Self-Knowledge

It's well known that storm-tossed waves often expose new treasures along the shoreline; there is unexpected wealth to be collected by those who know the secret value of rough seas. And yet, even though most of us have little tolerance for anything that "rocks our boat," the truth of the matter is self-evident...

At some point in our lives we have all dealt with uncomfortable moments where an unexpected or unwanted change in one near to us brings up some unpleasant reaction in us. Of course we are usually very quick to find fault with this person, but here is the real, invisible story. The reason we fall under the rule of these reaction-driven dark states, and then find ourselves trying to dictate the life direction of the "offending" person, is that something...

Real life is not by the numbers; it is impossible to "know" and grow at the same time. Yes, one can have a formula for a prescription drug, or a recipe for a good green salad; but there is no system of thought that can stand up to the ever-shifting changes of real life, let alone meet those same changes fearlessly. The self that knows itself through thought can never develop beyond the content of itself, any more than a math equation can suddenly outgrow...

When we talk about making changes in ourselves, it could be said that it's like climbing a mountain. Why is the mountain a metaphor for spiritual change? There's a certain kind of effort necessary for climbing, isn't there? Also, the mountain represents a higher view. Because as you ascend the mountain, not only does the atmosphere change in terms of becoming more rarified, but every step higher up the mountain produces...

The Divine journey involves the preparation of an individual by another, higher order of awareness (that already lies hidden within us), so that we're able to see that the ceaseless, seemingly individual waves of the passing events of our lives belong to a much broader, grander relationship. And they exist for the purpose of our development, and not to torment us with what we fear is going to be...

In this answer to a viewer's question, "Secret of Letting Go" author Guy Finley explains that nothing in creation flowers before its time. Our task to continue to carry with us the wish to understand, and what we wish to know will be given to us at the right time.

In this answer to a viewer's question, self-realization author Guy Finley talks about some of the opposition we will encounter -- within ourselves -- when we realize the need to let go of painful ideas we have long held about what it means to be "in control" of our lives.

In this answer to a viewer's question, bestselling "letting go" author Guy Finley talks about a strange part of ourselves that actually thrives on the sensations it receives when it does something harmful. It is the very awareness of this inner dynamic that brings about the gradual end to all self-harming behavior.

In this answer to a viewer's question, "letting go" author Guy Finley talks about how self-knowledge is the power needed to triumph over any kind of chronic addiction, physical or psychological.

In this short video, Guy talks about the difference between observing thoughts versus identifying with every thought as if it were your own.

In this short exchange with an online viewer, Guy explains that any avoidance of our inner condition actually solidifies both the condition being resisted and the confused sense of self that is created by that same unconscious resistance. There exists another order of awareness, a place of observation within us that is neither for nor against the condition that is revealed. What we need is simply the revelation of the condition and the consciousness responsible for it.

Real knowledge is a free-flowing river, ceaselessly pouring down from the Heavens into this world. We may learn to drink from it, freely... But only after we realize that to try and take something from it -- other than what we need to drink in the moment of our thirst -- is the same as poisoning ourselves, and never knowing it.