Memory and Continuity of Self

"If there’s no enduring self, how do I make sense of memory and the feeling that I’m the same person I was twenty years ago? Rupert says: ‘Memory doesn’t prove the existence of an enduring personal self; it proves the existence of an enduring awareness. When you remember an event from twenty years ago, what remains continuous between then and now? Not your body – every cell has been replaced. Not your thoughts or feelings – they’ve changed countless times. What remains is the awareness that knows the memory now and knew the experience then. This awareness is the true continuity. You’re right that you feel you’re the same self you were twenty years ago, but notice what that self is: it’s the simple experience of being, the “I am”. That hasn’t changed. All the content – your age, circumstances, relationships – has changed, but being remains the same. You’re not the same person; you’re the same being, temporarily clothed in different experiences.’"

From event 21 - 28 November, 2025 Seven-Day Retreat at The Vedanta, 21–28 November 2025

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