The Value of Self-Knowledge

From the Delphic injunction Γνώθι σαυτόν (Gnothi Seauton), from Zen and meditation schools, shamanic traditions, and philosophical systems, to modern psychology, self-knowledge has always been the cornerstone leading human beings toward self-realization.

In practice—not merely as a definition or a word often used in spaces of inner exploration and philosophy— self-knowledge is the most practical and essential stance from which we can walk through life.

To know myself is not simple or easy, since we do not truly know what a human being is, but instead hold a limited and predefined perception of it.

Some believe we are only the body, and that after death nothing remains.  Others believe in the soul, continuing its journey beyond the death of the physical body.

There are many religions, many viewpoints, and many philosophical paths, and it is natural for us to walk through some of them— either through the tradition of the country in which we are born, or through conscious choice during our personal search.

Yet the main goal is not to adopt a doctrine or a system, but to come to know ourselves.

Because knowing oneself is an ongoing process.

I enter into a relationship with myself.

I listen to my inner voice.

I converse with it.

I observe my thoughts.

Self-knowledge is grounded in the respect I have for myself and in the value I give to my own existence.

Thus, whichever path I may find myself on, teachers, guides, and even doctrines become means for growth— not for stagnation.

Knowing myself protects me from manipulation and control by others, while at the same time leading me to release guilt and to take responsibility for my own life.

I become a more conscious human being in relation to others, because by knowing myself, I am able to understand them more deeply.

Γνώθι σαυτόν (Gnothi Seauton)

The great key to fulfilling the purpose of our life.

(Do you believe your life has a purpose?)

From small daily challenges to the great existential questions, the relationship we have with ourselves is the foundation upon which our choices stand— and upon which their outcomes are shaped.

For it is this self that absorbs and distills the experiences and the knowledge we receive from events and from external sources.

This self is, and must be, the central role in our life.

The journey—and the expansions—along the path of self-knowledge are, I believe, infinite, just as infinite is the creation to which we belong.

If there is a light we may glimpse during our brief human life, it is the light of coming to know our own self.

As a part of creation, the human being contains its infinite dimensions as well as the unique possibilities carried by every being at the moment of conception within the Divine Mind— even when those possibilities are limited by embodiment.

Do you believe it is worth knowing yourself?