Future thrills

So what do you do to get to know yourself?

The old Greeks had rituals in their temples supporting the processes of getting to know yourself, with incubation, dreams, music and dance and some say sex.

Now the times are different, but the urge to attain a deeper knowledge of oneself is still there for many people.

So some hints are:

• Give up your illusions and be what you are born to be
• Choose always for yourself, be independent, don’t be afraid to think and do it
• Dream and follow your dreams
• Act and take the consequences
• Care for yourself – do not depend upon others
• Find your own guidance
• Respect yourself
• Do not let your own mind become a prison
• Master yourself
• Take time to do things: laugh, think, play, read, share love and friendship, give, work
• Keep out the fantasies and compulsions, remember that emotion and spirit are not the same
• See what you can become
• Think, dream, dare, believe
• Control your senses, let not the mind wander with them

Fill up the list for yourself – and dare do it too.

The European Union is big with about 500 million inhabitants – much bigger than the US – many of its members are economically weak, several of the national prime ministers don’t seem to like each other and have national ambitions as well.

The European Commission has a president, the European Council also has a president and there is a foreign minister in there as well.

No common foreign policy is visible, but the foreign minister is trying hard to make one.

There is movement towards a common fiscal regime with regulation of banks and other financial institutions, and other common procedures are in place: services, agriculture etc – lots of directives.

As a side comment the British Commonwealth is visibly crumbling – reducing British influence in the world. And the US is becoming less influential as China and other are growing and expanding: Eveything is in a state of flux. So where is the EU really going?

Outwardly it is no unit at all. But it has to be if it wants to be a serious part of developments – in the world. Could it crumble or will politicians unite and become serious about what they say: The EU as a serious contender on the world stage, balancing China, the US, emerging Africa, India et al.?

Maybe we will see order out of the present chaos. How long will it take and will it be too late?

Why are we on this Earth, and what do we want to do? What do we want our lives to look like? It is sad if we don’t have a clue.

We are driven around by our own thoughts, by others, by habits – we do the same things again and again – and all because of our need for security and fear of isolation.

To be independent, to awaken and be conscious is what we probably want. The prize is an awakening and a rich life, and we start on the way there by observing ourselves. Then we can find out who we are – intellectually, bodily, instinctively and emotionally.

We must know our habits and we must see what choices we make. When we know, we can become content, we can find ways, we can operate our body and soul, keep it in shape. But before we think about changing what we see, we must personalize what we see and verify it, make it ours.

Observe yourself thoroughly – spend time on it  and practice so you can know yourself. You must engage in what has been called The Works.

Know thyself seems to be an ancient Greek saying attributed to the Delphi temple, and later philosophers have also used it up till this day. There are many popular sayings about this, to mention one: Control your emotions and let not the mind wander with them (Gandhi).

We are souls, and we are mammals too. Mammals have intellect, emotion, instinct and can move about. When you observe yourself you must find how these functions work, and sense the energy associated with them. Don’t judge or change anything, just sense your body in deep honesty, and build up information about yourself.

Some people say that men are machines driven by external and internal forces. To understand and be able to be you must know how this machine works, and this is done by observing yourself. We must try to know what happens to us, and what we do.

When you know yourself you can move towards understanding and knowledge, but first of all you must know about yourself.

What do we need to know and do to be healthy humans? The question arises as a number of us are in bad health both physically and mentally, and this results in lives that are unfulfilled due to lack of inspiration, illnesses, tiredness and other hindrances.

So what would happen if you became more conscious about your own life – especially the part that decides your physical and mental health: You want to keep your body and soul in shape.

This obviously has to do with what you eat, how you use your body physically and the way you let your mind operate.

Food is an enormous industry, we make food from plants and animals on a massive scale. We eat every day and we are not fully conscious about our food intake: What we eat, what it contains, what happens to it in our bodies, how to make sure our diet contains what we need: Minerals, vitamins, proteins, fat, carbohydrates, water etc. What foods are essential, how fast does it burn. There are said to be about 3500 sorts of “material” that we may eat in different amounts, so the complexity is great.

What each of us get is hugely different, so it is obvious that the range of self adjustment is great. Orthomolecular medicine says that we should all eat a broad supplement of what is already in the body to make sure we have sufficient supply – to make a better and longer life. The environment we live in is full of chemicals, radiation, smoke, drink and maybe drugs, and this is not life-enhancing.

The basic piece of action here is to make sure you understand the basic processes concerning the food you put into your body: Do some study – be independent – see to it that you understand. Then you eat like you understand.

The body is made for movement, but people increasingly use their body less through daily activity, so we must make sure that supplementary training is performed on a frequent basis – may be daily. Push your pulse, create some sweat every day or best of all do some serious training. Make sure your juices flow easily, that your breathing is fine, that your weight is not too bad, that your muscles function well, that your balance and coordination functions adequately and that you empty your bowels regularly. The other side of it is rest – make sure you are sufficiently rested – that helps build you up.

Mind control is not yet part of people’s conscious behaviour, but need to be if you are to realise your potential, have a good life or whatever you are looking for in life. The basic piece of action is to stop worrying and thinking about all you see and hear – the noise is enormous and you need not be part of it. See to it that you know yourself well  and do some research into brain/mind methods like meditation, relaxation, dreaming, yoga, sleeping or what you fancy. Mental exercise is good too – train your brain to function well.

So why all this? It will make you more comfortable, more energetic, less sick, more relaxed, live cheaper, be sustainable – also make you live happier and even longer. And imagine: it could even reduce the health budget.

So you have personal choice – you are completely on your own in this matter – healthy living is eating consciously, exercising regularly, taking care of your mind. It surely is hard, but if we manage to do it we will all be well rewarded.