This is sort of a vague metaphor and I'm not entirely sure what I even mean, but bear with me; it might be somewhat useful in trying to explain this.
Each of us seems to vibrate at a slightly different frequency. One occupies a place in a vast, multi-dimensional spectrum in which one's physical attributes contribute very much to one's own general state. One is wired to be more cerebral, or one is wired to be more emotional, more rigid, more open, more expansive, more focused, and so on. These attributes aren't all collected in two poles. They tend towards two poles, but they overlap endlessly, and they can be expressed differently when an individual is in different states of mind. Nevertheless, these attributes have a dramatic effect on what activities one engages in, the nature of one's social presence, what information or sensations one pays attention to, and ultimately how one lives.
One is blind to one's own frequency. It is very difficult to see what one is, but one can see very viscerally the frequencies of others, which does create a sort of negative conception of what one is. One above all seeks the eyes of others to see what one is. But in this culture, what with a great, central, antagonizing power, we are brought up to evaluate each difference and locate it within this schema of strong or weak, favorable or unfavorable, better or lesser, more advantageous or whatever else you may, so as to situate ourselves in relation to this power.
The nature of this power is such that it takes a limited range of frequencies and enthrones them as great and just, so that when one seeks the nature of one's own self, in relation to this power, one is told what one is in terms of one's constitutional amenability for fitting into the multiple schema set by power. All of the rest of the frequencies disappear into the background, or smolder under ash weakly.
What is this mysterious power? We look over the world and we see a multitude of nations, powers, which themselves collapse into a multitude of egos vying to be represented in those powers. What is this central power?
It seems to reside in a constellation of values that individuals and nations can aspire to - to be clear, I am using "nation" loosely so as to reference both political entities and these slippery economic ones that have risen in the last century: corporations. Relationally, this set of values is forced when a great power rises in possession of these values, antagonizing everything else. Everyone looks up, saying to themselves, golly that looks pretty high, I wonder how I get up there. Or something like that.
The values themselves are generated at a historic period, usually as a response to some sort of crisis, and they are inseparable from a set of social relations that are formed in part from various technologies, techniques, and accompanying social formations which allow a society to prosper with an acceptable level of stability.
What is easy to forget is that this is merely a historical formation that has risen, and will fall as surely as it has risen, kicking up a great cloud of dust within which are fertile grounds for other formations to rise.
When you exist within this reality, it is very difficult to see yourself. You ask others for their opinion of your self, but they come up with all sorts relational indicators like you're pretty nice (you get along in institutions) or you're very book smart (you get along well in academic institutions), or you have a big heart (you sustain well your existing social relations), and then so on into even more pointed indicators such as you're aggressive enough to survive (you're masculine), or you're too passive and you'll be crushed (you're feminine), or you're not good-looking enough for this or that (to be liked by both influential men and women), or you're not smart enough to handle this (smart almost always referring to the capacity to handle large amounts of data), or you're not physically fit enough (to appeal to hegemonic body image), or patient enough (to keep the required amount of attention for repetitive mechanical tasks), or conversely, you are all these things and that you will go far.
Which is not to say that having attributes favorable to power is a bad thing, or that having attributes unfavorable to power is a good thing, but it is also important to understand which standard it is that you are being judged by.
Maybe if you had a great job and could secure for yourself all sorts of great shiny things and become respected by your community, you will be just fine. And to an extent this is true, psychologically anyways. As adults we have this deep psychological need for autonomy, to be able to stand on our own two feet and be respected by the community for it, so that we can belong and contribute. With most of us landless, and without access to the means of reproduction, and without the ability to substantially alter the environment in a creative way, this cultural avenue allows us to recreate some of these conditions.
We exist within this formation. We are all judged in accordance with this formation. How do you see yourself (and others) outside of this formation? As they really exist?
The practical person will exclaim that this is a big ripoff. All life takes place within formations like these, and you are what this environment has produced. You can't escape your self, for your self is the very basis for your experience of this reality. You can crawl down into a dark, dingy cave, and upon trying to comfort yourself, imagine that the sky is blue and the sun is shining on all the wonderful green trees outside, but it won't change the fact that you're down in a cave and it is dark and scary. You're there, and the cave acts on you, as you act on the cave.
To put it another way, I've personally had flashes (along with plenty of others) of a vague sort of cosmic awareness, and with those flashes come the realization that the practical world often takes on the characteristics of a game at best, a sham at worst. But it is difficult to escape the practical world. For example, my moods proceed on a bipolar pattern. There is a biological (and neurochemical) basis for entire experiences I have that are very difficult to escape. I'm writing right now on a sort of manic wave, that was probably triggered by caffeine and the random occurrence of some obsessive thought. I may feel completely different later in the day, or even in an hour or less, and sometimes it is difficult to escape.
But it can be done. It seems as though it takes something as potent as total alienation from a cultural state of affairs to escape it and to see it from the outside, or sustained exposure to intellectual works that allow this, or sudden revelations that can have roots in various factors, or take part in certain meditative activities, or you can be predisposed to it from birth, or go under some type of psychological or physical trauma, whatever.
Once you get into that state, you can go about your work investigating the basis of everything. This I think, is one of the closest states that approaches this concept of freedom that has been so corrupted in recent times.
This freedom to understand what you are does change what you are. Not fundamentally, but it does expand the array of actions you can choose from, and how you choose to move in the world and relate to others. Of course the ultimate truth behind finding what you are is realizing what you aren't. You are not this self that people have been telling you endlessly that you are. Though a useful practical function, the self is not some irreducible fixture of natural law.
You realize that you are connected to everything else, and therefore inseparable, and that everything is connected to you. This lifts tremendous weight off your shoulders because you stop trying to control things as a self, and you stop feeling guilty for the multitudinous actions that happen every day, that might or might not be in your control.
These views are echoed in Buddhist philosophy and countless other philosophies. The idea is to stop struggling for a second and learn to let go. Sit back and experience. It makes life a little easier. There is still life to live, work to be done, but maybe these things are best done with a clear conscience and opened senses?
The process of letting go itself is often the hardest part. But it gets easier as continuing on in a crumbling framework becomes harder.
