Here's a combination of ideas that I've gotten from many places that I've synthesized into my own. I'm sure this already exists somewhere but learning it myself from within feels better lol. It's better to diagram it. What I initially had was: (see pictures)
This is mostly accurate, I'd say, but a small nuance. The placement of experiences and identity are slightly off. Here I have experience as the first step, which goes through this cycle and 'ends' in identity before returning to experiences. And while that's true, you can't have experiences without an identity. So really, identity is the first step on this path and it cycles through. Like this: (see pictures)
But this one doesn't do identity justice because identity also causes the others directly.
(see picture)
Basically, it's a many to many relationship. The identity is at the center of everything in our life. It's who we are. And who we are is constantly changing towards who we are becoming. The linear path that I've seen before of Thoughts → Emotions → Feelings → Words → Actions, or something like that doesn't account for our thoughts jumping directly to actions, or any other type jump. I don't think there has to be a linear path. It's not sequential. The rational mind tries to logically have steps to understand the concept. But really, it's all one big thing called the identity. We just differentiate it with words so we can describe it. But it's all really the identity. oh, I guess along the way I created a new word. Thoughts, feelings, and emotions happen to us and we can put words to them. They are what I can categorize as experiences. However, there are beliefs, biases, and assumptions that are there without us thinking about. They've been programmed one way or another. So to capture those in one term, I've created inperiences. Since these happen not only internally, but without our natural awareness of them. If I can name it, then I can increase my awareness of it.
So what if I apply this to the age old question: what came first, the chicken or the egg? At first, I thought it was obviously the chicken, since you need an identity first to experience something. But the experience is just something we give a name to to differentiate with the identity. So by that logic, the identity is the chicken and the egg is just a phase or an experience of that chicken. We are trying to distinguish two things that are actually the same. An animal close to the chicken, let's say, had an identity. Over time as it went through inperiences, experiences, etc., it started to change its identity. It didn't have the ability to have eggs yet. And maybe it did. That doesn't matter. As it changed its identity, it became what we could call a chicken. Then with that ability, it laid an egg. So on the time continuum, the chicken came first. However, identity is there simply. The other things like the inperiences, experiences, words, and actions are all functions of time. So if we take time away, there is only the identity (in the "now"). The chicken is always there. The egg is also always there. It's only as a function of time that one may exist before or after another.
Let's use humans as an example. I have an identity right now. In the next year, I'll have experiences, inperiences, actions, etc. And next year, I'll have a different identity. But will I really? That different identity is only a function of time of that year that's elapsed. Let's say I am the chicken now and in that year that's occurred, I'm an egg. Has my identity changed? By physical appearance only because time has passed.
[20 min]
So we are who we are. My identity is my identity at age 5 and at age 25. It's only with time that there is a difference. So it's only with this perception of time that we're able to distinguish the chicken or the egg. Evolutionarily, the chicken and the egg came at the same time. Philosophically, the chicken is the egg. Which in effect, are saying the same thing. Really, anything that has a beginning and an end isn't real though. So neither the chicken nor the egg are real. It was all created by some higher universal power.
LOL I think I went in circles there. Might have to revisit this at some point in the future...(when my identity is different...or the same...?)
Same thing with ice and water. It's the same identity, just different phases based on external circumstances and environment and perception. The ice is the water, only as a function of time do we see it in two different states.
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