That I exist, that I am, cannot be questioned. All else is subject to debate. Cultural note: Retired wrestler Hulk Hogan has “I Am that I Am” tattooed on his right forearm. This is what God said when Moses asked him for his name.
Tag Archives: Exodus 3:14
I am
What we think about defines and characterizes us. Proverbially, from the Old Testament: “As you think, so you are.” And, famously, from Descartes: “I think, therefore I am.” Which begs the question: Who are we when we’re not thinking?
The name of God
Two of India’s greatest sages, Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj, arrived at the same conclusion: Of all of God’s names, “none is indeed so well put as the biblical statement “I am that I am”.” (Exodus 3:14) In the New Testament, we read that Jesus was nearly stoned to death for saying “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” (John 8:58)
The Fourth Dimension
We are three-brained containments: Head, Heart, Gut. Thinker, Feeler, Actor. (Typically, we are more aligned with one of these brains than the other two.) Overseeing this complexity is the Over-seer, the I AM or Fourth Dimension. Are you watching yourself as you’re reading this? You’re in the Fourth Dimension.
I am. Full stop
I cannot say, “I am the body.” That is because I am not the body. Neither am I a Volvo C30, even though I drive one. Bodies and cars—they come and go, along with everything else. So the question is, What doesn’t change?