That’s a really interesting illustration.

I think I understand what you are saying.

My first Jiu Jitsu sensei used to provide a way to better understand how to move the body. He said,

“Think of a submarine, and down inside the ship in the control room is the captain. He raises the periscope and looks around. He sees what’s ‘up there’ and ‘out there’ but he himself is actually down in the center of the ship.”

“So if we think about ourselves as martial artists, and how we should be moving from ‘hara’ or our center, think about that you actually reside down in the center of your body. And that your eyes are like a periscope. But everything moves from down there. All the commands and actual movements come from down there, in the center.”

Over time, I’ve developed a bit more of a sense that I am ‘inhabiting’ a body. I used to think that the big ‘I’ was something different than little “i”. I thought that, because that’s how it was often described: the Higher Self and the lower self. In a sense, that kind of description — while perhaps necessary — seems counterproductive, maybe even harmful. Because it creates a false impression that they are different.

For example, in religious contexts we are taught about the voice of God. This is nearly always conveyed as something external. At best it’s been referred to as “the still, small voice” within. Similar to the misleading big ‘I’ and the little ‘i’, the standard way of describing the voice of God is also misleading.

I once started asking a question: how can I know that the thoughts in my mind are my own?

I believe such questions are intensely valuable, because if we stick with the pursuit of an answer, some of the confusion can dissipate.