Self Mastery

''When will you begin that long journey into yourself? '' -Rumi

Maybe the way we evolve as a society would change if humans put the precious time and effort into discovering who they are.
And that is not something that can be done easily, nor can it be done with a mask on.
A majority of humans will spend their whole lives being a stranger to themselves.
It’s as if I told someone I am life smart, because I have a P.h.D.
One does not guarantee the other.
It can actually sometimes make people think that because they have a higher education, therefore they know better than others in all areas of life.
The concepts through which people tend to evaluate their own worth can be dangerously superficial. Not to mention that if you base your self-esteem on fragile things such as status, prestige, power, appearances, not only do you face the chance to lose it at any time, but if you do end up losing that "appeal", your whole world will crumble down.

Knowing who you are is the first step.
Without self-awareness, one can not access the door that leads to self-mastery.
It all starts there.
I used to think that physical activity was the ultimate way to test someone’s self-discipline, until meditation made its way into my life.
Nothing is more difficult for a human to be in control of his own mind.
Actually, a month ago, I was reading a very interesting book (it was called emotional agility if I remember correctly), and one fascinating experiment had been done (can’t remember the purpose of the experiment unfortunately). But what I do remember, is that my favorite quote of all time introduced it:

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone" .
Blaise Pascal proved to be right.
Some individuals who took part in this experiment chose to endure the pain of an electric shock rather than sitting alone in the room with their own mind.
In that light, it gets to me that such a fundamental skillset of life is not being taught in school.
We do not know how to use our minds in the most important way.

I’ve been training myself most of this year to be in control of my mind, my emotions and my actions.
Unless we become aware of it, we spend the majority of our time being a slave to the way we think and feel. And naturally, it impacts the way we act.
Meditation is the perfect way to practice being in control, because if you are able to be with your own thoughts for long enough, very few things can seem scary afterwards.
And the discipline you get from this practice, you can recreate it in every other sphere of your life.
From my own practice of meditation for the past 7 months, I have noticed how much more willpower I carry within me.
I am able to be in control of pretty much everything I was not in control of before.
Sometimes, I even have a hard time to believe it is real.
To defy what you’ve held for truth your whole life can be very difficult, but also a very transformative experience.
It is a shame that no school has ever taught us how extraordinarily flexible our mind really is.

I have mentioned this book a few times on here, but I will share it with you again, as I myself read it twice, and it’s really the best book I have read on the topic of self-discipline and willpower.
I read a lot of books on a weekly basis, but there’s some very powerful info I found in this one that I did not come across in any other book. It’s really a gem and if you take the time to write down the findings and the shortcomings and limits of our mind and of our ability in terms of self-control, you can really apply it into your life and notice the difference it will make.

Developing our internal value is the way to go.
Material and external value is superficial.
If one wishes to attain the highest potential of its own mind, one must find who he is, and serve the greater good by doing The Thing that connects him most with his own identity.
Motivation has to be intrinsic, otherwise, it will not make it through the roadblocks.

Love you all guys! 🔮 💫