I think a large part of the value of self-knowledge, perhaps the most important part, is that I can use it to truly see myself and other people, clearly enough to avoid the traps of mechanical thinking, conditioned responses and blind assumption. This is what being free and alive means to me. The freedom to act consciously and not react unconsciously.
Self-knowledge - it's not about being more spiritual, or wiser, or more educated. It’s just about truly knowing myself. I’m not talking about knowing myself on a superficial level. Of course I know my favourite colour, what foods I prefer, and where I like to go on holiday – that’s the easy stuff. Knowing myself, my inner-self is different.
Please take a moment and reflect on these questions:
What do you really know about yourself?
What triggers you?
What dogma have you inherited from your family or culture?
What assumptions do you make about your life or people in your life?
What do you consider to be your values and why?
What motivates you and has deep meaning for you?
What judgements do you make and how do they affect what you do?
What has true purpose for you?
In your bathroom mirror you may be able to see how you look on the outside, but what I want to know is what do you use to look on the inside? Count how many times a day on average you look at your reflection. Consider how well you know your own features and the contours of your face. These are the external checks - are you doing the internal checks as well?
Some people use meditation, others contemplation, others therapy. It actually doesn’t matter what you do or how you do it, what is vital is that you do something. I find one of the most powerful tools for me is curiosity followed by contemplation. The word “why?” is particularly effective. I’ll often ask myself, why do I feel like this? Why did I think that? Why did I say that? Why am I doing this?
I call it the Power of “Why?” (inspired by Eckhart Tolle’s Power of Now). To be curious about the way my internal world is working means that I am not acting blindly like a robot. It also means that there is a possibility that I can find out something new about myself; perhaps something that is no longer serving me, or that I would like to change about myself. That’s when I make space for the magic and for the possibility of growth.
I invite you to look and ask– what does your internal mirror look like?
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
With gratitude,
Your friend,
BB