The Disassociation Game

When we were very young and just learning to speak, we learned our names and began referring to ourselves in the third person. “Bobby is hungry.”

Then we eventually learned to use pronouns such as “I” or “me” and changed our speaking to reflect this by instead saying “I am hungry.”

This shift to using pronouns made our speech easier, but it reflected a key error: A misperception of who “I” am and a resulting misuse of the word “I.”

We are all taught, growing up, that “I” am a separate individual self over here and “you” are another separate individual self over there. This seems fine and dandy on the level of appearances, but when we are ready to grow spiritually, this deeply ingrained speech pattern is something that eventually must be transcended. We must come to totally redefine what is meant by the word “I” and one of the first steps is to stop using the word incorrectly.

What is experienced in life is not something to be identified with, but simply phenomena that is arising within your awareness, like a cloud rolling through the skies. It’s not you. It’s simply arising phenomena.

The Disassociation Game

• Instead of referring to what you ARE, refer to what you are EXPERIENCING.

Instead of saying, “I am hungry,” say, “The body that I have is hungry.”

Instead of saying, “I think that’s a good idea,” say, “The mind I have thinks that’s a good idea.”

Instead of saying, “I am happy,” say, “I am experiencing happiness.”

What this will do is it will quickly differentiate what you ARE with what is being EXPERIENCED in the moment.

• Refer to yourself in the third person.

Instead of saying, “I am hungry,” say, “The body that Ariel has is hungry.”

Instead of saying, “I think that’s a good idea,” say, “The mind Ariel has thinks that’s a good idea.”

Instead of saying, “I am happy,” say, “Ariel is experiencing happiness.”

In reality, it’s not “you” experiencing these things because a separate and individual “you” doesn’t exist in the first place. Try dropping the word “I” altogether. By referring to yourself in the third person, it will quickly become very clear that YOU are simply the one aware of all this phenomena arising, but you will not be identified with it.

DISIDENTIFICATION is the key!

George likes his chicken spicy!

People may find it silly to hear “you” speaking in such a way and “you” may find it more comfortable to start off talking only to yourself in the third person.

Nevertheless, this simple game will help bring awareness back to the fact that you are not the one associated with all these things happening in the world, but simply the witness of that.