Jasmin Lee Cori, M.S. - Author, Mind, Body & Spirit

At one time or another, we lose almost everything in this life. We outgrow people and places, leave various roles, lose people we love, lose our youth and our health, lose our hair. But there is one thing we can never lose, and that is our essence.

Essence is a beautiful word. When we talk about the essence of something, we're talking about its fundamental character and nature. People have an essence too, both a transpersonal and a personal one. The transpersonal essence is shared by everyone; it's the one fabric that we are all part of. But there is also a "personal essence" and that is what I am calling “the you that is you.” It is not the same as everybody else, and yet it is not the ordinary self that you identify with. It is an innermost essence that would be there even if everything else was gone—even if your body was gone, your name, your history, your likes and dislikes.

In my brand of spiritual work, it’s good to find this you that is you. Isn't it funny to think you must find what you cannot lose? Usually you look right over it, because you're so concerned with all those other aspects, like what kind of image to project, how you look (that one takes forever!), and what others think of you.

It's like the night sky wondering if it has spread out its stars in the most becoming way. The essence of the night sky is not affected by which constellations we see. It is still its glorious, infinite self, regardless—even on a cloudy night. And you are still your glorious, infinite self regardless of the image people construct of you.

In many ways, spiritual growth is more about what you take off than what you put on. You take off everything you've added that is not fundamentally who you are. You take off your defenses and adaptations. You take off your rigidities, your needing to have things a certain way. You take off our prejudices and beliefs (what a relief!). Then you take off your undergarments. (I bet you are wondering what these are.) The undergarments are the self-images you hold; they’re generally as close as you get to yourself. Yet beneath the self-images is the you that is you. Beneath the self-images is a reality that goes way, way beyond image.

It is tricky to find this you that is you because generally we perceive things as objects. I remember one time with my teacher when I was desperately trying to find the essence of me. I had an image of running from one street corner to the next, is if looking for something. Then I realized it didn't work that way. It was more like a drop being absorbed into another drop, surrendering into its own nature.

The fact that it can’t be captured by an image or known as an object makes it seem rather esoteric. Some things just are. Still, it is worth the journey. The first step is this taking-off process that continues until there is nothing left but this you that is you.

Adapted from The Magic of Your True Nature