We should take the time to know how we respond inwardly to life, because by changing ourselves and allowing consciousness to shine, we change not only our own lives but those of others around us, and, if enough people raise their conscious level, we can bring about a real change for good in the world.
If we don’t understand ourselves, no matter how many victories for truth there are, the inner level of the majority will keep dragging society downwards into corruption, disorder, and destruction. And even those who pursue truth in the world are not immune to the adverse effects of the subconscious.
All of us live in the present moment – it’s a quality of being alive, but it’s the way we perceive it that can make huge difference to our lives.
Within us is a multitude of constantly changing thoughts, feelings and emotions, and not all of it is good. In fact, in the subconscious are awful inner states that are usually hidden from awareness and that are the roots of corruption and destruction.
I don’t know if anyone will respond back to me but I’ll speak on this anyway. About three years ago I sent my niece a book as a gift, this was the first time in my adult life that I could do something for a family member since I had been struggling to find a job and a place to live. I sent the book to her and no response no one called me to say it got there safely, she didn’t call to thank me for the gift……..just a big fat nothing. I was devastated, hurt, angry and just plane disgusted. I have a big problem with confronting people who have wronged me its like I can’t find it within myself to take care of problems right when they happen. I had a conversation with my sister last year and I asked her what Kenya(my niece) thought of me she said I quote the night at the party. I was taken aback by her comment but again I said nothing until I got off the phone and it hit me that she had just brought up something in my past that I had for gotten about. I had gotten pretty drunk a long time ago at a party and I went on a rant and my family brings this up whenever they like hurting me. So I asked what her daughter thought of me and that’s what she said so I finally got up the nerve to say something too my sister and she just started yelling and screaming and she hung up the phone. I literally hate my family. I feel like they didn’t call me when the book arrived to hurt me, I have done nothing to these people and I just really f……ing hate them. I don’t talk to them because I decided that I don’t need them in my life. However, I can’t seem to let go of the fact that I sent a gift to her and she didn’t respond back to me. I find myself wishing that bad things happen to them, I cry a lot about it out of anger because I am still hurt that it happened. I really need to let go of this pain but it has over taken me and its just turned into sheer hate.
Hi Jinneane,
Thank you for your sincere comment. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in this battle. Many of us here are trying to understand our feelings and change them through the techniques on this website. If you look around, you will see that people often do nasty and unjust things, and there is little we can do to change that. But what we can change, is our own reactions to these events. From your post, it seems like you are trying to do that and find the ways to communicate. It seems to me you have done a lot just by trying to make peace with your family and sending a present. However, you are still attached to their reply. Think of it this way: You have done something nice, from your heart, and you don’t need to worry about people’s reactions or demand their gratitude. Imagine how many people don’t have the means of doing this, how many people can’t afford to send somebody a present. Be glad that you have been given the opportunity to give, and don’t worry about their reaction. Just work on yourself and hopefully, one day you will be able to free yourself from the feelings of hatred that you have described. It is great that you were able to see all this within you by the way, and also that you found this website that can help you to change.
In the Articles menu of this website(https://belsebuub.com/articles), you can find many that relate to self-knolwedge in the “Inner Change” section. There is also a section called “Spiritual Exercises”, where you can try some of the techniques that allow you to change within.
I just thought I would highlight the 2 articles for you that you may find interesting (if you haven’t read them yet):
https://belsebuub.com/articles/dont-let-yourself-be-dragged-down-into-the-pit-of-others-emotions-and-thoughts
https://belsebuub.com/articles/how-to-be-aware
Take care and all the best with everything!
Lucia
Hi Jineanne.
Thank you for sharing a personal story.
Our family members often know how to push our buttons like no other, they tend to know us better and for longer than our friends or acquaintances. Meaning they may have more “dirt” on us, and sometimes, like you say, can dig up that dirt to reach some goal. There is also the family mechanic, which tends to keep them in our lives, even if they do us harm (whereas if it was a friend doing the same thing, you may just cut ties with them). In a more metaphysical sense, I have heard that certain souls are put in our family circle for just that reason, because they have the psychological traits that will really highlight things about our own psyche.
I can definitely relate to what you have said. For a while I really struggled with a certain family member and the interactions we would have. I could not understand it, and would only react with anger. However with time I saw how destructive this anger was. And made steps to free myself from the psychological prison that these situations put me in. I can tell you it is much more liberating and peaceful than “winning” in the psychological war we can have with people in our lives. Getting someone to show us the respect we feel we deserve is a very shallow and unrewarding thing in my opinion. Even if you make this one person see things from your perspective, there will always be another to hurt that pride. It is better to be without that pride :)
I hope that is if some help.
Daniel
Hi Jineane,
Thank you for taking the time to write your story. Excuse my english (I’m not a native speaker :-) ).
I am sorry for the pain you have felt, it seems like you are suffering a lot.
It seems that (as you posted in this site and also you say in the end of your post) , you are really searching for a way to understand and end this suffering. This is great, i think you are really in a good place for this. There is a lot of material in this website, so i could propose one or two topics that are of relevance.
Before, if i may, could i note some things on the situation you describe:
I think it is a very nice thing that you did send this present, even if you didn’t get a response back, or not even a “thank you” i like to believe that good deeds are “somewhere – somehow” noted, and that we find them again in our way :-)
I know what you mean when you say, that you can’t stop thinking about it, and that you make negative thoughts… I think most of us, at some point, have had a similar (and truly very unpleasant) experience. One thing that helps me is to differentiate between facts outside me, regarding other people, and things that happen inside my body, like feelings, thoughts, the overall energy in my body (how am i feeling this moment? is there tension in the body? Where? tiredness or bitterness maybe?)
If you look further into what Belsebuub is describing in his articles you will see that these negative states are referred to as “egos” and they are actual internal states of the psyche that can be observed, studied and eventually we can me free of them, thats it get rid of them and feel much more positively inside. Actually feel better with ourselves, and also with people around us and communicate in a more essential way.
Now, i guess you know for yourself, that when we are governed by these inner states (and we are angry, aggressive, or even in sorrow, or we feel that other people owe us etc) then other people around us, and especially family-members (as they know us for a long time :-) ) understand that immediately. We don’t even have to speak and they understand exactly how we feel!!
So imagine, that when we really look whats happening inside us, and choose to work with it, and not permit it to make our life miserable, then, eventually, after some efforts we can feel clear inside. And then we can understand better our partners, and even feel how they feel… we are not so different after all.
I have felt the same with you many times, and after working with some practices (i would recommend you to check how to relax the body, concentrate in the heart, – which is an incredible place to get strength from, and i don’t metaphorically mean the heart, i mean literally the organ of the heart :-) and also do some retrospection exercises – i put all the links in the end of my post) i could reaaaally feel a difference in the way i felt for specific people, and especially close family members. that really changed overall my relationship with them, and thats such a wonderful thing to do! I hope you can see this one day happen too :-)
Imagine how it would be, if you could feel well inside yourself, not let all this pain literally eat your inside ( :-( ) and imagine how your relation would be after with people you are interested in. (its nice to have a good relation with family members, if we can help it, i think. They can offer a lot, and we can help when they need help maybe). I have felt that after working with myself and see my feelings, then i could speak to them much more easily and say some things sincerely from my heart.
Well thats it from me, i think already i said too much! Here are the relevant pages of practices i referred to:
On relaxation:
https://belsebuub.com/articles/relaxation-and-focusing-the-mind
Actually all the rest of the exercises are a great way to start to study, and really understand how and why these things are happening inside us:
https://belsebuub.com/articles/spiritual-exercises
Another, more complete guide on this, if you want to dive into the matter is the e-book of Belsebuub entitled “Self-Knowldge for Spiritual Awakening” which you can download (for free) here
https://belsebuub.com/free-spiritual-ebooks/self-knowledge-for-spiritual-awakening
I wish all the best, and hope this message has helped :-)
Hi Jineane
I can certainly relate to the feelings of being angry at family members by their hurtful words/actions throughout the years. I would recommend that you read the spiritual exercise on “getting rid of ego states” found on this link https://belsebuub.com/articles/the-death-of-the-animal-ego and perhaps to apply the techniques to the anger you’re having trouble letting go off so that with some persistency and effort you can get rid of it. Another more in-depth resource is the free ebook Self Knowledge for Spirtual Awakening (listed for free to download right here on this website) which gives a great explanation on the ego states, how they work, the harm and suffering they cause us/others and how to get rid of them in order to find real peace and happiness. There are good step-by-step instructions on getting rid of ego states in Chapter 18. It took me a while to let go of the anger that I was experiencing and holding on to that was causing me and my family a great deal of unnecessary suffering. In the end I understood things more clearly when I studied the situation and myself as I applied the techniques outlined in the exercise. I also wholeheartedly forgave them which also helped to liberate me from the pain and attachment I had to the hurtful situation. I hope that helps Jineane and I really hope you’re able let go of your anger/hatred and empower yourself with self knowledge and understanding.
Thanks for sharing those thoughts Jineane. It’s great to see a new person reading the articles here and commenting on their experiences in relation to them.
I would say that you’re definitely not alone in feeling this type of negativity towards others. It’s something that we all face as humans in one form or another. I’m sure everyone here can think of many examples in their own lives where they’ve felt wronged in some way and built up resentment within themselves towards certain people, particularly those close to us.
I can definitely relate to your experience, as I also struggled for many years to overcome the negativity I felt towards a close family member. We have different opinions on many things and this easily led to conflict, as both of us would try to convince each other that we were right and they were wrong. Of course, due to pride, this was an impossible task, as neither of us wanted to back down and admit we could be wrong. In fact, we were both utterly convinced that we were right – all evidence appeared to point to the other person being wrong.
To cut a long story short, this underlying negativity led to a situation where we were both living in the same household, but barely talking to each other. Nothing was necessarily said, but the atmosphere of resentment was all pervading.
I tried over many years to correct this and intellectually knew that it was wrong to create disharmony, as it affected not only myself and the family member concerned, but also the rest of the household. But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t wipe clean the “invisible score chart” in my head of all the wrong doings I perceived had been done towards me. I felt I’d clearly been wronged, so how could I forgive that?
I have to say, despite various attempts to try and get past this with the aid of various self help techniques and spiritual practices, the only thing that really changed things in the long run was when I found this particular spiritual work.
When I found out the technique to actually remove the egos from the psyche, I thought it sounded too easy and was a bit disappointed, to be honest. But when I started to apply it, I found it actually worked. I can’t say that it was an instant thing and I had to battle for a long time with many inner states, knowing that they were wrong, but still unable to resist the temptation to give into them.
Looking back though, I can see the cumulative effect of working on the egos has been incredible. There are many inner states that I thought at one point were a fundamental part of my character. But having started to reduce them, I now see that this couldn’t be further from the truth. It can be difficult to look back now and see the harm these inner states caused to myself and to others. I think I actually experience more regret to think about the harm I caused to others, as I can see that the egos within me also led to a lot of learning (albeit very painful) and ultimately led me to search for the spiritual. I’m still seeing the effects of wrong actions upon my life, as they inevitably caused a great deal of suffering in many ways. But through this suffering, the drive to find a way out became a lot stronger.
I can definitely relate to what you mentioned about struggling to find a job and a place to live, as I’ve also encountered these situations a number of times. I tried for many years to pursue different goals with work and hobbies etc., but despite my best plans, something always came to throw a spanner in the works and stop me in my tracks.
To give an example from recent years, I had spent a long time studying for a particular profession and was near to completing the course. I’d been through many difficulties to get to that point, but unfortunately, at the last moment I failed a particular aspect of it and was unable to continue. This caused me a great deal of inner turmoil, very similar to what you mentioned. I felt that I had been wronged and could actually see a lot of evidence to justify that opinion. To tell you the truth, I struggled with negative thoughts in relation to the individuals who failed me for a number of years. From time to time, these thoughts still intrude.
What I came to realise though was that the individuals actually did me a massive favour. Although there was some unfairness in the process they used, the fact remained that I had actually not met the standard for them to pass me. Moreover, if I had have passed, I would have missed a great opportunity that came soon after and took my life in a whole other direction. There’s no way I would have chosen to stop my studies at that point, having put so much effort into them. But the individuals who I’d come to resent served an important role in freeing me from a completely different way of life.
I just thought I’d mention those examples, to share that you’re definitely not alone in feeling negativity towards others. But also to show that in both cases, it took “two to tango”, as the saying goes. I’ve seen other feuds running throughout my extended family and have heard both perspectives from family members who currently have a rift between them. The funny thing is that if you listened to the argument of either side in isolation, it would be easy to think that the other side was entirely to blame for the situation. But because these grievances have been fed and grown over the years, this negativity is now felt by both sides and intrudes upon their behaviour towards each other.
I can say for myself that I’ve seen how destructive pride and its related anger can be and how refreshing it is to renew strained relations. I’m now actually living with the family member again and am able to see the good within him and appreciate him for those qualities. It’s wonderful to be able to put those resentments behind me and enjoy spending time together, rather than being faced with regret.
The ridiculous thing about pride is how narrow it can make our view of the world. It’s funny how so many of my thoughts were directed towards situations where I’d felt wronged, whereas I never built up any resentment towards people like Hitler and Stalin, who caused absolute devastation to the lives of millions. I think this shows just how out of balance the egos can be.
If you’re interested in looking further into it, I’d recommend Mark’s article https://belsebuub.com/articles/the-death-of-the-animal-ego I think it’s very true when he says “the real obstacles to inner peace and silence inside are the different egos”.
These articles by Lara also give a very useful perspective on the problem of anger:
https://belsebuub.com/when-anger-just-wont-go-away
https://belsebuub.com/the-poison-of-anger-poisons-us-too
I hope that you’ll eventually be able to work things out within your family Jineane and I wish you a lot of strength and guidance in moving forward in your spiritual life.
Best wishes,
Michael
“The ridiculous thing about pride is how narrow it can make our view of the world. It’s funny how so many of my thoughts were directed towards situations where I’d felt wronged, whereas I never built up any resentment towards people like Hitler and Stalin, who caused absolute devastation to the lives of millions. I think this shows just how out of balance the egos can be.”
Hi Michael,
Just wanted to comment in regards to Joseph Stalin.
It seems like there were big PsyOps projects in the 2d part of the 20th century, designed to equalize Stalin and Hitler, sort of portraying two blood-thirsty monsters, fighting each other for global power.
Joseph Stalin made many mistakes in his life, but I don’t think it is fair to blame him for bringing devastation to the lives of millions…
I can be wrong, but was it not Stalin who made his country one of the strongest in the world, (meaning not only military but also economy), after it was ruined by the 1st world war and a civil war? And the system of famous gulags was created before Stalin… Do you know that the 2 world war was not in his best interests and he used his diplomatic skills to prevent it as much as possible? Do you know that ultimately Stalin was the one who defended his country and Europe, from the masters of money who sponsored and guided Hitler? Was it not Stalin who passed the orders to the Soviet Troops to be extremely careful with the heavy weapons in Vienna, in order to preserve its unique architecture? Was it not Stalin who made the prices continuously drop down in USSR while he wanted to build “golden ruble” as the counterbalance to US dollar, after the 2d world war becoming global currency? Do you know how many people cried during the day of his death? And what sort of people took power after his death, and what are the results of it in the lives of millions of people right now?
There are many obviously fake quotes attributed to Joseph Stalin, but this one seems to be quite a genuine one (paraphrased)…
“I know that after my death, there will be a lot of dirt put on my grave, but the time will pass, and wind will remove all that dirt.”
Yes, you can be wrong, on this one fer sure Vadim…
Stalin was one of the biggest mass murdering tyrants in world history… second only to Mao Tse Tung.
I don’t know that much about history or Russian history ( I asked recently if Napoleon was British – there’s a monument to him in London in my defense!) but I do know that history cannot be trusted, people who are cruel killers become saints and saints become smeared to play a different story in the propaganda that’s pushed on us. And as my in-laws are Russian, I’ve heard a lot that has really challenged my British-biased world view. Not saying many weren’t killed, but there’s more to the story than what people know, as Vadim pointed out.
This thread is exactly what I needed to read today! Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences. I’m actually in the midst of dealing with my un-resolved family issues, staying with my dad and my grandma for a short time and being faced with overwhelming feelings. It’s amazing that one person can have such an effect on your emotions! What I feel when faced with my own weight of confusing emotions is a longing for self-knowledge and change in a way that just doesn’t come normally. I see how these undealt with egos are just there, lurking, ready to take over and direct the course of events with their negativity.
Families are such a mystery, and such a learning. Why we are put in these clans, with certain souls seems rich with lessons. Being able to observe three generations together, of which I am the youngest, shows me a little of how things are handed down and instilled in people. It also helps me to have sympathy for my father, who frustrates and upsets me with his behavior, but who I can see is in part the product of my grandma’s psychological traits, as well as battling with his own problems, and so on the story is passed down …
Someone recently told me about a friend who had understood the past life connections between her and a parent. It was marked by her own (forgotten) abusive behavior towards them and thus the favoritism she was experiencing towards her sibling was in effect down to her own unconscious actions in the past. When she understood this she was able to stop feeling like a victim and work more responsibly on changing the dynamic of her relationship with her parents.
I hope I can do the same – to let go of blame and see what’s coming from me that’s perpetuating the pain and marring relationships. Jineane I wish you all the best in your struggle with your family, I hope you find understanding and freedom from the negativity. The divine are our allies in this, they want us to learn and change, we just have to ask for their help!
Yes Ella, there is a lot of Russian history unknown in the “Western world”, so much to explore… But I would prefer to comment more here on another point which you have made.
“Someone recently told me about a friend who had understood the past life connections between her and a parent. It was marked by her own (forgotten) abusive behavior towards them and thus the favoritism she was experiencing towards her sibling was in effect down to her own unconscious actions in the past. When she understood this she was able to stop feeling like a victim and work more responsibly on changing the dynamic of her relationship with her parents.”
This is something which I seemed to start uncover in the last few years. Besides many usual egos which build up over the years, it seems like there is always a certain fundamental karmic lesson/lessons to learn from our family members.
We are all put together for a reason. And then, once this lesson is understood and things are corrected, due to our Inner Work, then the relationship itself changes and becomes so much more peaceful and magical.
One thing which helped me so much over the years with my family members, is to learn to recognize the right moment “to walk away” (if possible) in order to avoid a conflict, and then just work on my egos (ideally in nature), and then when I am clear and they also become more clear, “come back” and continue our dialogue.
“…it seems like there is always a certain fundamental karmic lesson/lessons to learn from our family members”
Ella, that’s so true! It certainly felt that way when I had to move back in with my family. It brought out emotions/thoughts/beliefs/egos out of me that were dormant until I was forced to encounter them through my interactions with my family. It’s not easy but it is a necessary and ongoing process of learning.
Hi Vadim,
Forgive me, I will be direct in my response to your post, because I think you prefer people to speak clearly, as you do. I mean you no ill will. I’m only saying this, because I know you’re committed to radical change and creating heaven on earth.
Please, pay attention to the need to justify, and the dreaded “I’m right” ego. What is behind it? Where are these egos taking you?
I’ve had to do a lot of painful work to discover some intellectual egos, and I’ve found it essential to pray for understanding in most cases. (Basically, if there is a problem in my life, then I know there is an ego I don’t understand.)
Your justification of Stalin’s actions gives the proverb “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” veracity.
The egos operating through the intellect are capable of justifying anything, this is why debating is an intellectual sport!
Creating heaven on earth has nothing to do with killing people, en masse, in the name of freedom, Peace or economies where a few rule and profit from the many. Heaven on Earth is about the complete annihilation of the ego. (Imagine if Starlin had dedicated his life to annihilating egos!)
Rather than using my intellect to defend and justify my actions, I’ve discovered, that it’s wiser to consider my ‘intention’, i.e. ask that tough question: Why, am I doing this? No, really WHY?
Question: WHY?
Answer: We say what we need to hear.
Hey Vadim,
As I understand your comment it’s not that Stalin is a good guy, but that he did good things, and is unfortunately type-cast as an entirely evil character in western history.
It’s said that there’s much good in the wicked, and much evil in the good…
I have no doubt that history as we’ve learned it is heavily tainted, and I’m sure that includes some of the good things that Stalin, and even Hitler, may have done.
By saying “Hitler is evil and Stalin is evil” it sweeps the truth under the rug, and the truth is that we have a lot in common with these horrible dictators. We are often tyrants in our own lives, and if we don’t sweep the past under the rug, we may start saying “wow, that was horrible, what is it within OUR human nature that allowed it to happen?” instead of “wow, that was horrible, how did we allow such evil people to live?”.
I’m noticing more and more that there is a great potential for history to awaken understanding of ourselves and human nature. It reminds me of the quote from The Flight of the Feathered Serpent:
“…This made me resume the study of history, which had especially attracted me at school. I started to understand it from another point of view, noticing at the same time that this repetition happened automatically from the most remote of times. Everything came down to understanding the motives; the motives were always the same ones and gave life to everything.”
Thanks for that Julian, I particularly agree with your point “what is it within OUR human nature that allowed it to happen?”
It’s significant that Hitler also received a great deal of support from his people, which got him into power in the first place. What was within them that made them support him? And what is it within people that makes them complicit in atrocities through their inaction, even though they may recognise the evil being done?
The part from The Flight of the Feathered Serpent is also very true: “this repetition happened automatically from the most remote of times. Everything came down to understanding the motives; the motives were always the same ones and gave life to everything.”
It’s clear that the same types of atrocities are continuing to this day. The perpetrators and the victims may change, but the same barbarity goes on, driven by the animal egos. I hope we can all do what we need to get ourselves free of the mess that repeats from generation to generation and be part of a much more spiritual way of living.
“We are often tyrants in our own lives, and if we don’t sweep the past under the rug, we may start saying “wow, that was horrible, what is it within OUR human nature that allowed it to happen?” instead of “wow, that was horrible, how did we allow such evil people to live?”.”
Thank you Julian, it’s true that we could be acting like tyrants in our own home, thinking it’s nothing, without realizing how similar it is to the tyrants of the past the world claims to hate today.
Thanks for your reply Vadim. I can understand your scepticism about the Western perspective of Russian history, as a lot of anti-Russian propaganda was spread during the cold war and is now being drummed up again by the Western media. The knock-on effect of this can be that once a country is tarred with a certain image that its people can also get associated with that stereotype. I saw an example of this on a train when a passenger was looking to chat with the other passengers where I was sitting. He noticed an Arabic-looking guy and asked him where he was from. This was during the time of the Western invasion of Iraq and the guy responded “Sweden” (his current residence). But the British passenger pressed him to find out where he was originally from and then make a joke about having a terrorist on board once he got the answer he was looking for. I felt sorry for the Iraqi guy, as he had probably gone through a lot to escape persecution and danger in his own country, but was now facing prejudice outside of it.
I understand the limitations of the mainstream media too. For example, I don’t recall hearing any mention of the successful civil prosecution brought in 1999 by Martin Luther King’s family against the US government for their involvement in his assassination, whereas a lot of misinformation was spread by the media in the years following his death. You must also have access to a much broader perspective, with being able to search for information in three languages, compared to the single language I’m fluent in.
I don’t doubt that the positive things you mentioned about Joseph Stalin are probably true. He certainly had a big impact on fighting Nazism, showing allegiance with the Western allies during World War 2. In fact, the harsh winter conditions in Russia proved a tough challenge for the German soldiers, which also influenced the course of history. But from the evidence I can see, it still seems quite clear that Joseph Stalin also committed a lot of atrocities. I think he’s actually a very good example of the duality we each have within us and how it’s possible for good and evil to coexist within us all. I don’t want to distract too much attention away from the purpose of this thread, but I thought this timeline article entitled “Joseph Stalin: National hero or cold-blooded murderer?” presented this very well: http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/z8nbcdm
It’s interesting to see how great intentions can be distorted by the egos. The article mentions the famines caused by Stalin’s agricultural policy of land redistribution, which led to the deaths of 5 million Russians. Yet despite the evidence, Stalin was so convinced that it was the right course of action that he then killed millions of farmers who opposed it.
When we look at history broadly, it’s very clear that no country is without its evil side, which says a lot about who we are collectively as a humanity. Certainly the USA and Britain have also been involved in great atrocities and injustices. In fact, British leaders also contributed to starvation of over a million Irish during the potato famine. The unbelievable thing is that during the years of famine, great quantities of produce were still being exported to Britain, whose leaders probably felt justified in what they were doing. The sad thing is that similar Western trade policies still cause devastation to millions, who are left to survive on just a few dollars a day. Moreover, their involvement in arms trading fuels fanatical groups who later not only turn upon their own people, but also provide Western governments with the rationale they need for invasion.
I’ve also been shocked over recent years how seemingly “good” people have later been revealed to be criminals of the worst kind. There has been quite a furore in the British media, following the conviction of a number of high-profile celebrities for sexual abuse, often against children. Of these, the most disturbing case was Jimmy Saville, who was exposed to have been one of the most prolific predatory paedophiles in recent British history, with close to 1000 estimated victims. Rumours had circulated about him for years and yet proper investigations were not initiated until after his death. The BBC had even aired a documentary outlining all the good work he’d done, including frequently running in charity marathons and being a significant donor to a large children’s hospital. The sad thing is that some staff at the hospital also knew what was actually happening behind closed doors, but kept quiet for fear of losing his funding.
I’m sure many of us who practice these teachings are familiar with the concept of hanasmussens, who have developed a very good side, which hides a very evil side underneath it. I think this kind of case is a prime example of the urgency for us all to work upon the darkness within us and not allow it to deceive ourselves or others. Also it shows the importance of standing up for justice and the consequences of not acting.
Having said all that about human darkness, I can also think of some inspiring examples where famous people who have had great injustice done towards them have forgiven those who acted against them and even forged friendships with them. One example was Nelson Mandela, who formed a friendship with the former apartheid leader FW de Clerk in the years following his 27-year imprisonment. I also recall The Dalai Lama mentioning his friendship with Mao Tse Tung in his autobiography, despite his exile from Tibet and the effect on the lives of ordinary Tibetans.
I think these last two examples are encouraging in that they show the powerful impact of compassion and understanding upon our actions and the impact of good over evil. I wish everyone strength in the fight to overcome our obstacles and let the light shine within us.
You are welcome, Michael. I appreciate your sincere efforts to understand things and to see the world from a greater perspective.
If you would like to learn more about the second world war and Joseph Stalin, maybe I can suggest you NOT to read the articles posted on BBC :) (even the name of the article seems to speak so well about the intentions behind it… “Joseph Stalin: National hero or cold-blooded murderer?”), but to look for genuine personal testimonials of people living during that time, as well as for the records of Stalin’s own words.
One of my close relatives who took much care of me when I grew up, had been falsely accused and imprisoned for 10 years of his youth in the gulag in the North of Russia, his health got ruined, and yet he kept faith in Stalin till the end of his life. He was very fortunate to spend most of his time not with criminals, but with the “political prisoners” – the best people whom he had ever met in his life were among them. Some of those political prisoners were influential people in USSR and had so many stories to share. I wish so much that he could be still alive now and I could ask him so many questions…
From my understanding, there was a horrible inner war going on within USSR at those times (by the way, both US and Britain contributed a lot to it, in their efforts to destroy the communist USSR from within.) And then the blame for all the atrocities of that inner war was put skillfully on Joseph Stalin and he was made a scapegoat.
“In fact, the harsh winter conditions in Russia proved a tough challenge for the German soldiers, which also influenced the course of history.”
For me, it is funny to even think about a great army going to war without considering weather conditions, and when they get eventually destroyed, they come up with an excuse “sure we are great soldiers, but it was just a way too cold” :) This theory seemed to originate in the times of Napoleon, and then it was also used by the Nazi propaganda to justify their defeats, and then it became widely accepted to portray a negative image of cold Russia.
“Having said all that about human darkness, I can also think of some inspiring examples where famous people who have had great injustice done towards them have forgiven those who acted against them and even forged friendships with them. One example was Nelson Mandela, who formed a friendship with the former apartheid leader FW de Clerk in the years following his 27-year imprisonment. I also recall The Dalai Lama mentioning his friendship with Mao Tse Tung in his autobiography, despite his exile from Tibet and the effect on the lives of ordinary Tibetans.
I think these last two examples are encouraging in that they show the powerful impact of compassion and understanding upon our actions and the impact of good over evil. I wish everyone strength in the fight to overcome our obstacles and let the light shine within us.”
Well said Michael, these are certainly great examples.
Once I went for a talk with the Dalai Lama, and I was quite moved by his words when he said that the destruction of Tibet is such a horrible tragedy for them, and yet it opened up the opportunity for the Tibetan wisdom to reach the world…
There is no darkness without light. There is no great light, without overcoming great darkness.
All the best!
Hello Michael,
You’ve written some very good points which are very clear to me. Sadly, our history keeps repeating and men will continue to commit very serious crimes against humanity.
I hope that we can all find the standards required to help humanity through total guidance of The Divine.
Hi Vadim,
Thanks for giving more of your personal perspective. I won’t make any further comments here in relation to Joseph Stalin, as we could easily create a long historical debate. But I think there are still some interesting points in relation to what we’ve both mentioned that are more directly relevant to the original article and its comments.
One thing I’ve reflected upon is the powerful influence of our upbringing and cultural background upon our world view and how subjective this can be, regardless of which country we grew up in. I spent some time in Mongolia some years back and was interested in how different the perception of Genghis Khan was there, compared to the common Western view.
Whereas the common Western view of Genghis Khan is of a blood-thirsty warlord, the Mongolian people I met saw him as a national hero who helped to unify warring tribes. His image appeared on banknotes and vodka bottles, and toasts were made in his honour at a social gathering I attended. One guy I met was very proud to tell me how the size of Genghis Khan’s empire was the biggest in the world, surpassing any other empire and how this was a great achievement. I guess his name could easily be substituted in the article I mentioned: “Genghis Khan: National hero or cold-blooded murderer?”, as he may be seen as both, depending on our perspective.
To bring this back to the original Belsebuub article, it made me reflect more upon how much we are influenced subconsciously by our environment and how easy it then becomes for us to be roused into supporting certain causes, or opposing them. I think David does a great job in outlining the negative effects of media influence in this article on The Conscious Reporter website: http://consciousreporter.com/cultural-conditioning/exposing-manipulative-media-techniques-that-restrict-spiritual-freedom/
One thing he mentions is how framing techniques in media reporting can be used to influence the public’s perception of events. This is something that’s very clear even within the mainstream media of a particular country. For example, there are some very popular right-wing newspapers in Britain that frequently run cover stories on refugees claiming benefits, while the left-wing press may focus more on the foreign policy issues that contribute to their displacement in the first place. But as we both know, there are also many important issues outside of the mainstream media, which never even get a mention. For example, Russia Today is the only English-speaking news channel I’ve seen that mentioned the sinister goings-on at Bohemian Grove, in an interview with Alex Jones, who gained secret access to it. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Californian people who were interviewed on the street were also unfamiliar with it, despite it being in their neighbourhood.
Framing of events can even effect a country’s collective interpretation of history. For example, I remember speaking about The Tienanmen Square massacre with a Chinese friend, who firmly believed that the Chinese authorities were left with no other choice but to open fire on the student protestors, due to their provocation. She also felt that the authorities were justified in using military force in Tibet, as it was once a part of China. Whereas my Japanese friend generally disliked Chinese people, due to what he referred to as their “causing a fuss” in seeking an apology from Japan for its brutal treatment of the Chinese during World War 2.
I think it’s very interesting how our perspective can create a particular filter with regards to the information we choose to pay attention to or disregard. For example, if I drew up a timeline of my own country of origin, I could easily create one called “Britain: Land of Invention”, looking at the things that have benefited or influenced the world through science, industry and the arts, such as light bulbs, TV or phones. But I could equally draw up another timeline called “Britain: Land of Oppression”, outlining how a lot of the country’s wealth was created through the slave trade, how current trade policy puts wealth in the hands of the few, while many are left without basic amenities, and how its colonial policies led to the slaughter or repression of many indigenous peoples around the world, the effects of which are still felt today. Both sets of facts would be accurate, but neither would form the whole picture.
This relates back to my reply to Jineane further up in the thread, when I mentioned how a close relative and I were both firmly convinced we were right, due to the effects of our different perception of the world. The tragedy is that the type of entrenched positions we placed ourselves in within a small family unit are even more strongly seen in the world, often with devastating consequences. I think this is particularly true when individuals or groups feel there is some kind of divine justice operating behind their actions, such as in the case of the Christian crusades, or with the current Islamic extremist groups. It’s tragic how in these cases, peoples’ egos were and still are able to create such a monstrosity from a spiritual teaching.
It’s incredible though that we have the opportunity with this work to break through the filters that influence our perception and ultimately see reality as it truly is. It’s certainly a goal I hope to achieve one day and hope many others will too. It also gives us the means to go beyond the identities we create for ourselves in this lifetime and be stripped right back to our essence. I think the ability to create something the lasts beyond time is a remarkable gift of this work.
Hi Michael,
Yes, it is very true that we are greatly influenced by our social conditions, and they can even shape our sense of identity beyond our conscious awareness.
And yes, it is truly incredible to have the opportunity with this spiritual work to break through all these chains of illusion and just find the truth as it is, and then… there is so much more to discover.
Kind regards,
Vadim
Thanks Michael for this well-written comment – it gives a lot to reflect on. I’ve often found myself identifying with my family/ancestors views and experiences, but deep down it stems from aspects of pride that I didn’t even know existed.
It is indeed an incredible opportunity to break through the filters we all have in place to see reality.
Michael, I just wanted to say I really enjoyed reading and learning from your experience especially how you managed to cope and bring harmony back into your life and towards your family member. It is a true account of how the teachings are something deeply applicable to our lives.
this underlying negativity led to a situation where we were both living in the same household, but barely talking to each other. Nothing was necessarily said, but the atmosphere of resentment was all pervading.
Its really amazing how the egos not only destroy our lives, but can tear people apart. The environment and miscommunications created by so much illusion is the biggest waste of time. But it is truly great that the technique to remove the egos repaired some of your difficulties. I often wonder how it is possible to have something so simple in our reach, how it brings about little miracles in our lives, yet the biggest miracle would be if we could apply these transformative techniques all the time, and truly become that miracle.
It was a really lovely experience Michael, thank you so much for sharing it here.
Hi Jineane,
I am sorry to hear your story, I wish you much peace, love and happiness.
Things keep always changing in life. Life will help us to let things go with time. But we can accelerate and ameliorate this process by applying the spiritual techniques.
It sounds like at this point, you may really benefit from practicing a lot of relaxation, and there are so many aspects of relaxation and letting things go.
Walking in a nice park and trying to be in the now is a wonderful way to become more relaxed; listening to a beautiful spiritual music is another one; if you like physical exercises, then things like yoga can really bring one to a deeper level of not only physical, but also psychological relaxation. I went for a swim in a lake a few days ago and then practiced spiritual techniques on the beach for a while, and everything felt really marvelous, then it was relatively easy for some time to stay peaceful in the present moment.
This website explains so much about a deeper picture of spirituality, so I wish you all the best with taking your time and studying it. There is so much to learn. Let Mark’s insight help you with your own experiences of spiritual things.
For many of us, learning to relax and be peaceful with our family members is a very long process and takes a lot of patience and inner strength. It is better not to expect things to be fixed soon and easily.
Child-like genuine love to our family members is such a wonderful thing to have in life – it is really worth of working for.
Hi Jineane, thank you for your post. I think it’s important to realize that not all people have the capacity nor the ability to self observe and self reflect in the way that you have. Whilst it feels terrible to be controlled by such negativity, you have an advantage of being able to separate yourself from such. This links back to the title of this article, raising your conscious level. By separating yourself from the negativity it is the consciousness, the essence, or real you, that is then active and observing. Once in this state you can control the negativity and decide to go along with it or not. As we see how much control negativity normally has upon us, we start to understand that others are also controlled by it and often there is nothing you can do to change that, nor would others want you to. Scientists studying the brain and body have confirmed many times that 70-95% of our daily self talk and behavior is negative. This impacts our mind and body (hormones etc), along with the environment we are in and others around us, plus psychically. Whilst you feel wounded by ingratitude, I’m sure it won’t be long before roles are reversed and you suddenly find yourself receiving a gift that you then show nil gratitude or appreciate for, and then have someone hating you for your ingratitude. It’s best to use such interactions as a mirror and never assume you don’t have the same negativity you easily see in others. When you spit in the wind it comes back in your face. When you are clear of the negativity you will be able to act in the most harmonious way. Sometimes diplomacy is needed when factoring in others mechanical, animal and blind behavior. Wishing you lots of inner strength to raise your conscious level.
Hello Jineane,
Thanks for sharing your experience here. I think you got some pretty amazing and helpful support from lots of people and I wish you everything you need to get through it.
In some ways I feel I could have written your comment. I can feel the pain that you have, and can imagine how hard it is to be rejected like that. Especially by your family. It is so hard sometimes to justify external negativity and cruelty and ‘let go’ as if nothing happened. I think when we are faced with difficult moments to the brink of tears and not knowing what to do anymore, the shock itself, can help us get through, because we really feel that we don’t want to live this way anymore and will be open to finding answers or just calling out to the universe for help.
If you want to, there is a way out, because there is so much to understand when we feel pain, there is so much happening when we are angry and frustrated that it becomes the greatest relief when we have the answer. And the answer doesn’t come from a book, or from anyone telling you something, but it comes through your own conscious and willing decision to get to the bottom of it. Where there is a will, there is a way.
What’s been the most helpful approach for me is trying to do everything I can to stop focusing on blaming another person, because at the end of the day, that wont change anything, we could blame them until the end of time, and we will still feel pretty miserable. But we can look at ourselves and examine the things that we have done that may have been out of line, hurtful, and plain wrong. This is where true wisdom lies, because we slowly turn the perception onto things that we can actually change – ourselves, our reactions, our thoughts, our emotions, our state of being etc…
We are each so similar to eachother, because we all have egos (ie. angers, fears, jealousy, gluttony etc), and generally respond and react similarly to events and difficulties. If our pride is hurt, or our self-image is put down, we will most likely have an internal response, whether we express it outwardly or not. Its not something easy to face, but those who do face their inner reactions with wisdom and without going along with the reactions, have a much better chance at coping with the difficulties life throws at them.
I have personally found that when I tried to look inside at my internal states and gained a better understanding, I could also understand other people much better when they were reacting back at me, I could feel the pain in them, the confusion, the enslavement they had to their own fears and angers, its not an easy thing being human. And we can be very hard on eachother at times. But we are all very similar, and trying to consciously transform ourselves spiritually can make a massive difference, not only to our life, but to the lives of others.
Just imagine how you would have been all this time if you had spiritual qualities with you, how different the whole situation could have unfolded. I often try and reflect on this myself, to see how I would have reacted if I had more consciousness, more peace present, more understanding, more love etc… and I feel I get little clues of where I went wrong because I let my reactions do all the doing. Whereas the spiritual qualities are quietly waiting for us to notice them, and are usually toppled and smothered by all the reactive states, so its pretty much a fight to resist the inclinations of egos to find the conscious and spiritual and to respond with it instead.
I also recommend having a look at this website here, even listening to some audio talks on Self-Knowledge, https://belsebuub.com/audio/self-knowledge They are always helpful for me to go back to again and again. Its been a huge blessing finding the techniques from this site and be able to apply them and see the changes in my life. Life really starts being different when we take each situation as a part of our learning that will help us to grow and advance spiritually. Not only that, all the people we interact with have a much nice person to deal with then the previous one that was reacting. I would love to see that day that I stop blaming others for the unpleasant and discomfort I feel, and stand up to take control of my inner states and respond with greater understanding.
I wish you lots of peace and understanding Jineane, and I hope to see you around.
Hello Jineane, and everyone who has replied to Jineane in this thread
Families!
Thank you all so much for your posts, I’ve gained a lot understanding from reading them. I agree, in that, it’s so easy to go through life as the victim, and so difficult to admit to the perpetrator role we play in the family drama (ever if it was in a past life).
There is some pretty horrific stuff that goes on in families and the world at large because of it. It’s good to know I’m not alone. Knowing that there are others out there struggling to take the higher ground really helps and inspires me to keep working on myself. (even though changing seems impossible at times)
I wish it wasn’t so hard. I wish you could realize mistakes and apologies for your words or actions and everything would go well from then on. Unfortunately, other people don’t always want to change, and just because you realize an ego doesn’t meant it is gone and will never come back. This work certainly takes a lot of patience and seeing real change is like watching a plant grow.
I wish you all the best in your efforts
Thank you for this article!
According my understanding one of your points is what some theories call “critical mass”. A minimum amount of people who could change the state of the world. This could happen by both sides though… And i feel in myself the danger someone standing by the side who thinks that is not.
Points also the need of spreading those universal Teachings so more people experience them.
Really thank you for that, even i had read before it gave me new insights!
Thank you everyone for your comments too!
It can be very daunting to see the amount of darkness and deceit negatively affecting the course of the world. It can seem impossible to go against it. But I think the difficulty lies not only in taking the actual actions for good and by being active, but in facing the inner unpleasant states that such an event will undoubtedly bring up.
(I mean who likes to face problems such as; a sexually degenerated music industry of black rituals, a food industry that is poisoning the world, a global agenda to implement a police sate, endless wars for sinister ulterior motives, the media that has become a vehicle of distraction, propaganda and censorship, the consequences of a staged fake ‘alien’ attack, spreading a spiritual message that is so unknown in the world etc…..
And as an added bonus facing a population that is unaware of it all, doesn’t understand or doesn’t seem to care. Yet at the same time with some people very willing to go against you, ridiculing, calling names and worse.)
The obstacle in the world triggers these big inner states within us. And I think this is what many people run away from (if a person even understands the problem in the first place.) And if instead of running you decide to ‘acknowledge’ this heavy problem, internally it seems the ‘animal psyche’ naturally doesn’t like this unpleasantness and wants to get rid of it by fixing the problem externally. You’re then bound by these heavy emotional states and compulsive thoughts that are linked to the external problem until the time that the external problem is fixed.
Now that doesn’t seem the right way to do things. And I’ve seen in myself how this, coupled with other factors, can drag one down internally. Horrible for our self and our internal work. And on top of that, how will we be able to help others in that state?
How to stay unattached internally, yet act fully with strength? How to do the internal work the best we can as well as do all we can to help others? This is something I’m trying to learn to do through practice, but it’s certainly not easy to get it right.
Thanks very much for bringing these issues into perspective. It is amazing how much good it would do for each person to practice what you describe.
I think what you describe here is so important to understand:
“It’s in our own interests to change, because if we don’t know what is within us, it controls us beyond our awareness and we react and act automatically to life often in not the best ways, as it is determined by states that can be beyond our conscious will.”
I would imagine that most people can relate to having experienced this, looking back at events that took place in their lives. It’s inspiring to consider that, simply by gaining an understanding of ourselves throughout the day, we can act and make decisions based on this higher intelligence and consciousness instead.
This way of living makes life so much more purposeful, as we can learn so much from each moment and experience that feeling of conscious perception and being alive.
Thanks again for this inspiring article.
I got a lot out of reading this. Like others there were a number of passages that really stood out and “hit me” internally, based on things I’ve experienced lately.
“…if we don’t know what is within us, it controls us beyond our awareness and we react and act automatically to life often in not the best ways […] This means not only that people can easily adversely affect how we feel and what we do, but that people can be unconsciously influenced and manipulated”
This made me reflect anew about how weak we really are without self-knowledge. We are bound by our desires and the needs of subconscious states, so that events and the words and opinions of others can control how we feel, what we think, and decisions we make.
Conversely, it’s really incredible to see how consciousness freed from these inner states can be objective and impartial and how liberating this is. Actual psychological freedom and independence is something so rarely experienced and yet so much worth striving for.
Another passage that stood out to me,
“Consciousness needs the mind as its intermediary between itself and form.”
I think I need to explore this much further, but I found it very interesting on a number of levels.
It immediately cast a much clearer light on a diagram from “Flight of the Feathered Serpent” (https://belsebuub.com/sacred-texts) showing mind as a kind of intermediary.
When first studying awareness and self-observation, I had for some reason an idea that the mind is just a tool to be used when thinking needed to be done and that it had no part in consciousness actually manifesting.
Reading this now suggests that this idea is mistaken to some degree, but even beyond that, it made me wonder at how much my efforts have been and are influenced by underlying ideas of how things are — ideas which may be inaccurate — and how these ideas shape and influence what I experience in subtle ways.
It really reinforces the need to investigate things objectively and see past any preconceived ideas to experience something new.
I could go on and on — these were just two things that stood out prominently.
All in all, a lot of insight and inspiration in this article. Thanks!
“Consciousness needs the mind as its intermediary between itself and form.”
That stood out as an interesting point to me as well, Justin. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – great insights.
Yes, this one stood out for me too, and how important it is to fight to have a clear mind. If the mind is all busy with incoherent chatter, poor consciousness has no chance to perceive things clearly when this “intermediary” is clouded. :-(
Thank you Belsebuub for this article.
It’s very intersting for me, even inspiring to read this
“If we don’t understand ourselves, no matter how many victories for truth there are, the inner level of the majority will keep dragging society downwards into corruption, disorder, and destruction. And even those who pursue truth in the world are not immune to the adverse effects of the subconscious.”
You clarify very well this issue, in order nobody has any illussions about himself.
One other interesting paragraph is that already Layla mentioned:
“It’s in our own interests to change, because if we don’t know what is within us, it controls us beyond our awareness and we react and act automatically to life often in not the best ways, as it is determined by states that can be beyond our conscious will. This means not only that people can easily adversely affect how we feel and what we do, but that people can be unconsciously influenced and manipulated, and that is very dangerous for society.”
How much shoking is this. Maybe I’ve already known about this, but how much strong is to be posed so clearly, without justifications, traps of minds and so on.
Thank you very much again!
Very refreshing article, thank you.
When I first read this article at the beginning of the day, along with the other one on inner peace & awareness of the present moment, I knew right away the perspective of spirituality I needed to take for that day. For the last few days the feelings I got from reading the articles keep coming back and reminding me what a critical part of awakening it is to nurture consciousness and to bathe in its emanations.
For whatever reason I am left with feeling how possible and capable I am of living my life more devoted to capturing those moments of peace and learning about my self through self-observing.
It feels that this was the missing link of my struggles for the last month or so, and all the questions and reflections of my struggles have been solved by this very basic reminder.
What hit me a lot too, was what was written here:
”If we don’t understand ourselves, no matter how many victories for truth there are, the inner level of the majority will keep dragging society downwards into corruption, disorder, and destruction. And even those who pursue truth in the world are not immune to the adverse effects of the subconscious.”
I have seen this first hand in the past few weeks while trying to speak out about the UK censorship on spirituality with various communities, and getting varying responses of interest, enthusiasm and rejection. It seems that no matter how positive an effect we can have, the deeper problem is in the state of consciousness as I easily could see people affected by each other, or their own inner states or how a certain negative response changes my own internal state if I am not careful. What it comes down to is not just a victory of stopping the censorship, but perhaps trying to extract insight from why its there in the first place so that we as a society do not hold that affinity to bring something so destructive like this again. Likewise, if I don’t bring the remembrance of spirituality and consciousness in what I am doing, I may be moving in a seemingly good direction, but without the inner light.
Thank you so much Belsebuub for the reminder of consciousness and the hope you have left me with.
This was a really uplifting article; it’s so easy to lose sight of the potential the work upon ourselves has for others!
Like others have said, this article was particularly synchronistic for me too, but more on a personal level.
It’s just so apparent how events and people around us can affect our state (and vice versa) and it’s inspiring to read this article. It reminds us what a powerful opportunity we have to understand and change ourselves and, subsequently, help those around us.
Thank you for this article. I have just had a very long and very hectic work day. Reading this really simplifies things. Very clear, concise and inspiring read. Will try harder at work tomorrow to raise the conscious level of my workplace :)
Wow, I really can’t believe the synchronicity of this article, it was something I was reflecting on today and feeling a need for it to be communicated to help people (and myself included) to understand the importance of consciousness.
This paragraph below really stood out for me
“It’s in our own interests to change, because if we don’t know what is within us, it controls us beyond our awareness and we react and act automatically to life often in not the best ways, as it is determined by states that can be beyond our conscious will. This means not only that people can easily adversely affect how we feel and what we do, but that people can be unconsciously influenced and manipulated, and that is very dangerous for society.”
Often we seek the world to improve and for others to change in order for our own condition or situation to improve, and yet it never goes very far, no matter what our technological, financial or other opportunities may be, if we don’t start with ourselves. I find this article so empowering and uplifting because it really brings home that change in the world is within our own individual grasp, as are the many benefits that come with it that become permanent qualities of who we are.
I also feel that this is very important for any truth seeker, because its very hard to seek the truth if inside ourselves we are not aware of our own subjective egocentric drives that distort the search or weaken it.
Thank you for such valuable insights!
I agree Layla. I think the most important part of working to influence positive change in the world really comes down to how much we can change ourselves within during the process. In any case, the better we become, the greater the possibility to inspire real change, seeing as we then have more consciousness with which to help and hopefully demonstrate and lead by example.
This was a really synchronistic article for me as well. I was just talking about this with someone yesterday, almost to the word, but the possibility for influencing the world is something I hadn’t really considered.
Today, as Michelle and I watched the sunset, we were reflecting on how just by changing inwardly and doing the work of awakening, we have such a potential to reach and help anyone who might be searching for tools to know themselves and change. And incredibly, there are people out there who really want to change.
“I also feel that this is very important for any truth seeker, because its very hard to seek the truth if inside ourselves we are not aware of our own subjective egocentric drives that distort the search or weaken it.”
I agree with this comment Layla. Making a real effort to seek the truth becomes thwarted if we allow ourselves to ignore and continue to feed our egocentric states, which does not help with the efforts to bring about a positive change in this world. Belsebuub makes an important point right at the beginning of this article about taking the time to study ourselves in order to bring about self-knowledge and progressive change.