Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Know thyself - some questions to ask yourself

Sages go out into lonely, isolated and quiet place, away from the world to know themselves. They control their senses, allowing themselves to then control their thoughts. The generation of thoughts is what makes us us – the personality, the ego is nothing but a collection of thoughts that have ‘solidified’ into habits and which gives us our character.

This so called ‘basis’ of our character then chooses to make decisions for us: what we like, what we dislike, what reactions to have to these likes and dislikes.

The best ideas have sprung from people who gave themselves time to be alone with themselves, to think out things, to not allow the world to own you.

See this as NOT an incarceration, but an opportunity to spend time with yourself. Your real self.

Fight those moments of loneliness, self-pity and morbidity.

An exercise to know yourself

Go through the following: note down your responses or thoughts.

Some are questions that you need to answer honestly without resorting to clichés or other people’s opinions. Others are thought provokers which can be turned into questions or bring to mind what needs to be known. Others still will set you on the path to ask for more information (hopefully).

Who you are
What you are
What you want to do
What can you do
What can’t you do

Why you should change
What is stopping you from changing
What action you need to take
Why should you take it

What options are open to you
Can someone help
Should you ask for help
Why can’t you ask for help
What is stopping you from asking
The outside world and what it does
The world inside you
Your thoughts
Your emotions
Your needs
Your wants

Control
Control what
What is control
Tools of control
Why they work
What needs to be done
Falling back into ….depression, morbidity, anger, pain, humiliation

Anger

The greatest enemy
How it brews
What sparks it
What can be done

Desire

The need to take stock
The advertising phenomenon
Seeing is wanting
Controlling the want
Self discipline
The need to answer to yourself
No outside authority
Nothing can stop you, except yourself
Nothing can motivate you, except yourself
Taking control of yourself

Your self

Who is yourself
What is mine
Who is this owner that says ‘mine’
Being the owner
Identifying with the self


Who are you

Your name is a tag
Your body is a vehicle
Your thoughts are sense-related
Your emotions are desire-related
Your feelings are frothy
Who are you

Where do you come from
Your childhood
Blaming them
Remain unshaken
What shakes you
Everything is based on anger

Where does anger come from
Where can you keep it
Looking after anger
Making it do what you want
The good side of anger


Your temper
Losing it
Finding it
Making it your friend



Why is the world so cruel
What is wrong with the world
What is wrong with your world
What is wrong with his world
What is wrong with their world

Going to hell in a basket
The one-way ticket to hell
The arrival
What happens in hell
Sight-seeing hell
Taking yourself away from the pain
Going back

Fighting back
Revenge – the cold dish warmed up time and again
Getting back at ‘them’
Who is to blame


The loneliness
Why need constant communications
Why do we need to know
Getting to know yourself
Getting to like yourself
You are your best friend
What is a friend
The role of a friend
Coming home to yourself
Once you are home, where else do you need to be
Taking your home with you


Beauty
The world is beautiful
Getting to know this beautiful world
Taking it with you
Spreading the beauty around


Who do you need
Are you enough for yourself
Do you need others
Enjoying with others
Who are these others
Why you need them
Why they don’t need you
Why do they need you

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