Introduction
This post presents some points to do with self-observation.
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| The Sunrise, the start of the dissolution process. |
Points
Foundations
We do not know ourselves. We know very little about ourselves.
We only know a bit about our personality, and about some of our egos. As far as our essence and Inner Being is concerned we know less than 'very little'.
This lack of self-knowledge is not a permanent condition, it changes dramatically when take up serious self-observation.
To know ourselves brings power over our reactions and responses to the impressions and events of life.
We can not change anything we do not know...
We can not control anything we do not know...
To know ourselves is the most important thing to do in life.
To know ourselves profoundly is to draw closer and closer to awakening. Those that are awakened profoundly know themselves and are consummate athletes of self-observation.
Real self-knowledge is the knowledge of ourselves as soul and spirit. This is Gnosis.
Preparation
To observe ourselves we need the intention to observe ourselves.
It is a consciousness action. That is, something done intentionally.
In life we don't ever go into an event and try to know more about ourselves. We just go through the event, and it may happen that we learn more about ourselves or it may not...
No justification.
No mercy - no excuses or nice interpretations - strictly facts.
No judgement. No mental narration saying how bad or good we are. Just the use of attention and observing the physical and psychological facts.
The truth of the facts is what liberates. Even though this seems harsh it is only ever the truth about ourselves that can lead anywhere helpful for ourselves and others.
Motivation or Spirit
The reason to observe ourselves is to liberate ourselves.
The spirit of self-observation is to arrive at comprehension. With comprehension comes liberation.
The intention to observe produces observer and observed. Without this intention to observe, that separation is not produced and we don't 'see' or observe anything.
Identity
The right identity is the one that comes from identifying as the essence wanting to know itself, to liberate itself from the many conditionings it has created over time.
The identity of a truth seeker about ourselves is most helpful.
Identities such as: 'a victim of a cruel upbringing', one who has experienced too much in life, 'a sinner', 'a saint' etc.etc. are of not real use.
When we get identified our ability to observe ourselves stops.
The intention to observe creates separation, thus connecting us to the next stage of the work which is separation.
Particulars to Observe
For us to observe ourselves well, we need some examples and specific things to start off with, so that our observation gets lost in so many theories.
The five centres. Observe carefully the processes that take place in the five centres when any ego is using them. The essence and the consciousness also use the five centres. Through the centres we come to know both the ego and the essence.
Observe where our attention is, and what is it focussed on.
Observe our breathing. The state of our breathing shows us our psychological states.
Observe our spoken and internal word. The words we use externally and internally are direct doors to know the true nature of our psychological processes.
Observe that every ego has an environment, and a trigger. This is we must observe and know.
Observe that every ego is a recurrence. Every ego in its manifestations has the same lead up, development and ending.
Observe the before, during and after any egoic manifestation. We must know the symptoms, the mechanical manifestation, which is the way it tries to achieve its goals and its ending, which is the way it transacts with other egos.
Observing the consequences of the ego manifesting within us and within our life, is something we also must do and come to know profoundly.
You Will Find
That we are often cruel and cold.
That we lie.
That we carry many contradictions.
That we do not keep our word.
That what we tell others not to do is what we do.
That we daydream.
That we don't remember ourselves.
That our consciousness sleeps amongst so much distraction and identification.
That we can't remember what we ate for lunch yesterday and very little about today's psychological processes.
That we 'skin others alive' in the cave of our own mind.
That our mind never stops.
That we do not remember ourselves.
That there is so much that we do not know about ourselves.
That because we don't accept our own plurality we don't accept the plurality in others, and unrealistically expect more than others are capable of.
Results
Results is the most important part of self-observation - that is, what self-observation leads us to.
The result of self-observation should take us to arrive at the clear and self-evident truth that every human being is plural. That human beings, especially ourselves are fragmented and contain a plurality of "I's".
Good self-observation will expose that what we are thinking and feeling that is producing inconvenient results in our life comes from an ego within us, that is mechanical and recurrent.
This knowledge that it is a 'psychological person' within us producing those thoughts and emotions produces separation within us. We can now see clearly that is it really an "I" or psychological person within us thinking and feeling those things.
We come to know directly that those thoughts and feelings do not come from our free essence, but from our a part of our essence that is conditioned. This conditioned fragment of essence reacts mechanically based on the same environment and impression triggers.
This separation then leads us naturally to comprehension as we work further to not identify with it, and to do the opposite of it.
End (5370).
🙏
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