“What neurology tells us is that the self consists of many components, and the notion of one unitary self may well be an illusion.”

— V.S. Ramachandran , book The Tell-Tale Brain

Source: The Tell-Tale Brain (2010), p. 247

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V.S. Ramachandran 6

Neuroscientist 1951

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“Self, person, living being, and life span are four notions that prevent us from seeing reality.
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Life is one. We do not need to slice it into pieces and call this or that piece a "self." What we call a self is made only of non-self elements. When we look at a flower, for example, we may think that it is different from "non-flower" things. But when we look more deeply, we see that everything in the cosmos is in that flower. Without all of the non-flower elements — sunshine, clouds, earth, minerals, heat, rivers, and consciousness — a flower cannot be. That is why the Buddha teaches that the self does not exist. We have to discard all distinctions between self and non-self.

“Self-indulgence takes many forms; and we should bear in mind that there may be a sullen sensuality as well as a gay one.”

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“"Being" exists only as a neurological and linguistic illusion.”

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“If they were part of the self-correction (i. e., of the space-time continuum) what did that do to the notion of free will? Or was free will part of the plan as well?”

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“The Buddhist doctrine of impermanence includes the notion that there is no self… It holds that the idea of a separate, individual self is an illusion, just another form of maya, an intellectual concept that has no reality. To cling to this idea of a separate self leads to the same pain and suffering (duhkha) as the adherence to any other fixed category of thought.”

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“It is helpful to recall that the death of the person is a single event, consisting in the total disintegration of that unitary and integrated whole that is the personal self. The death of the person, understood in this primary sense, is an event which no scientific technique or empirical method can identify directly.”

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“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.”

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“I'm bruised again,
I wear it well,
The self-inflicted tale they tell.”

Alicia Witt (1975) American actress

"Anyway" Official Video http://vimeo.com/12147261 - Performance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (1 July 2010) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TduFqUob4o
Lyrics, Alicia Witt (2009)
Context: I'm bruised again,
I wear it well,
The self-inflicted tale they tell.
I singed my hair,
I broke my nails.
You'd love me then,
If all else failed.
The night was long and dark and just
Another dagger to my trust.
I thrust it in until I bleed
I wiped my point for you to see. And anyway,
It's over now.
Nothing left to say.
I don't know why,
I don't care how,
It's over anyway.
It's broken in pieces.
You've got the space you needed.
Too late to try,
Just say good-bye
It's over anyway.

“What neurology tells us is that the self consists of many components, and the notion of one unitary self may well be an illusion.”

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V.S. Ramachandran 6

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