Hello Beloved & peace
This is a topic that becomes a key element to many conversations!
If you were to randomly ask somebody, "Do you know yourself? If so how?", they usually would give an answer that dives into their favorite color, their personality, job, pet peeves, food, likes and dislikes etc. All of these are fine answers, and can even become interesting conversation topics among common folk. to be honest the concept is to "Know thyself' not 'believe thyself". after all, there is a difference. but first, lets give "knowing thyself" a more solid definition shall we??...
Let us dive in!!
In modern day studies of psychology, human perception of self-awareness has many levels. Sigmund freud's topographic model or iceberg metaphor, as shown below, is a basic overview of the levels of human consciousness.
Deep is it not! this basic model makes one think..do we truly know ourselves as much as we think? or are we just playing a role consciously without realizing all subconscious information that surpasses our conscious experience, making us unaware of our hidden desires or true selves. There are many people out there, maybe even you, whom wear social masks long enough to keep up an image to please the public with even themselves. including those they love most.
Well, according to the author Na'im akbar (a well renowned afro-centric clinical psychologist, public speaker, writer and author) who wrote a book called 'know thyself', awareness of the self is beyond just individual awareness. In ancient Africa, the ultimate instructions for human growth and transformation was "man (or womb-man) know thyself". Akbar stated that, "A peoples shared knowledge is the criteria for assessing their level of civilization - personal awareness is the way by which we determine individual functioning" (pg. vi). Basically, the more you are aware of who you are based on culture, morals, history, family settings etc, the better you can comprehend the internal manifestation of knowledge. Especially with the environment around you, rather if the environment directly or indirectly, affects the thoughts of how you perceive yourself. The greater your self-realization, knowledge and consciousness is, the higher expression of one's humanity becomes, ergo - enlightenment.
Now that's a mindful!!
The mind is truly a terrible thing to waste. We may sometimes underestimate our own ability to know ourselves on a deeper level. Some of us are not even taught who we are or what we do beyond the education that is given to us. As the famous Bruce lee has stated, "all types of knowledge ultimately means self-knowledge".
Akbar has also verbatimly stated the same in his book 'Know thyself' saying, "our humanity is defined and distinguished by the development of knowledge and particularly self-knowledge." (pg. 1). Sometimes I even find myself falling victim to misunderstanding what it truly means to know myself.
Am I going to find it by going to school?
Do I read 100 "How-to" books?
Do I find a master teacher or sensei to show me the walks of life?
Should I meditate or take a long expedition in some foreign place to reach nirvana?
(I will give you the answers I discovered to my own questions in a few...)
It is more than just having a bunch a data of who we are and what we do (which are separate meanings by the way). We must also add the concept of accepting ourselves and who we are, rather if it is good, bad or indifferent. To accept all pieces of who you are, as not just pieces, but whole fragments connected to one whole source - not ignoring them as being separate from one another. For instance, the lion knows it is a hunter and the gazelle knows it is prey, both of them adapt according to their roles in nature rather they want to accept it or not. they accept their roles in the circle of life and find ways to adapt in order to survive and thrive in the wild. A lion hunts through strategy by being smarter and knowing the terrain they hunt on and a gazelle runs with the purpose of living no matter how high it has to jump or how fast it has to run. Ultimately, they each are aware of their purpose on this earth, no matter what hand they are dealt with in the circle of life.
So here is the answer to all the questions I asked myself and even other people whom I call wise, or those who seem to master life right before my eyes.
The answer(s) is that - all answers lay within Y.O.U(Your Own Universe)!
YOU are your first book of life to study and read. Nobody can give you a set plan on how to know yourself and your purpose. Everywhere I was searching for myself was outside of myself. i did not take the necessary steps of tapping within myself first. Sometimes in life what we search for most are in plain sight and that which we are searching for is already searching for us. We just have to do the work to know who we are as light-bodies that embellish on this journey called 'life'.
It's the question that drives us to go seek what we want to know thyself. It's the questions we ask ourselves and in some cases already know the answer to but turn a blind eye to it, simply because the truth could be too hard to accept. It is best not to f.e.a.r. (False Evidence Appearing Real) what we don't understand about ourselves so that all keys to life can open up the doors we are meant to walk through. Many times those doors only open once, once we walk through them - we call that opportunity. Go and take the opportunity to know who you are - to know thyself...
LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN! #readyplayerone
Peace & Love Ya'll
- Kenta🌍
"You are an individual. There is no one else like you in existence, so it naturally follows that there is only one path to follow - your own. The path leads to your own truth concerning your real self and your relationship with the universe. No teacher can ever deliver you this truth..."
- Phillip Cooper
(Esoteric Magik & the Cabala)
Definitions (based from oxford dictionary):
know (/ nō /)
1. to be absolutely certain or sure about something
2. have knowledge or information concerning
3. being able to distinguish a particular name, person or thing through personal experience
believe (/ bəˈlēv/ )
1. holding something as an opinion; think or suppose
2. accept that something is true, especially without proof
3. having faith, especially religiously
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