Inner Research: Yourself vs Your Self

This discovery was a bit of a Damascus moment for me. So apologies, dear friends, if you're going 'Duh' and muttering, 'She's a bit slow!'

That famous phrase 'Lost in translation' definitely has a meaning for all of us who've had to - or need to - work in another language. But in your own native one, it can be equally challenging. After all, it's often written 'Know Thyself' or sometimes quite simply, 'Know yourself.'

But there's ancient history here. To 'Know Thyself' dates back to the 6^th century BCE, and it was later often used by Socrates as 'ethical introspection'.

So when it finally dawned on me that knowing 'Thyself' could be interpreted or translated as 'Know Thy Self' or 'Know Your Self,' many things made a lot more sense! 'Self' could perfectly well be called the spirit, the soul, perfect love, divine energy. The bit of us that everyone has no matter what name it's given.

Because of course, the Self is the part of us that is absolutely LOVE unconditional. Everyone has a Self, acknowledged or not, although, at times, it can seem rather hidden!

However, 'Knowing yourself' is quite different. This is the ego bit, with its judgments its negativity, its anger, its disappointment, and its lack of positivity. But, underlying all this is the single enemy of the human race - known and summarised in one word. Fear!

Fear is something we all wrestle with in its various forms and guises. I've had plenty of experience of its sneaky ways! Finally, we all have to come to terms with it, accept that it's part of our condition, and don't bother pretending we're never afraid, frightened or anxious. As fast as humanly possible, humanly being an important word here, we have to try our best to slip back into our Self.

Like all of us, I just have to practise and practise - and simply keep remembering to get out of that mini 'self'! Everything then feels lighter, brighter and full of hope.

Once more, forever and always, LOVE rules!