36733/347Most people would opt for colonial James-

TOWN, BECAUSE
MOST PEOPLE GIVE THEIR CREDIT CARD TO THE NARRATING SELF,
WHICH CARES ONLY ABOUT STORIES & HAS ZERO INTEREST IN EVEN THE MOST MIND-BLOWING
EXPERIENCES IF IT CANNOT REMEMBER THEM. Truth be told, the experiencing self & the narrating
self are not completely separate entities but are closely intertwined! The narrating self uses our own
experiences as important (but not exclusive) raw materials for its stories?! THESE STORIES, in turn,
SHAPE WHAT THE EXPERIENCING SELF ACTUALLY FÉÉLS!? We experience hunger differently when we
fast during Ramadan, when we fast in preparation for a medical examination, & when we have no money.
THE DIFFERENT MEANINGS ASCRIBED TO OUR HUNGER BY THE NARRATING SELF CREATE VERY DIFFE-
RENT ACTUAL EXPERIENCES! Furthermore, the experiencing self is often strong enough to sabotage the
best-laid plans of the narrating self? I might, for instance, make a New Year’s resolution to start a diet &
go to the gym every day! SUCH GRAND DECISIONS ARE THE MONOPOLY OF THE NARRATING SELF. BUT
THE NEXT OR FOLLOWING WEEK WHEN IT’S GYM-TIME, THE EXPERIENCING SELF TAKES OVER. I don’t
féél like going to the gym, and instead I order pizza, sit on the sofa & turn on the TV and so on?!
NEVERTHELESS, MÓST OF ÙS IDENTIFY WITH OUR NARRATING SELF. When we say ‘I’, we mean the story
IN OUR HEAD, nòt the onrushing stream of experiences we undergo. WE IDENTIFY WITH THE INNER SYSTEM
THAT TAKES THE CRAZY CHAOS OF LIFE AND SPINS OUT OF IT SEEMINGLY LOGICAL & CONSISTENT YARNS!
It doesn’t matter that the plot is full of lies & lacunas, ànd ìs réwrìtten again & again, so that todays’s story
flatly contradicts yesterday’s?! THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE ALWAYS RETAIN THE FEELING THAT WE
HAVE A SINGLE “UNCHANGING” IDENTITY FROM BIRTH TO DEATH (and perhaps even beyond)?! This gives
rise to the questionable liberal belief that I àm and individual, & that I possess a clear & consistent inner
voice that provides méaning to ‘the entire universe’!.