Are we one being that changes by growing old or are we a 'hyper-being' that does not change, but moves through the world and is visible in different forms?

We think of ourselves as individuals rather than discrete people who exist on a time line.But we know we are different from how we were as a baby. And sometimes we might behave in a way that is not characteristic of ourselves. People who are very old might appear much different from how they were when they were young. They may appear to be different people.

We say we are the same person throughout our lives, but we know we are not the same as the baby we once were. And we are not the same as the teenager. So how can we be the same person?

If we are one individual that changes through life then what is it that makes us the same?

How can we change and still be the same?

One approach is to consider that we are a 4 dimensional being that does not change at all but moves through life. The appearance of the being changes, but the being does not change.

A sphere moving through a 3 dimensional world appears first as a spot, then it grows to a circle of a certain size when it begins to diminish until it becomes a spot again and disappears from the 3 dimensional world. In that world, the sphere appears to be a circle that changes. We can think of it as the same circle, but it grows and wanes. It is a circle that changes until it becomes nothing and is never seen again.

This is not true.

The sphere does not change. It only appears to change from the viewpoint of the 3 dimensional world.

In the same way, a hyper-being moving through life may appear as a baby, a teenager, a young person, middle-aged and old - and finally dead. It appears to be one person that changes. Yet in reality it is a hyper-being that does not change. It moves through life and has various appearances. But it does not have different appearances (just as the sphere does not have various appearances), except when viewed from a lower dimensional viewpoint.