In Search of the Miraculous

are so much identified with separate aims that they fail to see the wood for the trees.

Two or three trees nearest to them represent for them the whole wood.

"'Identifying' is one of our most terrible foes because it penetrates everywhere and deceives a man at the moment when it seems to him that he is struggling with it. It is

especially difficult to free oneself from identifying because a man naturally becomes

more easily identified with the things that interest him most, to which he gives his

time, his work, and his attention. In order to free himself from identifying a man must

be constantly on guard and be merciless with himself, that is, he must not be afraid of

seeing all the subtle and hidden forms which identifying takes.

"It is necessary to see and to study identifying to its very roots in oneself. The

difficulty of struggling with identifying is still further increased by the fact that when people observe it in themselves they consider it a very good trait and call it

'enthusiasm,' 'zeal,' 'passion,' 'spontaneity,' 'inspiration,' and names of that kind, and they consider that only in a state of identifying can a man really produce good work,

no matter in what sphere. In reality of course this is illusion. Man cannot do anything

sensible when he is in a state of identifying. If people could see what the state of

identifying means they would alter their opinion. A man becomes a thing, a piece of

flesh; he loses even the small semblance of a human being that he has. In the East

where people smoke hashish and other drugs it often happens that a man becomes so

identified with his pipe that he begins to consider he is a pipe himself. This is not a

joke but a fact. He actually becomes a pipe. This is identifying. And for this, hashish

or opium are entirely unnecessary. Look at people in shops, in theaters, in restaurants;

or see how they identify with words when they argue about something or try to prove

something, particularly something they do not know themselves. They become

greediness, desires, or words; of themselves nothing remains.

"Identifying is the chief obstacle to self-remembering. A man who identifies with

anything is unable to remember himself. In order to remember oneself it is necessary

first of all not to identify. But in order to learn not to identify man must first of all not be identified with himself, must not call himself 'I' always and on all occasions. He must remember that there are two in him, that there is himself, that is 'I' in him, and there is another with whom he must struggle and whom he must conquer if he wishes at any time to attain anything. So long as a man identifies or can be identified, he is

the slave of everything that can happen to him. Freedom is first of all freedom from

identification.

"After general forms of identification attention must be given to a particular form

of identifying, namely identifying with people, which takes the form of 'considering'

them.

"There are several different kinds of 'considering.'

"On the most prevalent occasions a man is identified with what others think about

him, how they treat him, what attitude they show towards him. He always thinks that

people do not value him enough, are not sufficiently polite and courteous. All this

torments him, makes him think and suspect and lose an immense amount of energy on

guesswork, on suppositions, develops in him a distrustful and hostile attitude towards

people. How somebody looked at him, what somebody thought of him, what

somebody said of him—all this acquires for him an immense significance.

"And he 'considers' not only separate persons but society and historically

constituted conditions. Everything that displeases such a man seems to him to be

unjust, illegal, wrong, and illogical. And the point of departure for his judgment is

always that these things can and should be changed. 'Injustice' is one of the words in

which very often considering hides itself. When a man has convinced himself that he

is indignant with some injustice, then for him to stop considering would mean

'reconciling himself to injustice.'

"There are people who are able to consider not only injustice or the failure of others to value them enough but who are able to consider for example the weather. This

seems ridiculous but it is a fact. People are able to consider climate, heat, cold, snow, rain; they can be irritated by the weather, be indignant and angry with it. A man can

take everything in such a personal way as though everything in the world had been

specially arranged in order to give him pleasure or on the contrary to cause him

inconvenience or unpleasantness.

"All this and much else besides is merely a form of identification. Such

considering is wholly based upon 'requirements.' A man inwardly 're-quires' that

everyone should see what a remarkable man he is and that they should constantly give

expression to their respect, esteem, and admiration for him, for his intellect, his