No Selfies, Please

I have never taken a selfie. That may be due to the fact that I still use an old-fashioned flip phone that does not lend itself easily to that application. The reason I still carry an antique cell is because I have no need for the apps on a smart phone. Naively I think that the purpose of phones is to make phone calls. When I need to be online I will reach for my laptop or tablet. I also seldom carry my cellphone. I enjoy the peace of not being at everyone’s beck and call. Remember when people could not interrupt you when you went out of the house for a walk or a meal in a restaurant?

I am obviously in the minority in my Luddite inclinations. It seems to be a 21^st century social requirement to have an obscenely expensive mini-computer in your pocket at all times. For many people it is an obsession to take and share photos of themselves with their phones. Many of these photos sport strange facial expressions that no one would ever display in person. What is it with the duck face?! What is the attraction of making faces for a camera and posting them online?

Every year there are news accounts of people who fell off cliffs at national parks, leaning over a railing trying to get the perfect selfie. Why risk your life to take a selfie? There was a recent post in USA Today about how to improve your selfies. It was suggested that hats and props be used. Of course you need to purchase a “selfie stick” to extend one’s reach to get just the right angle. I don’t get it. What is the attraction?

Selfies seem to be a way we remind ourselves – and the world – that we are unique and special persons. What wonderful places we visit! What fascinating people we associate with! What fun we are having! How happy we are! It seems like overkill. Methinks thou dost protest too much. I suspect that truly interesting people are too involved in living life to take pictures of themselves to share on social media.

Selfies are a strategy that the ego (another word of the self) uses to convince itself and others that it is real and important. This truth may come as a shock to many people: the self is a fiction. It has no reality outside our minds. It is a product of evolution and society. It is a psychological fiction that the brain has created to function in human society. The evolution of the ego has succeeded in making humans the dominant species on this planet, but we must not mistake its usefulness for reality.

In truth we are something much more profound than neurotic little egos seeking attention and approval. We are the Life that animates these bodies and minds. We are Awareness manifested as human consciousness. We are Self masquerading as selves. Human culture has called this the Holy. Jesus called it the Kingdom of God. Realizing this Ultimate Reality in awareness is the goal of all religions and spirituality.

The good news – which is the literal meaning of the word “gospel” - is that this reality can be readily seen by anyone. All we need is eyes to see and ears to hear, as Jesus said. No need to spend years perfecting spiritual disciplines. No esoteric knowledge needed. No initiation ceremonies required. No organization to join. No doctrines to be believed. No creeds to be recited.

This is seen directly when we look behind the self to notice what we really are. We simply need to inquire honestly as to our true identity. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door will be opened. When the door opens we see we are not who we thought we were. We are not a self, and certainly not something that can be captured in a selfie.  We are the selfless One. This is the testimony of the mystical branch of every world religion. It is the perennial philosophy. It is the timeless Truth. We are one.