leilaland

As I lay in the bath this morning, with my lavendar and rose oils bubbling in the hot steam around me, I read the Author's Introduction to Shakti Gawain's Living in the Light.

In it, she describes how she started her journey, and says that at some point, early in her adult life, she became aware of "this consciousness thing" and "knew that it was the only thing that mattered".

I, too, believe that it is important to become conscious of ourselves, to know ourselves, as I've always thought of it. One of my first impressions that this was an important endeavor in life was when I read Plato's Apology, in which Socrates suggests that the key to happiness lies in knowledge of the self.
He argues, convincingly, that knowledge of one's self can lead to knowledge of how to fulfill one's deepest desires, which is, ultimately, the true and authentic expression of one's soul, and that it is this that will truly make a person happy - not material wealth or status.

This sage's famous line, based on the inscription at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, "Know Thyself, the unexamined life is not worth living" has been a guide, a chord, that I have lived by since I first read this in undergraduate school at age 18.
Thank you Dr. Eric Gruever, for introducing me to this sage, and for encouraging my path of getting to know myself.

Gnothi Seauton is the greek translation of Know Thyself, and I've always loved to say it. It's pronounced: No-thee' sat-on.

To the extent that knowing one's Self is part of becoming conscious, how does one embark on such a journey?
I feel that it starts with wanting to understand the Self more, with wanting to know one's Self.

So, I invite you to embark on further journeys into your Self, and engage in your own form of Gnothi Seauton!