Conception, birth and infancy, these are the beginnings of your being where the 'I am' lies dormant. Then there is the spontaneous appearance of the non-verbal feeling 'I am' around say three years of age. On this foundation of the knowledge 'I am' is built a large structure of words, ideas and concepts and very soon it is 'I am so and so' and so forth. The pure 'I am' is contaminated and it piles on right from childhood to old age, but in all the succession of events, the 'I am' lies at the base and has always been there. The 'I am' is an unbroken link throughout your life, so come back to it, abide there and try to transcend it, for there lies your True being.