Beyond the Surface: Fragments of an Ascetic Mind

Who are you?

  Having leaned into the way others do things, you will notice that it is not truly you. Have you ever asked yourself this question? Illusion is something that does not exist, but it can if your mind leans into the deceit.

We often underestimate the power of the mind so much that we use the mind unconsciously to our own detriment; reality exists only through our belief. Your reality might be an illusion to someone else because he decides not to accept it.

Illustration to solidify what I am saying:

Now in Nigeria, to be more specific in Yoruba land, it is believed that the night itself is the time for something sinister, but something good can still be achieved in the night. It is your belief system that shapes your reality, and whether you like it or not, it will affect your behaviors.

The only way to escape all the rubbish that has invaded your mind space is to unlearn most things and make sure you are not in default mode.

When something is done for a long period of time, it becomes part of you, and your mind will align with it.

Illustration:

There are a lot of times when some words will come from our mouth without even thinking; that is because we have repeated this action for a long period, thereby creating a prompt for the body to act.

Most times, what we choose is to surrender to the claws of deceit.

When you want to introduce yourself in a formal setting, you will have to give an identity, and the identity you choose to lean into must be worn like a costume.

Outside the layers of the regalia we wear, most of us are different from the role we are trying to play.

All these ostentatious identities are proof that we have chosen to be bound by the matrix of the world itself.

A name is a limitation to what we can be.

The act of giving yourself a name or being named is a limitation.

— by Samson Olowoyeye

When our parents name their child, the name given is based on someone in the past or someone actively contributing positively. But this very act creates a limitation when the child or the person starts leaning into this name—you become limited based on the person's limit.

Illustration:

When you introduce yourself as a doctor, you are expected to put on the whole regalia, i.e., you are expected by the community to be selfless, caring, and always available.

  But all these are a sketched-out demand placed before you, and if you start leaning into this without actively telling your mind who you are, you will start getting suffocated and not satisfied. And I’m sure this is not what you want for yourself.

The reason why most of us are not happy and comfortable is because we are all accepting something that doesn’t describe us, but we are squeezing ourselves to fit in—trying to remove what we truly are to match the character created for us.

But we can be free if we want to.