[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.89,0:00:01.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is there a real you?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.99,0:00:04.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This might seem to you \Nlike a very odd question.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.34,0:00:06.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because, you might ask,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.90,0:00:09.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how do we find the real you,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.22,0:00:11.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how do you know what the real you is?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.26,0:00:12.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so forth.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.22,0:00:15.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the idea that there must be a real you,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.59,0:00:16.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,surely that's obvious.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.63,0:00:19.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If there's anything real \Nin the world, it's you.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.90,0:00:21.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I'm not quite sure.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.84,0:00:24.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At least we have to understand \Na bit better what that means.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.46,0:00:28.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now certainly, I think there are\Nlots of things in our culture around us
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.29,0:00:30.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which sort of reinforce the idea
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.50,0:00:34.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that for each one of us,\Nwe have a kind of a core, an essence.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.25,0:00:37.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is something about what it means\Nto be you which defines you,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.68,0:00:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's kind of permanent and unchanging.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.00,0:00:41.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The most kind of crude way\Nin which we have it,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.81,0:00:43.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are things like horoscopes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.11,0:00:46.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, people are very wedded\Nto these, actually.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.15,0:00:48.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People put them on their Facebook profile
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.11,0:00:49.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as though they are meaningul,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.59,0:00:52.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you even know \Nyour Chinese horoscope as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.27,0:00:54.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are also \Nmore scientific versions of this,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.72,0:00:57.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all sorts of ways of profiling\Npersonality type,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.78,0:01:00.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as the Myers-Briggs tests,\Nfor example.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.45,0:01:01.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know if you've done those.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.84,0:01:03.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A lot of companies \Nuse these for recruitment.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.74,0:01:07.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You answer a lot of questions,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.04,0:01:10.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is supposed to reveal\Nsomething about your core personality.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.79,0:01:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, the popular fascination \Nwith this is enormous.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.09,0:01:15.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In magazines like this, you'll see,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.76,0:01:19.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the bottom left corner,\Nthey'll advertise in virtually every issue
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.22,0:01:21.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some kind of personality thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.33,0:01:23.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you pick up one of those magazines,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.11,0:01:24.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's hard to resist, isn't it?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.36,0:01:27.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Doing the test to find\Nwhat is your learning style,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.23,0:01:30.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what is your loving style,\Nor what is your working style?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.35,0:01:32.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Are you this kind of person or that?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.95,0:01:36.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I think that we have a common-sense idea
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.99,0:01:39.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there is a kind of core \Nor essence of ourselves
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.63,0:01:41.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be discovered.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.17,0:01:44.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that this is kind of a permanent truth\Nabout ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.42,0:01:46.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something that's the same throughout life.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.86,0:01:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, that's the idea I want to challenge.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.62,0:01:52.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I have to say now,\NI'll say it a bit later,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.46,0:01:55.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I'm not challenging this\Njust because I'm weird,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.28,0:01:59.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the challenge actually has a very,\Nvery long and distinguished history.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.08,0:02:01.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's the common-sense idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.25,0:02:02.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is you.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.29,0:02:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You are the individuals you are,\Nand you have this kind of core.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.60,0:02:10.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now in your life, what happens\Nis that you, of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.23,0:02:12.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,accumulate different experiences\Nand so forth.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.45,0:02:14.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you have memories,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.72,0:02:16.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and these memories help \Nto create what you are.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.97,0:02:19.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You have desires, maybe for a cookie,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.62,0:02:22.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe for something\Nthat we don't want to talk about
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.42,0:02:24.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at 11 o'clock in the morning\Nin a school.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.29,0:02:26.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You will have beliefs.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.27,0:02:28.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a number plate\Nfrom someone in America.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.19,0:02:30.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't know whether this number plate,\Nwhich says "messiah 1,"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.96,0:02:33.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,indicates that the driver\Nbelieves in the messiah,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.25,0:02:35.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that they are the messiah.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.44,0:02:38.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Either way, they have beliefs \Nabout messiahs.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.16,0:02:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have knowledge.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.62,0:02:41.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have sensations and experiences as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.88,0:02:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not just intellectual things.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.40,0:02:46.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is kind of \Nthe common-sense model, I think,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.100,0:02:48.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what a person is.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.15,0:02:54.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is a person who has all the things\Nthat make up our life experiences.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.44,0:02:56.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the suggestion \NI want to put to you today
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.96,0:03:00.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that there's something \Nfundamentally wrong with this model.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.40,0:03:02.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I can show you what's wrong\Nwith one click.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.85,0:03:09.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is there isn't actually a "you"\Nat the heart of all these experiences.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.71,0:03:11.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Strange thought?\NWell, maybe not.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.32,0:03:13.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is there, then?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.08,0:03:16.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, clearly there are memories,\Ndesires, intentions, sensations,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.35,0:03:18.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so forth.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.29,0:03:20.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what happens is\Nthese things exist,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.55,0:03:22.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're kind of all integrated,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.62,0:03:26.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're overlapped, they're connected\Nin various different ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.41,0:03:28.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're connecting partly,\Nand perhaps even mainly,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.100,0:03:32.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they all belong to one body\Nand one brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.32,0:03:35.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's also a narrative, \Na story we tell about ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.39,0:03:38.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the experiences we have\Nwhen we remember past things.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.28,0:03:40.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We do things because of other things.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.51,0:03:44.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what we desire\Nis partly a result of what we believe,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.13,0:03:47.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what we remember is also\Ninforming us what we know.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.69,0:03:50.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so really, there are all these things,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.35,0:03:53.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like beliefs, desires, \Nsensations, experiences,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.39,0:03:55.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're all related to each other,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.82,0:03:59.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that just is you.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.37,0:04:04.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In some ways, it's a small difference\Nfrom the common-sense understanding.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.21,0:04:06.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In some ways, it's a massive one.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.46,0:04:08.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the shift between thinking of yourself
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.64,0:04:12.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a thing which has \Nall the experiences of life,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.03,0:04:14.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thinking of yourself\Nas simply that collection
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.98,0:04:16.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of all experiences in life.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.100,0:04:19.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You are the sum of your parts.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.85,0:04:21.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now those parts are also physical parts, \Nof course,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.97,0:04:23.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,brains, bodies and legs and things,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.87,0:04:26.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they aren't so important, actually.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.17,0:04:28.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you have a heart transplant,\Nyou're still the same person.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.85,0:04:31.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you have a memory transplant,\Nare you the same person?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.23,0:04:34.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you have a belief transplant, \Nwould you be the same person?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.60,0:04:39.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now this idea, that what we are, \Nthe way to understand ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.50,0:04:43.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is as not of some permanent being,\Nwhich has experiences,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.96,0:04:46.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but is kind of a collection of experiences,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.36,0:04:48.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,might strike you as kind of weird.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.97,0:04:51.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But actually, I don't think \Nit should be weird.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.06,0:04:52.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a way, it's common sense.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.91,0:04:57.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because I just invite you \Nto think about, by comparison,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.22,0:05:00.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,think about pretty much anything else\Nin the universe,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.17,0:05:02.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe apart from the \Nvery most fundamental forces or powers.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.92,0:05:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's take something like water.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.66,0:05:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now my science isn't very good.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.20,0:05:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We might say something like \Nwater has two parts hydrogen
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.21,0:05:13.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one parts oxygen, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.10,0:05:14.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We all know that.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.75,0:05:18.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hope no one in this room\Nthinks that what that means
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.21,0:05:22.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is there is a thing called water, \Nand attached to it \N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.41,0:05:25.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are hydrogen and oxygen atoms,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.05,0:05:26.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's what water is.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.24,0:05:27.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course we don't.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.10,0:05:30.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We understand, very easily,\Nvery straightforwardly,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.35,0:05:32.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that water is nothing more\N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.08,0:05:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than the hydrogen and oxygen molecules\Nsuitably arranged.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.12,0:05:39.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything else in the universe is the same.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.03,0:05:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no mystery about my watch,\Nfor example.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.20,0:05:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We say the watch has a face, and hands,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.56,0:05:48.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a mechanism and a battery,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.36,0:05:49.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what we really mean is,\N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.52,0:05:51.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we don't think \Nthere is a thing called the watch
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.13,0:05:53.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to which we then attach all these bits.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.86,0:05:56.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We understand very clearly \Nthat you get the parts of the watch,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.90,0:05:58.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you put them together,\Nand you create a watch.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.99,0:06:01.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now if everything else \Nin the universe is like this,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.64,0:06:03.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why are we different?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.94,0:06:05.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why think of ourselves
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.51,0:06:09.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as somehow not just being \Na collection of all our parts,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.46,0:06:14.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but somehow being a separate,\Npermanent entity which has those parts?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.33,0:06:17.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now this view is not particularly new, \Nactually.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.44,0:06:19.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has quite a long lineage.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.11,0:06:20.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You find it in Buddhism,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.46,0:06:23.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you find it in 17th, \N18th-century philosophy
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.01,0:06:26.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going through to the current day,\Npeople like Locke and Hume.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.60,0:06:28.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But interestingly, it's also a view
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.69,0:06:32.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,increasingly being heard reinforced\Nby neuroscience.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.73,0:06:36.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Paul Broks, \Nhe's a clinical neuropsychologist,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.38,0:06:37.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he says this:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.57,0:06:39.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We have a deep intuition\Nthat there is a core,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.96,0:06:42.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an essence there, \Nand it's hard to shake off,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.50,0:06:45.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,probably impossible to shake off, \NI suspect.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.52,0:06:49.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's true that neuroscience shows\Nthat there is no centre in the brain
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.44,0:06:51.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where things do all come together."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.73,0:06:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when you look at the brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.20,0:06:58.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you look at how the brain\Nmakes possible a sense of self,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.22,0:07:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you find that there isn't \Na central control spot in the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.00,0:07:05.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is no kind of center\Nwhere everything happens.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.30,0:07:07.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are lots of different processes\Nin the brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.89,0:07:10.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of which operate, in a way,\Nquite independently.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.99,0:07:14.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's because of the way \Nthat they relate
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.10,0:07:16.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we get this sense of self.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.96,0:07:20.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The term I use in the book, \NI call it the ego trick.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.45,0:07:25.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's like a mechanical trick.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.11,0:07:27.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not that we don't exist,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.59,0:07:30.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's just that the trick is \Nto make us feel that inside of us
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.87,0:07:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is something more unified\Nthan is really there.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.36,0:07:37.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now you might think\Nthis is a worrying idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.49,0:07:39.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You might think that if it's true,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.82,0:07:43.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that for each one of us there is\Nno abiding core of self,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.58,0:07:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no permanent essence,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.56,0:07:49.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,does that mean that really,\Nthe self is an illusion?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.49,0:07:51.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does it mean that we really don't exist?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.81,0:07:53.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is no real you.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.62,0:07:56.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, a lot of people actually do use \Nthis talk of illusion and so forth.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.70,0:08:00.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are three psychologists,\NThomas Metzinger, Bruce Hood,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.67,0:08:02.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Susan Blackmore,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.98,0:08:05.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot of these people do talk \Nthe language of illusion,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.96,0:08:08.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the self is an illusion, it's a fiction.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.03,0:08:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I don't think this is \Na very helpful way of looking at it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.08,0:08:11.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Go back to the watch.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.85,0:08:15.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The watch isn't an illusion, \Nbecause there is nothing to the watch
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.90,0:08:18.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other than a collection of its parts.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.15,0:08:20.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the same way, \Nwe're not illusions either.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.11,0:08:25.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fact that we are, in some ways,\Njust this very, very complex collection,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.55,0:08:27.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ordered collection of things,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.14,0:08:29.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,does not mean we're not real.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.01,0:08:31.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can give you \Na very sort of rough metaphor for this.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.91,0:08:34.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's take something like a waterfall.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.52,0:08:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are the Iguazu Falls, in Argentina.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.12,0:08:40.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now if you take something like this,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.62,0:08:43.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can appreciate the fact \Nthat in lots of ways,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.92,0:08:46.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's nothing permanent about this.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.03,0:08:47.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For one thing, it's always changing.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.46,0:08:50.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The waters \Nare always carving new channels.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.31,0:08:52.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with changes and tides and the weather,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.60,0:08:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some things dry up, \Nnew things are created.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.02,0:09:00.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course the water that flows \Nthrough the waterfall
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.51,0:09:03.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is different every single instance.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.41,0:09:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it doesn't mean that \Nthe Iguazu Falls are an illusion.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.16,0:09:07.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It doesn't mean it's not real.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.80,0:09:11.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What it means is we have \Nto understand what it is
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.13,0:09:13.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as something which has a history,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.36,0:09:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has certain things that keep it together,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.00,0:09:18.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's a process, it's fluid, \Nit's forever changing.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.80,0:09:22.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now that, I think, is a model\Nfor understanding ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.53,0:09:24.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think it's a liberating model.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.20,0:09:27.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because if you think that you have\Nthis fixed, permanent essence,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.23,0:09:30.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is always the same,\Nthroughout your life, no matter what,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.24,0:09:32.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a sense you're kind of trapped.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.81,0:09:35.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're born with an essence,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.42,0:09:38.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's what you are until you die,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.10,0:09:41.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you believe in an afterlife, \Nmaybe you continue.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.13,0:09:44.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you think of yourself\Nas being, in a way,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.10,0:09:47.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not a thing as such, \Nbut a kind of a process,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.88,0:09:49.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something that is changing,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.41,0:09:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then I think that's quite liberating.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.94,0:09:53.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because unlike the the waterfalls,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.81,0:09:56.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we actually have the capacity to channel
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.31,0:09:59.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the direction of our development for ourselves\Nto a certain degree.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.93,0:10:02.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now we've got to be careful here, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.30,0:10:05.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you watch the X-Factor too much,\Nyou might buy into this idea
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.39,0:10:07.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we can all be whatever we want to be.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.72,0:10:09.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's not true.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.04,0:10:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've heard some fantastic musicians\Nthis morning,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.21,0:10:14.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I am very confident\Nthat I could in no way be as good as them.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.93,0:10:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I could practice hard \Nand maybe be good,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.32,0:10:20.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I don't have\Nthat really natural ability.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.33,0:10:22.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are limits to what we can achieve.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.98,0:10:25.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are limits to what \Nwe can make of ourselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.46,0:10:28.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But nevertheless, we do have \Nthis capacity
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.12,0:10:32.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to, in a sense, shape ourselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.11,0:10:34.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The true self, as it were then,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.37,0:10:38.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not something that is just there\Nfor you to discover,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.43,0:10:42.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you don't sort of look into your soul\Nand find your true self,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.08,0:10:43.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What you are partly doing, at least,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.90,0:10:46.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is actually creating your true self.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.29,0:10:48.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this, I think, is very,\Nvery significant,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.21,0:10:50.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particularly at this stage of life you're at.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.18,0:10:51.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You'll be aware of the fact
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.58,0:10:54.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how much of you changed over recent years.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.13,0:10:57.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you have any videos of yourself, \Nthree or four years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.37,0:11:00.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you probably feel embarrassed \Nbecause you don't recognize yourself.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.65,0:11:03.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I want to get that message over,\Nthat what we need to do
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.53,0:11:06.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is think about ourselves as things\Nthat we can shape,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.59,0:11:07.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and channel and change.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.64,0:11:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the Buddha, again:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.94,0:11:11.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well-makers lead the water,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.36,0:11:12.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fletchers bend the arrow,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.76,0:11:15.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carpenters bend a log of wood,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.23,0:11:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wise people fashion themselves."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.00,0:11:20.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's the idea \NI want to leave you with,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.46,0:11:27.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that your true self is not something \Nthat you will have to go searching for,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.67,0:11:30.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a mystery, and maybe never ever find.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.87,0:11:32.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To the extent you have a true self,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.57,0:11:35.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's something that you in part discover,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.31,0:11:37.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in part create.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.70,0:11:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that, I think, \Nis a liberating and exciting prospect.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.20,0:11:44.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much.