the_puzzle_that_is_you daf In the forecourt of the Temple to Apollo at Delphi, (also known as the Oracle at Delphi), three maxims were inscribed as advice, (or warning) to those entering the inner sanctum and its mystical secrets. The first of these was "gnothi seauton", or to "know thyself." Truly a sage piece of ancient wisdom, but what does it mean? According to Plato, knowing thyself could have many meanings, most of which had to do with knowing our limits. Meanwhile the great Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi said that "Who knows himself, knows his Lord." If these are true, this makes knowing ourselves a crucial matter. But what are we? And why are we here? Isn't it strange that we know "cat" starts with C, before we are ever taught what we are that is capable of knowing about cats and letters? We know our name, our favorite cartoon and the flavor of our favorite sugary snack by the time we are 5, but still have no concept of who we are in relation to the universe around us. We have habits that we repeat, a network of people who we interact with, perhaps even a career skill that we practice..but still most of us have no idea WHAT it is that is aware of all of these things. We have a brain and a body. Maybe that's who knows. Is that what we are? Are we a blip of meat and thought in time? Is it really one little organism within one tiny species pitted against the cold hard realities of an entire universe? The answer to all of these questions is no. We are not what most of us think we are, we are not in this alone and we do have a place and a purpose in this life. The key to understanding what we are, where we're headed and how we (generally) fit in to everything is found by answering a simple question: When did we stop being the universe? It's such an oddly basic question for us to overlook, isn't it? But we don't usually ask that question for some reason. For many of us, it's just enough to know that we're all of the other things that we think we are (father,worker,human,mortal.) But when DID we stop being the universe? The answer is that we didn't. As odd as it is to imagine, we are still just the universe being itself. We are a part of what it has adapted into and become. Just as each of us was only a little ovum and seed mashup that split and grew into the divergent body parts of which we are formed, so the universe split and grew into different parts..and we're some of them. Like the stars, the planets, black holes; everything. The really amazing part for us is that on this planet, in all likelihood, we are the universe's most advanced organ. Just that one idea is so important to wrap our heads around. Because if we're just an organ that the universe has developed, then isn't it likely that, as with our own organs, it has a function it expects from us? Isn't it also likely that it has a way of nurturing and providing for its organs? Does any one of us sit idly by, if we have a hand that is turning purple or numb? Does any of us want to experience a hand that does whatever it wants to, regardless of what we require of it? Hopefully you can see why this is such an important concept to ponder. You might see how it starts to elicit questions of creator and created, parent and child, master and servant, nurturer and nurtured. We could spend an entire chapter discussing how this one reality of our existence is the basis for all true spiritual practice, but that falls outside of the scope of this work. Instead, maybe we should look for clues to our purpose here. First question: why don't we FEEL like we're part of the universe in the way we feel one with our sense of individual identity? Why do we feel separated? And also, doesn't knowing that we are one with the universe but feel disconnected from it give us a primary mission? Shouldn't we be trying to reconnect with the universe in order to find our purpose? If we're going to find answers, that's probably our most important mission in life: connect with the universe. Still, as we all know, it's much easier to say a thing than to accomplish it. In this case, the hard part is wrapping our beliefs around the idea that we are the universe. We believe in ourselves as individuals with a beginning, an end and all of the stuff in between. We don't generally see or feel the connection between ourselves and say, the ground as closely as we feel our connection to the foot that touches it. As common sense as that separation seems to us, the truth is that it's really just a figment of our imaginations. Strange isn't it? (The notion that there really is no self in the individual sense.) But does it mean that we aren't meant to experience life as individuals? That has its place too, but next let's explore how we got to this sense of self in the first place. Next, let's talk about where the "me" thought comes from and what its purpose is. 221201 ... dafremen see also: the_fetus_that_wanted_to_rule_the_world 221201 ... dafremen We aren't our urges. The more we try to proclaim that our urges are rights, the worse this mess of urge mongering will get. Ask the teens with eating problems how much a plus size trans Miss America whisked away their sexual confusion and inspired them to take up a healthier lifestyle. 221209 ... daf see also: the_keepers_of_heart_and_hearth 221211 ... dafremen see also: the_trials_and_triumphs_of_mama_gator 221214 what's it to you? who go blather from