Gil Scott Heron - Message to the Messangers

The major concept conveyed here by Gil Scott Heron has broad application. While the specifics may require a bit of modification to put a finer point on the events encapsulated in one's current 'NOW', the major concept of the message to the messenger rides the wave of time as a constant thread in a seemingly infinite succession of 'NOWs'. A powerful poem. A powerful message.

What Inspired This Blog

What both prompted and inspired me to start this blog was a friend sending me the song, Pilgrim, as recorded by Enya.  The message in the song resonated deeply within me for, indeed, I am a Pilgrim.

Lyrics to Pilgrim:

Pilgrim, how you journey
On the road you chose
To find out why the winds die
And where the stories go.

All days come from one day
That much you must know,
You cannot change what's over
But only where you go.

One way leads to diamonds,
One way leads to gold,
Another leads you only
To everything you're told.

In your heart you wonder
Which of these is true;
The road that leads to nowhere,
The road that leads to you.

Will you find the answer
In all you say and do?
Will you find the answer
In you?

Each heart is a pilgrim,
Each one wants to know
The reason why the winds die
And where the stories go.

Pilgrim, in your journey
You may travel far,
For pilgrim it's a long way
To find out who you are...

Pilgrim, it's a long way
To find out who you are...

Pilgrim, it's a long way
To find out who you are...

Note: I do disagree with one line in this song and that is, "you cannot change whats over."  I happen to very much believe that one can change whats over i.e., the past, as I consider that past, present and future all exists simultaneously.

There are numerous video mixes of Pilgrim available on YouTube. This one is my pick:

Optimum Motion or Motion in Opposition

Have you ever been a front, or for that matter, back seat passenger in a vehicle when the driver was driving a great deal faster than you were accustomed to going while riding in a car? The turns were way too quick, the stops were last minute and the acceleration just well...seemed to accelerate. And all the while your every muscle was taunt as a piano string as you had at least one foot about to push a hole through the floorboard where you were practically standing on the imaginary brake in an attempt to slow the vehicle down.

Okay. We’ve all been there. And, I’m sure too that we’ve all had an experience or two on the opposite end of the above scenario. We have been passengers in a car when the driver was driving so slow it was, not only painfully uncomfortable and irritating, it was downright scary. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it might have also been quite embarrassing (especially for the kids).

Every single person has their own set tolerance levels wherein is considered an optimum level of speed or motion. That is to say, if the rate of motion begins to exceed the optimum range the person becomes, in some way, uncomfortable. But it can get much worse than just being uncomfortable. If the motion begins to accelerate further and further beyond what is considered by the individual to be optimum, then the person can become extremely agitated, ill, or even violent. The same holds true when going in the other direction from the optimum i.e., getting progressively slower.

Whenever a person encounters another person who is not moving within their optimum band of speed tolerances then that person will be compelled to speed the other person up so as to be in their range or, if the person is moving, what they consider, is too fast, they will be compelled to slow that person down so as to fit within their optimum range of motion tolerances.

So here it is in a nutshell. If you happen to be with another person or group that are going slower than you they will attempt anything and everything to slow you down. If they, on the other hand, are moving faster than you they will be doing everything they can to get you to speed up. All manners of arguments, hostilities, injury, and in extreme situations, even murder and war, can and will likely spring forth into manifestation out of this lack of parity between what is considered the optimum level of speed.

I once read a story about this therapist who was well aware of this phenomenon regarding mismatched tolerances in motion. He had this man come to him for help. This man was having an awful time with his wife. She was driving him nuts and they were at each other constantly. It was a certainty that they were headed for divorce court if something didn’t change pronto. The therapist, after setting up a few covert experiments, had determined what this guy considered to be the optimum level of motion. He had also observed that the man’s wife, for the most part, matched her husband’s considered motion tolerances. Except, there was on thing about the wife that violated the man's set band of optimum motion. The wife had long hair and they happened to live in an area in the Southwest where the wind blew to some degree almost every day. The wind would blow the wife’s long hair and this hair being constantly blown and swirled about by the wind far exceeded the level of motion the husband could tolerate. The therapist met with the man’s wife and convinced her to cut her hair shorter so the wind wouldn’t be able to blow it so dramatically. As soon as she got her hair cut and kept it from being constantly blown about by the wind the man began to calm down in his behavior. The problem was solved. As a result, the husband rapidly went back into harmony with his wife.

Of course, in the story above the husband and wife were completely unaware of what was at the root of their escalating antagonism with one another but they each had generated many erroneous reasons to explain why they were not getting along. Their "reasons", though, being false, never served to move them toward any kind of resolution. Indeed, their "reasons" did just the opposite.

Examples of optimum motion or motion in opposition are not difficult to find. Indeed, they are abundant! Who do you want to speed up?  Who do you want to slow down?  Who is trying to get you to move faster?  Who is trying to get you to go slower?  Wherever there is missmatched motion there is a "rub." Understanding the basis of the "rub" one can then better manage it.

Looking For A Label

A) Labels are good.
B) Labels are bad.
C) Labelling is good.
D) Labelling is bad.
E) All of the above.
I choose E - all of the above.

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Like most everyone, I have a tremendously long list of labels that I and others have attached to myself. I also have a pretty good sized pile of discarded labels that at some point reached their expiration date and naturally fell from the aggregation or were just snipped from the grouping by some slick, hot, new, jazzy label. This being said, I want to quickly jump in here and inform you that the purpose of this blog is not to analyze the fine, or even, gross points of labels and/or labelling. No, this blog is about my looking for and finding a new label for myself.

How I came to have a need and want to find a new and, hopefully, appropriate label rose up out of a moment of self-recongnition that, in the two highly exalted label categories of RELIGION and POLITICS, I did not have a label! And I realized that I had been unable to acquire a suitable label because when it came to these two categories, I was all over the freakin place. I am a mozaic of beliefs, opinions and points of view gleaned from all extremes and everything in between. And to not have, at least some sort of label, with regards to the practically deified categories of religion and politics, just isn't good for social intercourse. And if it's not good for social intercourse it's not good for survival. Furthermore, there is this tacit law of the universe that requires, upon such an incident of a person not being able to offer up a political or religious label for which to categorize themselves for the benefit of others or self, others are free to arbitrarily assign whatever damn label they choose to the most unfortunate individual.

If one allows their environment to arbitrarily pin a label upon them, it might work out okay. However, "might" in that sentence translates to: not a snowball's chance in hell. No, I sure didn't want to dawddle around and wait for a messanger from the universe to arrive with my new label. Therefore, I took matters into my own hands.

As I have no desire or inclination to bore you with the immense details involved in my label quest, I will venture to describe a key point in the process. While engaged in a moment of quiet undisturbed observing I happened to make an observation, whereby, a door opened up into a point of view that, once entered, initiated an expansion of intimate understanding. As a result, I came into possession of the "Holy Grail" of all labels. And, I wasn't even looking for it. I suddenly had in my mind, a label so fundamental in its essence that it instantly went to the top of the class and all other labels came into line underneath it.

As I sit here writing this blog, I do not recollect why I had come to assume a point of view way out in space where I was just being there and looking. There was nothing else happening, no pondering, analyzing or doing anything other than just looking. Certainly one of those rare moments. While I am unable to recall why in the hell I was engaged in this process, I can though, assure you that I was most definitely not there to look for a label. However, here is when and where I stumbled upon the door, mentioned earlier, that became that "key point" I spoke of.

I don't know if you have ever assumed a point of view way out in space and far away from Earth or not, but if you haven't, I strongly encourage you to do so. It can be a wonderfully freeing experience. Before the memory moves me to digress, I can share with you that while I was "out there" just looking around, I was struck with something enormously profound. I noticed that there was not ANYTHING that stood alone. In other words, I clearly viewed that EVERYTHING was connected to EVERYTHING else.

As I'm sure you know, understanding occurs on myriad levels. Indeed, for all I know, understanding just might occur on an infinity of levels. For example, as a man, I can have an intellectual understanding of the process of giving birth that a woman experiences. I can have a incredibly detailed understanding of every little biological and physilogical mechanic involved in the process. But, as much understanding of the process as this represents, I will never be able to understand the birth process the way any woman who has ever given birth does. Similarly, I can have an analytical, intellectual and personal understanding of the interconnectedness of life, energy, matter, space and time yet still not really "get it." So when I, "I" meaning a fraction of my awareness, was out in space looking around, and I recognized that there was not one single stand alone thing in the universe (duh), I experienced this huge expansion of understanding. I got this "everything being connected" thing on a whole new level. And here is where I become cognizant of "the" label.

If EVERYTHING in the universe is connected to EVERYTHING in the universe, then what is key to the enduring operation of the universe? What is key to universal integrity? Answer: OPTIMUM BALANCE.

Optimum: the greatest degree or best result obtained or obtainable.

Balance: a state of equilibrium i.e., equal actions of opposing forces, powers, influences, etc.

From the microcosm to the macrocosm and any "cosm" :) in between, there is a potential point of optimum balance that can be attained for the entire universe as we don't know it (yeah, you read that right - as we don't know it). In other words, there is a condition of "just right", not too fast, not too slow, not too high, not too low and so on and so forth for every single system that exists throughout the universe. And whenever a component of any system moves away, even if ever so slightly, from that extraordinarily super fine point of optimum balance, the action instantaneously acts to throw the system it's a part of out off balance. But when one system falls away from a state of optimum balance, other systems closely connected to the now abberated system, will move off balance in opposition so as to maintain balance, although, not optimum. You see, one system moves off balance on the minus side and to prevent a ripple effect, other connecting systems will then reactively move away from optimum balance to the plus side as an effort to maintain a balance and prevent the destabilization from expanding out into other systems. And the driving force behind this intent to achieve optimum balance is the desire to endure - to survive. EVERYTHING in the universe is hooked up to this desire to survive. Or another way to put it is, EVERYTHING in this universe is seeking to attain a state of optimum balance because at optimum balance there is optimum survival. Infinite survival.

This is just a mere scratch on the surface but I have found my label. I am an OPTIMUMIST. And I believe that for every single thing there is a state of "just right" i.e., the state of being in optimum balance.

Essay On Religion's Impact On The Evolution Of Humanity

This blog post requires a bit of orientation before reading.  The seed of thought that it grew from was inadvertently planted within a blog post posted by a member of a website I frequent.  Once the seed was planted, it found fertile ground within the right hemisphere of my brain upon which to nourish itself.  Consequently, the thought, little by little, took a front row position in my aggregation of subjects to ponder.  Here's the set-up to this blog post:

Following is an excerpt from the blogger's post and then an excerpt from my comment to his post:

The Blogger:  Yes, our fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, etc. have been asleep for a long time.  They trusted their representative to care for them while they were fighting wars and cold wars.  Times have changed, take back control.

Me:  I agree, we do need to take back control. But take back control of what exactly? ... it appears that we humans have a propensity for repitition i.e., history continues to repeat itself. Empirical evidence strongly supports that humans, as a species, do not learn from their mistakes. Or, if we do learn, it's obvious that whatever lessons are learned do not endure.

We are remarkably adept at innovation. Just look at the incredible advancements in technology in only the last 100 years. However, even with these enormous advancements in technology, we have a world that is in a mess. We continue to display a sadistic brutality between ourselves that only sometimes appears less brutal because we have become more sophisticated in our methods of administering brutalites upon one other.

And where is religion in all of this passing of time? It's there. It's always there on the scene. But, how do we use religion? Obviously we don't use it to evolve the species into a higher more harmonious state of existence.
...................

Well, somehow or another, this blogger's statements pushed a previously dormant but problematic question to the surface within that mysterious space between my ears.  A question that involved religion. And, in my personal experience, I have never seen religion, even being as necessary as it obviously, or seemingly, is, be anything but problematic. That's why such questions asked out loud are usually treated as being rhetorical.  But, the blogger, I'll give him credit, did step up to the plate and present his answer to the question asked i.e., "And where is religion in all of this passing of time? ...how do we use religion?"

Note: the blogger's response, though, did not answer the question for me. However, in his taking the question as literal and putting forth an answer, I was moved to try my own hand at coming up with an answer that would, at least for the moment, provide me with a viable explanation.  In any case, I've been mulling this question over since and I was recently able to finally attach some words to the thoughts I've been having.

By the way, here's a link to the blogger's original post:  http://www.thecitywire.com/?q=node/10348

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ESSAY ON RELIGION'S IMPACT ON THE EVOLUTION OF HUMANITY


Imagine, if you will, two points that exist in the same space but are positioned opposite from one another.  Assign one point the label, BELIEVE and the other the label of DISBELIEVE.  Now, under the point labeled BELIEVE please assemble these words;  embraced, accepted, included, agreed with, known, rightness, security and complete certainty of or certainty about.  Then under the point labeled DISBELIEVE please assemble these words; rejected, excluded, disagreed with, shunned, known, rightness, security and complete certainty of or certainty about. Okay.  Now, enclose each point and its grouping of related concepts within its own circle.  Or, more appropriately, it's own "bubble."

By the way, the two bubbles apply to any entity whether singular or plural.  In other words, to any individual or any group of any size. I have my own bubbles and every group or sub-group I belong to or am, in some way, connected to or not has their two bubbles of BELIEVE and DISBELIEVE that are unique to them.  In other words, there are more bubbles in existence than we could ever even begin to imagine.

In the vacant space existing between the two bubbles, please insert these words; uncertainty, wonder, curiosity, exploration, inspection, observation, discovery, change, experience, fear, confusion, puzzlement, bewilderment, unknown.

By now I'm sure you've noticed but I'll mention it anyway, both the bubble of BELIEVE and the bubble of DISBELIEVE, contain fixed conclusions/certainties/rightness while the space outside the bubbles contains anything but.  Learning, expansion, evolution, do not occur within the bubbles.  In order to learn, expand and evolve; an entity must be able to step outside their bubbles into the SPACE OUTSIDE.  The content in either one or both of the bubbles will be continually revised and modified (fixed, unfixed and refixed) depending on what is experienced, discovered and learned while the entity is in the SPACE OUTSIDE.  Thus, the entity and humanity overall evolves on an incremental basis.

There is an empirical cycle of life. It is a cycle plotting a sequential progression of motion.  The phases, in sequence, of this cycle, are: conception, birth, growth, attainment, conservation, decay and finally death.
When an entity becomes so ridgid in either their bubble of BELIEF or DISBELIEF, that they are no longer willing or able to even consider the SPACE OUTSIDE much less step out into it, the entity, at whatever position they are on the cycle, if not already in the decay phase, will instantly, regardless of age, shift into the decay phase and begin moving toward death.

I have made the observation that many, many individuals and groups have apparently become so fearful of the SPACE OUTSIDE that they have withdrawn deeply into their bubbles. And, in so doing, the SPACE OUTSIDE, if it has not become invisible to them, has probably, in one way or another, become a forbidden zone. Consequently, they are now exclusively certain and right about all that they know.  Remember, both the BELIEVE bubble and the DISBELIEVE bubble contain complete certainty and rightness.  No longer having access to the space outside, they assume a position wherein they know everything about everything. And, in any circumstance that presents itself, they seem to always "know best" as to how to deal with it.  The contradiction, though, is that these individuals and/or groups that have gotten themselves into such a condition, are not evolving.  Instead, they are fixed, rigid and cannot change their minds.  And, since there is no such thing as level in this universe (there is only expansion or contraction), they, even though they may appear to be unchanging, are actually devolving.

It is interesting to note that in Fort Smith, AR., as well as any other city that I have ever lived in, as well as many places around the world, there is a plethora of churches extant.  Certainly, there is more than enough religion available for everyone and then some.  It is also interesting to note that each church (even different churches within the same religion) has its own set of bubbles peculiar to it.  And these particular bubbles, it appears, have become or, perhaps were from their time of inception, extremely ridgid in their composition.  Furthermore, as I observe the interaction between different religious groups as often represented by different church affiliations, I notice, as I look beneath the social veneer that makes all seem mild, pleasant and tolerable; a vigorous opposition and competition with one another.  In other words, I see the certainty and rightness that belongs to different bubbles, existing in dissonance and conflict.  And, it would seem, that this contention existing between religious bubbles is carried over into political bubbles, educational bubbles, family bubbles and so on.

You see, there can only be one "ONLY" and when you have a multitude of religious bubbles each claiming to be the "ONLY" and in a constant struggle with one another to be the "ONLY"...well, that condition just doesn't serve to advance the consciousness of humanity.  Instead it serves to fragmentize and sequester humanity into a multitude of ridgid and conflicting, even warring, bubbles.

Whether or not it has been an intended plan to use religion to control the world population I cannot say, but intended or not, religion has no doubt been, and continues to be, a critical component in the containment of humanity overall in a left-brain consciousness and perpetual state of turmoil. Indeed, religion, on one hand, seems to purposefully suppress right-brain consciousness.  While, on the other hand, it imposes no restriction on the prolification of those products brought into fruition by the left-brain consciousness.  Products that are used by different religions in order to advance the power and control of their  "ONLY" over  the "ONLY" asserted by any other.

I have listened to people from time to time speak of there, at some point in the future, being a "Heaven on Earth."  Personally, I think if such a thing is even possible, a state of consciousness where the population of the planet were fully cognizant that there was "Heaven on Earth", could never come into existence as long as religion exists and operates as it has done so since life set up shop on this planet.  Simply because religion, as it exists, would not permit it.

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Bubbles are useful.  Indeed, perhaps they are even critical to one being able to survive in this universe.  But a bubble, in order to be viable, must maintain a functioning balance with the SPACE OUTSIDE. As, the SPACE OUTSIDE must maintain a functioning balance with the bubbles.  Neither the bubble or the SPACE OUTSIDE is a stand alone system and when either one attempts to individuate from the other and exist as a stand alone system, the balance is thrown off and the result is a world like the one we have had for millenia.  A world of ongoing opposition, struggle, dissonance, chaos and conflict.  A world of continuous warring bubbles.
 

The Amazing Journey of Self-discovery

Who am I? What am I? Where did I come from? How did I get here? Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? What is my destiny? These fundamental questions, and countless variations of these questions, have no doubt been posed time and time again by individual human beings since the dawn of humanity as they have attempted to understand more about life and their place in it. I know that in my 59 years (very soon to be 60), I have, in one manner or another, asked myself these questions myriad times. Also, I would venture to say, that it's a sure bet that I will continue to do so for sometime to come.

As one would expect, with such a tradition of repetitive query, there would have been many answers to emerge along the way. And, there have been. However, the bulk of the answers I have managed to unearth have proven to be transitory in nature serving more as a series of toe holds and bivouacs within the journey of self-discovery rather than any permanent or stable end point. Over these almost six decades now, there has really been only a handful of answers that have demonstrated to be of an enduring, even expanding, quality, which suggest to me that these few answers may very well be inherent components of actual self. We'll see...

Being one that has an affinity for both mysteries and adventures, the journey of self-discovery has been and continues to be the most incredible quest that I could have ever hoped or imagined to be involved in. I know for quite a long time I thought that such a quest could only exist outside myself, certainly not within myself. But, as I have slowly discovered, my decison to embark upon the exploration of self has pulled and pushed me into a vast frontier that, if it had ever been previously charted and codified, such work was lost or hidden long ago.

I truly suspect that the exploration into self might very well be an infinite undertaking. What an incredible journey, what an incredible adventure the discovery of self has turned out to be. Speaking of adventure....

Adventure in one dictionary is defined as: 1. A hazardous or perilous undertaking. 2. A stirring or thrilling experience. 3. Risky or exciting activity. I agree with all three! My adventures in self-discovery have been all of that and probably much more. Has my adventure been hard? Yes. Difficult? Yes. Perilous? Yes. Thrilling? Yes. Painful? Yes, at times there has been pain, really deep pain. Fun? Yeah, lots of fun! Stirring? Yes! Very much so. Boring, dull or dreary? Yes, even those elements have had a part to play in this adventure of mine.

In my exploration of self, I have come to consider myself to be much like a prospector searching for gold only the gold that I look for is truth. The truth, I have learned, is scattered all over the place and can be found in some of the most unlikely of locations. And, like in prospecting for gold, one has to be willing to sift through a lot of dirt, rocks, gravel, sand and a sundry of other debris in order to isolate and extract the real deal from the sea of pretense. On extremely rare occasions, though, I've been really "lucky" and struck a big vein but, many times more often than not, the accumulation of truth comes in a diversity of little flecks, specks and the occasional nugget picked up here and there along the way.

There was a time in this journey of self-discovery where I was convinced that I had, by no coincidence, happened upon an incredibly rich vein of gold. Before long, I knew without a doubt that I had definitely hit the mother lode! And for a long while I truly believed that I had found the portal by which to access all the gold there was to be had. Well...I eventually learned that I was wrong about that. And yeah, it took a bit of time to sort myself out from that seductive illusion but no regrets. Once I was on the other side of that experience, I figured it was just part of the sifting process and without equivocation, I most definitely added an enormity of gold to my box at that particular claim. Gold that I very much needed and am very grateful to now have in my possesion.

Now that I have detached myself from the notion of there being a "one stop portal to all truth", I am once again actively engaged, without restriction, in the exploration of self. I am again out on my own free to roam with my tenacious ethereal burro, pickax, sifter, a bit of dynamite and, can't forget this...my trusty pan. And what fun this unrestricted prospecting is! I must say, though, that I have become acutely aware of the fact that what I see as gold is not necessarily what another might see as gold and vice versa. I have come to realize, on a whole new level, that truth and reality, as the journey of self-discovery itself, are all most definitely of a highly personal nature. But...that's my gold. It might not be the next person's.

I have also learned that finding even the tiniest speck of gold in the most unlikely of places or mistakenly picking up some fool's gold and thinking it's the real thing are neither one to be discounted in value. For I have discovered that such experiences can affect my trajectory in ways I would've never imagined and open doors I would have normally walked right on by without even a second glance (probably would not have even recognized them as doors to begin with).

I used to consider that truth was something that was fixed and solid but the more I evolve in my considering I have come to view truth as something that is quite fluid and pliable. Perhaps truth exists as an infinite set of concentric spheres where it manifests uniquely in each sphere and each sphere is different from any other sphere. Furthermore, I can visualize each sphere within this concentric arrangement of spheres as being multi-dimensional i.e., each sphere is composed of many, many frequencies from where it begins and ends. And at each sub-frequency, each gradient layer, truth is manifesting as a unique vibrational pattern percieved only if the viewer happens to be tuned to that specific vibrational pattern. If my awareness is confined to only one sphere that contains x amount of dimensions or on just a few vibrational patterns, then I am aware only of the truth of that sphere or those patterns. But, as I gradiently expand my awareness out into other dimensions and spheres, I come to know other truths and the many layers of truth existing from each sphere that I'm aware of build upon one another to form even another truth - a combined truth - that appears to run parallel to the concentric spheres.

In my pursuit of answers regarding the true nature of my existence I have gradually formulated a short list of basic points to keep in mind as I progress on this journey. These are:


1) Things, situations, reasons, intentions, outcomes, circumstances and people (this includes myself) are rarely what they appear to be. And with that in mind, remember...emotional passion and/or personal conviction do not equal truth.

2) Throughout this exploration ensure to disabuse myself of any need, want, desire or compulsion to be liked or admired, to believe in, disbelieve, agree, disagree, embrace or reject. In this journey it will be my willingness to look and my willingness to experience anything that will serve me best.

3) Contine to look and listen (this includes listening to self). The more you look, the more you listen, the more you will see, the more you will hear and the more you will learn. and, don't just look at what attracts my attention, look too at that which repels me. On probably more of an abstract level than any other (maybe not), dots never previously recognized will first begin to appear and then later, begin to connect. Yes, I know, this is ambiguous but, it's just the way it seems to work and it's another good reason why not to discount anything for seeming not to fit.

4) Truth is an enormous puzzle. For all I know it might even be an infinite puzzle. In any case, there are easily more pieces to this puzzle than I can possibly imagine at this time. therefore, if I plan on putting this puzzle together then know this going in and realize that there is most probably no single end point but instead, a continuous series of both end points and start points.

5) Beware of becoming overly attached to any particular notion, perspective, opinion, viewpoint or conclusion. I must be prepared to change my mind frequently. This is not being fickel, wishy-washy, a flip-flop or any other derogatory and introverting labels. This is being agile while remaining in the ever changing NOW.

6) In the words of Will Durant... "Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." ...be prepared to discover mine.

7) On my journey of self discovery I am my own guru. This "hat" cannot be delegated to any other entity. Of course, it can be useful and helpful at times to compare notes with others on their own journey (gold can be found in such exchanges) but, keep in mind, there is no one else that knows as much about me as I know about myself, therefore, keep my own counsel and do not turn my power over to another. Also, beware of anyone or any "guru" that is setting their self up as an all knowing source or as a via to all knowing source for this is ego not viable guidance.

In closing, to take upon the quest of one's own self-discovery could be construed by some as being some form of indulgence in egocentricism. To any person that might assume such a point of view, I would have to say, "Try it for a while yourself and see if you don't soon discover that such a notion is far from being the case." Indeed, I would encourage anyone, if not already on their own journey of self-discovery or has at some point given such a journey up, to start or restart the journey, as the case may be. It's one of the few activities on this planet that requires absolutely no money to participate in