I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books; I have begun to listen to the teaching my blood whispers to me.
~ Hermann Hesse, (Demian)
Once you embrace the perception of self-growth in your journey, you’ll find out exactly how interconnected everything is within you. We fool ourselves into wanting to change something specific in us without being aware that every function is counterbalanced by another function inside ourselves. You change your diet and suddenly you feel in a better mood. You liberate yourself from a false belief because you see through its fallacy, and now you suddenly feel depressed.
This is also the nature of Involution: our actions are interdependent in relation to the other. It’s quite impossible to study any one function or path without studying all the others. In order to know one thing truly and deeply, we have to know everything else about ourselves. To know everything about ourselves is possible, but it requires much time and labor, and above all, the application of the right methods and guidance.
It’s important to remember that there are two main reasons why we so often fail to execute what we learn on our journey of Involution: procrastination and poor self-discipline. On the other hand, the two secret ingredients that we need to be aware of in order to mindfully apply the knowledge that we encounter along our journeys, is action and responsibility.
Taking action, or having willful determination, first requires you to be capable of holding yourself accountable for the many failures, miseries and struggles you experience. You need immense motivation to provide yourself with enough incentive to continue on a path that involves such difficult and drastic changes in your attitude and perception towards life.
But where does this motivation come from? It comes from the development of respect and love for yourself; for your body, mind, spirit and life. And in order to develop these qualities, you’ll need to wander through the Involutionary path of love, understanding and sharing – all of which make life more meaningful and more powerful.
Peace and Love, Jim
