The art of self-observation
When we follow the promptings of our soul, we have no choice but to embark on our spiritual journey to find our way back to our spiritual home, and thus we enter the path of return with great expectations. We can make our journey without a teacher and by trial and error we advance at a snail’s pace with much pain and suffering involved. However, with training from an experienced guide and mentor, we can make our journey less painful and, by investing our own efforts, we can move along the path quickly. One of the lessons we have to learn is known as self-observation, which should not be confused with self-reflection or self-awareness or self-understanding. Self-observation is like self-observation, to gather information about yourself, your perceptions, your thought patterns, feelings, and behavior. It’s about knowing yourself.
Know yourself. Knowledge of oneself is the only real knowledge, because as one knows oneself, one understands, only then can one truly understand the other. Therefore, the Oracle of Delphi claims to know yourself, because within each one of us, everything is contained. Self-knowledge encompasses everything. It is the highest form of knowledge that surpasses all other knowledge. What is learned on one scale of experience can be applied to all scales. Self-knowledge is also timeless, what is gained in one age benefits all subsequent generations.
Man, know yourself, was the challenge and goal of mankind since ancient times, it was practiced in ancient India, the Indus Valley, in Ancient Egypt, in Ancient Greece and in various other ancient cultures. It is said ‘know yourself and you will know the universe’ why? Because, each of us is a ‘micro universe’ and each of us is as complex as the ‘macro universe’ is complex. The way I see it is that we wake up to the fact that each of us is a creative miracle who walks, talks, dances! I have always been fascinated with the complexities of people, hypnotized with this idea and still in awe of the diverse brilliance of complexities, inventiveness, creative talents, endless miraculous astonishing ingenuity and ingenuity and ingenuity of the human being. Sadly, this goes both ways, for better and for worse.
I was blessed for some reason, maybe because I am an old soul, maybe I have done my share of spiritual work in previous lives, but I was already able to observe myself as a child. I had no idea that this was part of work on the spiritual path. It came naturally to me. And I am always more than happy to pass this knowledge on to anyone who wants to learn it. Once you master this skill, not only will you get to know yourself, but you will gain a whole new perspective from looking at other humans. You will have a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the world and every situation and your life will never be the same again after that. I can guarantee that, so here you go and remember to have fun in the process.
Usually we have the habit of looking, observing, observing, criticizing others. Whether good or bad, we are very quick to like or dislike and judge others, whether they are true or false. We stick to our perceptions and beliefs according to our conditioning. We all do that, so don’t feel bad about it. This is how it is.
Now for this training I would like you to change your perspective and instead of observing others to judge or criticize, focus on looking, observing and observing yourself, what are you thinking and how are you feeling? How do you interact with those around you? Are you kind or mean, rude, short-tempered or patient? Do you really listen to people when they speak to you? Do you really have compassion for them? Do you like, love or hate people? Do you have a habit of being happy or sad? Are you full of fear or are you brave? Are you patient or impatient, do you love and accept yourself, or do you feel inadequate? Just look at all sides of yourself.
Self-observation is not about missing yourself or finding greatness in yourself. It’s not about you feeling good or bad about yourself. It’s not about you becoming paranoid or self-absorbed. It is also not about self-criticism or condemning yourself if you find yourself with a more negative inclination. Don’t be disappointed in yourself, don’t be proud of yourself, just look at who he really is, what he is like, and what he’s all about. Don’t look away when you observe something false, just observe your thoughts and feelings and learn who you really are. Self-observation is neutral. You are in neutral mode while looking at yourself. You observe your inner self and your reaction to the outer world around you. You don’t condemn the negative or praise the positive. This is how it is. There is neither triumph nor defeat. There is no self-manipulation and there is no reprogramming. Watch yourself interact with the world but at the same time watch your true inner thoughts and feelings.
The whole purpose of self-observation is to identify with your Essence. The Essence has no preferences. Your Essence is not involved or absorbed in any of your daily adventures. Without joys, without anguish, without crying, without agonies, without emotions, triumphs, successes or failures. The Essence doesn’t care about all that, just watch and watch the interesting drama.
All that is needed is a shift in your consciousness from being centered in the personal self to being anchored in Essence. Imagine yourself as a child watching a group of ants doing their thing, or seeing a spider spinning its web. You are simply watching in awe without interfering without judging one way or another. Of course, this takes some practice. But when you continue this practice slowly but surely, over time you will be anchored in the Essence and layer after layer of negativity will begin to fade. Slowly but surely your ‘Truth’ will emerge. Your essence will emerge.
When you are anchored in your Essence, you begin to question your motives, why you do what you do, why you think and feel the way you do. For example, why does a part of you lie to another part of you. Look at that, don’t worry, we all do that. At least now you’ve figured it out and you may stop playing this game of self-deception. When you are living your Essence, you will not find pleasure in joining in useless gossip, as you recognize it for what it is, useless, harmful and meaningless. When you live in your essence, you recognize the true and the false immediately.
The goal of self-observation is to discover who you really are, what it is about and how faithful you are to your Self, that is, Your Essence. Enjoy the process and your inner growth towards your true authentic self.
Self-observation shouldn’t be a lot of work that requires a lot of effort on your part. If you feel that, then you are not doing it right.
I used to play a game often when I was a kid. Where I grew up, children were always allowed to be with adults. While other children played hide and seek or ate cake and ice cream, I preferred to be with the adults, pretending to be an adult, I would sit among them or on my father’s lap, and inevitably I would sit on a part of me up on the floating ceiling and looking down at everyone, in particular I was observing myself, what I was thinking and feeling. It was a lot of fun for me. I loved playing this game. I found out a lot about who I am and am still finding out! Maybe that’s why I love people, I love life, I love my own company, I never feel lonely and I never get bored.
In time with practice, perhaps you can detach your Essence and perch somewhere higher and observe yourself. It may happen naturally without your wanting it. There is nothing to fear, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Get ready to love and embrace yourself with all your complexities. When you can do that, you can embrace and love everything and everyone in the world.
In esoteric language, this is called “activating the inner observer.” It is a very important step on the spiritual path. Know yourself and you will know the universe. Know and understand the self, and you will know and understand others. Self-observation is described as an intimate path to one’s own body, mind, and spirit. It allows us to experience new levels of self-awareness and, in doing so, live more conscious and harmonious lives.