I'm convinced that we only see ourselves in brief moments, and those only if we never stop trying to work past our carefully placed barriers.

Good post.

Every man's pursuit is according to his state of evolution, and so each soul is in pursuit of something but he does not know where it leads him. The first sign of realization is tolerance towards others.

from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIII/VIII_2_7.htm

just some stuff from "bowl of saki" -- a sufi newsletter i've been reading lately.

to "know thyself" isn't necessarily an intellectual pursuit. but you know it when you see someone who does truly know. completely self-possessed. aware. compassionate and wise. and it just radiates. it's unmistakable. and it's rare, but you can find it all the time if you're looking for it. and there's always an element of it mixed in there with all the other insecurity and public persona role that's being projected as well. even in the most put-on of faces you can see it if you look with an open heart, i think.

of course we fear what we don't understand. scary to look within if you're afraid of what you'll find. but if you've really seen it, you know there's nothing to be afraid of.

perhaps the study of the ego is an endless recursive loop of personal history, preferences, opinions, genetics, memories and traumas, environment, imprinting, education, all sorts of stuff goes into making up just what one believes to be special and unique and essential to an identity.

but what really is the nature of the self is ultimately quite simple and beautiful and true and it is no different than what we see in everyone and everything else.

but it's too simple and so we just like the complexity of the mystery. we like to wonder at the miracle of our individuality. ego is so persistent! and possibly necessary for survival as well. we're caught up in comparisons and contrasts. we need to feel important. maybe we just seem to need to feel that we contribute something that only we can give.

even though our individuation is actually at the essence of our sense of alienation, still we would grasp onto it with all our might if we don't have a good grasp of who we really are.

it's heart maybe. or heart-mind. the more you're in touch with it, the closer you are to self-acceptance and the closer you are to the truth.

so, maybe to really know thyself is to forgive everything? i don't know.

It seems Horsh's greatest tragedy is that he didn't understand that what he called a tragedy was really an opportunity, a window into himself -- one that he chose not to explore. He is apparently too frightened of what he might find, so he made the wise decision (for himself, as he is now) to not go there. But still, it's sad, it's a missed chance.

As for the bigger question, I guess that I have come to believe that you cannot achieve the oneness or clearly see the connections between us all or radiate the beauty, groundedness and peace that we are capable of, unless you first know yourself as an individual, an individual with a very specific history, experience and psychological/emotional reality. Limine, I agree that we need to feel important, and I believe that that is a positive trait, a goal to reach. We *are* important -- not more important than the next person -- but each have extraordinary value. It is about being, not about doing. It not based on accomplishments or a long CV, it is based on the essence of your being. Having said that, actually getting to this point requires a lot of courage, excellent mentors and time. I, for one, feel like I'm on the path, but just a few steps along the way with long and winding road ahead. Yet I'm thrilled to be here!

just have to share this:

today's buddhist wisdom message:

Mind cannot see itself-
Subject and object cannot be dual;
Therefore, to see the mind
You must look and probe with the eye of wisdom.

When probed and examined analytically
With such analytic investigation
The mind is like the wick of a lamp
Illumined only through its own radiance.

-Milarepa, "Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet’s Beloved Saint"

You may not be able to bite your own teeth, but you can pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming!

-V