What is the Not Self?
The Not Self is the mind making decisions and interacting with others from the conditioning and influence of the open centers. Any open centers we have are unreliable and vulnerable to conditioning. We are conditioned through the planetary transits, through being in aura with someone who has centers defined that we do not, or our environment and the way that we take things in. We are also conditioning others with our definition. We cannot avoid conditioning or the Not Self. It is a part of our lives, and not necessarily a bad thing, as it can lead to great wisdom. The Not Self can be one of our greatest teachers when we are operating from a place of awareness. It’s when we get caught up in the mind, thinking, and making decisions from the Not Self, that we run into problems and life becomes difficult. It is only by operating through Strategy and Authority that we can return the mind to its role as an observant passenger, and make correct decisions through the body.
It starts when we’re born. Or maybe even before, while we’re still in the womb. The first ones to condition us are our parents. Maybe siblings and grandparents as well. Then it’s teachers at school, friends, society, and the homogenized world in general. In recent years with the development of social media, I believe that conditioning has reached new levels. We are filled with thoughts and behavioral patterns that don’t actually belong to us. They probably didn’t belong to whoever gave them to us either. Many societal ideas and habits are generational. Over time we become conditioned to be someone we are not. Our true self is still there, but it’s hidden under layers of Not Self. It is cellular. That’s why it takes seven years to decondition and peel away all that is not really you.
Each open center has it’s own unique way of influencing the mind, and triggering the Not Self behavior. This is because open centers are inconsistent energetically. Depending on who we are around, we can get confused, and think that what we are experiencing is our true self, it’s actually conditioning. The Not Self Head center is trying to answer everyone else’s questions, while the undefined Root is in a hurry to be free of the pressure. If this was part of your design, it could cause you to try and find solutions for everyone without taking the time to make sure that your solutions are even correct. And leaving you exhausted from the pressure. If your throat is undefined, it will tell your mind that you need to behave in ways that will attract attention, rather than letting the attention unfold naturally, and in the process, possibly alienating others. If your Ajna is open, you might try to convince everyone that you are certain, even if you know that you are not. Projectors and Manifestors do not know when enough is enough because of their undefined Sacral. Those without a defined G center are always looking for love and direction from others, and wondering who they are. The undefined Ego asks us to continually prove our worth, while we avoid confrontation and truth with the undefined Solar Plexus. My Spleen is undefined and I have four gates activated. That’s a lot of fear and holding on to things that are not good for me. But being aware of this and how it has influenced my life, and created resistance has begun to shift the way my mind is affected by my Spleen. Now I can see or feel where I’m holding on, and can let go more than I have in the past. I have six undefined centers, so I’m becoming very familiar with the Not Self themes, and how they’ve affected my personal experience. There is nothing wrong with open centers, and they are not broken. They can lead to great awareness and wisdom because they are always taking in information.
The Types have their own individual ways of experiencing the Not Self through resistance. When we can build awareness and learn to identify these feelings and experiences as signposts, we can more easily release the resistance and return to correctness through Strategy and Authority. When we operate through Strategy and Authority, we are relying on our definition, which is consistent.
The Generator type experiences the Not Self through feelings of frustration, and only through waiting to respond, and following their Authority can they finally be satisfied. Projector types will feel bitter as the Not Self, even experiencing a bitter taste in the mouth. If a Projector waits though, to be recognized and invited, and follows their authority, they will find their success. Manifestors will find their peace and move away from anger when they learn to inform others of the impact that they wish to initiate, and follow their Authority. And Reflectors will experience surprise instead of disappointment if the wait a lunar cycle before making life decisions.
It isn’t about getting rid of anything when it comes to the Not Self. You couldn’t anyway. It is part of who you are. It’s more about letting go of who you thought you were, and building awareness around what feels right, and what feels resistant. By returning over and over to practicing Strategy and Authority, the mind starts to move away from trying to control everything and becomes the Passenger, and the conditioning starts to naturally fall away. Allowing the Design Crystal to take over, return to correctness, and the True Self to emerge.