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UNITY WAY

January 16, 2005

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Know Yourself

by Andrei Yashurin

"When you know yourself, then you will be known, and you 
will understand that you are children of the living Father. 
But if you do not know yourself, then you live in poverty, 
and you are the poverty", says Jesus in the gospel of Thomas. 

I came to a conviction that self-knowledge, or we might 
better say, self-awareness, is essential for harmonious 
self-expression of an individual. Most of human problems 
results from wrong ideas of people about themselves, which 
lead them to self-abuse and abuse of others. 

As we come to the true knowledge of ourselves, we learn 
to act in agreement with our deepest nature. As the result, 
we are being enriched - both inwardly and outwardly. The same 
laws which worked against us, now work for our benefit, and 
we are uplifted to the new level of meaningful and productive life. 

There are people who think that it is more important to be 
loving than to know ourselves, but I disagree with them. 
Without vital understanding of human nature, our best 
intentions won't accomplish much. Let us suppose, we want 
to give and to serve. But if our desire is the highest good 
of others, and not just pleasing of our ego, we will be looking 
to do for them that which is necessary. Coming to the knowledge 
of ourselves, we come to the knowledge of others, because 
we are parts of the same human family. It enables us to 
be more effective in our loving service. 

The call to know ourselves implies that beyond the veil 
of our appearance, lie unknown and mysterious depths. All 
what we know about ourselves is just a tiny fragment of 
the great reality of our being. 

Your identity is greater than your body, even greater 
than your thoughts and feelings. People make a mistake 
by staying attached to their thoughts and feelings, unwilling 
to let them go - even realizing that they are unhealthy. 
They identify themselves with the things of the past, 
assuming that their loss is equal to the loss of self-identity. 
What a limited concept!

Our appearance may change - and must change - and will change. 
Our thoughts and feelings will change, too, no matter how 
strongly we hold on to them. It is the nature of life to 
change. However, deep inside we will still be the same 
"I AM" - mostly unknown and unrecognized. 

Yes, we are not what we seem to be. Behind our apparent 
limitations, lies divine potential of beauty, creativity, 
wholeness, and abundance. This is why Jesus advised not 
to judge by appearances. 

This thought thrills me every time it comes to my mind. 
Let me share with you a little poem I wrote recently:

A caterpillar will become a butterfly,
An egg will become a bird.
"You will be transformed,
And you will fly!" -
these words of God I heard.

For it is freedom,
It is a pure joy,
Life more abundant, indeed!
"You never know what your limits are.
Can an apple tree be compared to a seed?" 

However, our transformation from "an apple seed" to 
"an apple tree" will require steady work. Since we are 
conscious beings with the freedom of choice, it is up to 
us either to know ourselves and to cooperate with the laws 
of our development, or to stay in mental darkness and 
to resist those powers which are meant to bless us.

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Andrei Yashurin: yashurin@gmail.com

http://pcjournal.ru/talks Talks on Truth

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All messages (c) 2005 by Andrei Yashurin

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