That would surely be useful, if you are at all
serious about your potential and role in life.
Usually we “think” we know how we appear to others.
We judge for ourselves, in our mind (thoughts) how others see us.
But, is that an accurate gauge of how you truly
appear to others.
The Ancient aphorism “Know Thyself”
was inscribed in the entrance to the
Temple of Apollo at Delphi, in Greece.
Plato employs the maxim ‘Know Thyself’ extensively
pointing out that Socrates is referring to a long-established wisdom.
There are at least six Dialogues of Plato which discuss
or explore the saying of Delphi: ‘Know Thyself.’
Lana and Andy Wachowski (American film directors, screenwriters and producers)
used one of the Latin versions (temet nosce) of this aphorism as inscription over
the Oracle’s door in their movies The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
So, what is this “Know Thyself”?
There are different levels to which this saying applies.
At the simplest level the saying “Know Thyself” refers to
having an understanding of your relationship to life.
In other words:
How you relate to the world (other people, things and ideas);
How you relate to yourself, your thoughts and beliefs etc.;
How do you see yourself?
Do you see yourself through the beliefs that you have acquired?
Do you understand what makes you do the things you do
and why you do them?
In other words, do you have a ‘handle’ on your habits?
There are “higher” or “deeper” levels of understanding the
aphorism “Know Thyself”.
This is part of the journey of Mastery of self.
At the deeper levels it deals with comprehending who,
or what you actually are – beyond your body and mind.
Truth mirrors reality and it logically follows that the best way
to decipher the truth about yourself is by personally observing
and experiencing the reality of which you are a part.
Utilizing your experience of the world as a reflection (a mirror)
of yourself is an important insight.
Seeing yourself as others see you gives a more accurate appraisal
of how you “come off” or appear to the world around you.
Other people see you based on their own conditioning
and habits. Therefore, they make a judgement of what they “think” you are
based on the behaviour that they observe and how it affects them.
By carefully observing how others’ reactions to you affect your
habitual responses you can learn a lot about the “robotic”
nature of your behaviour. You learn whether there is a
“genuine” you interacting with the world.
Or perhaps you will discern to your shock or amazement,
that the ‘you’ that you thought was genuine is actually
a fabricated, conditioned response to the various stimuli of
of the universe which you think you inhabit.
There are many ‘levels’ or ‘degrees’ of revelation possible.
These all “point to” or “reveal” the depth and richness included
in the saying “Know Thyself”.
Are thoughts, beliefs and conditioning the ultimate mechanics
of who you really are? Are you not much more than such
a simplistic mechanistic view of life?
To “Know Thyself” is to discover the GENUINE YOU.