see ourselves the way other people see us. But most often, those people don’t even know who they are. So we are seeing ourselves through the eyes of people who have no idea what a human being truly is.

We can only know others when we truly know ourselves. We are the gateway to understanding the complex and vast experience of being human.

Most people don’t truly see themselves or others. They see labels. They see a collection of traits and a name. But we are still who we are without any words at all. These labels then become permanent fixtures obscuring an ever changing person. Isn’t it funny how we often hate a person throughout our entire life because of something they did in 3rd grade?

To understand others, we have to start with ourselves. There is only one person we have full, unfettered access to. There is only one mind and body we can truly observe. Luckily, that is enough, because deep down below our unique genetics, conditioning and lived experience, lies the exact same essence of life itself. The same laws of physics and nature that govern your body govern everything in the cosmos. All we have to do is look within.

When we start to do this, we no longer fall for the trap of seeing ourselves through others’ eyes. Instead, we can see others as they are — confused, unaware, subject to their conditioning. We can see their projections. When we see clearly, other people’s distortions become clear to us as well. How others see us tells us more about them than it does about us.

When I was a young copywriter in advertising, if my ideas weren’t chosen I thought I was a total failure. If the next day a client liked my ideas, I was the greatest advertising genius that ever lived. Today, I realize ideas and brands are like people — not every idea is right for every brand. That doesn’t mean either is worthless. It just means we have to become aware of the bigger picture.

The sharper our image of reality becomes, the less we fall for other people’s biases and misperceptions. All of our thoughts are the result of our past. They are influenced by others. So when we simply practice observing without labeling — our breath, our body, or our mind — our true selves can finally be revealed.

As soon as we label, we’re no longer observing. Whenever we observe completely, there is no thought. But if we can observe our thoughts whenever they do arise as they surely will, then insight and wisdom can also arise.

The more we look within, the more we inevitably realize that there is no separate self. 

Consciousness, which observes our mind and body, has no identity. These seemingly separate bodies we have are actually inseparable from the causes and conditions that made them. Who we truly are is the ever flowing vibration and energy of this universe. We are not other people’s insecurities projected onto us. We are not their criticisms or judgments. We are not the false self they created in their mind of us. We cannot own their blame or their praise. We are simply the loving balance and harmony of oneness.

It’s one thing to know about oneness. It’s another thing to feel it, see it and experience it because only then can it truly transform us. Now you can go on the journey of awakening in our latest film, God’s Dream, coming out next Sunday, May 18th, 2025 on YouTube. Keep an eye out. I’ll be watching it with you.

Much love,

Todd

P.S. Here are a few other topics that I covered this week:

When Life Seems to Be Going in the Wrong Direction (Listen Here)

2. What It Takes to Live a 1% Life (Watch Here)

Path to Peace with Todd Perelmuter Newsletter Email JOIN

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