The goal
of the exercise is to go to the very roots, the core or the 3.6 THE ART OF SELF
EXPLORATION :
" Art is a revolt against fate".......André Malraux
"The self-explorer,
whether he wants to or not, becomes the explorer of
everything else. He learns to see himself, but suddenly, provided he
was honest, all the rest appears, and it is as rich as he was, and,
as a final crowning, richer.".............Elias Canetti
In consonance with the main theme of this work, Personal Validity, that
is, the quest of knowing and applying that which is valid for oneself,
self-exploration is the central process. By saying here that this is the
central process, I mean that without this the concept of Personal
Validity is of little use. There are no clear - cut steps, and therefore
even self - analysis has to have a personal, artistic touch to it. This
work is therefore to be viewed as an initiator, and once successful
initiation has taken place on the road to self -exploration, the
very process must then reveal the path to be taken ( not without
risks and pitfalls, of that I am sure ! ).
"All that is
necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this:
act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the
command of right-about-face that turns us from failure toward success."
....Dorothea Brande
The goal
of the exercise is to go to the very roots, the core or the
substrate of the thought formation process, so that the sub-
conscious control mechanisms are revealed, and thus accessible
to the conscious. The self that starts on a somewhat clean slate
at birth, becomes fragmented in the process of finding the foot
hold to survive. It is only a sustained and committed effort that
can undo this fragmentation of the self, until a certain
momentum is generated.
Once that has been accomplished, the road to integrate the Self
becomes open, and the totality of the Self will (as Will !) eventually
be revealed and so also the direction that it has to take,
project or Intend.
" The secret of the
arts is to correct nature." ........Voltaire
The process is not a formal one and will vary
with every individual,
and therefore has been stated as an art in the title of this article, but
as an outline, the steps below serve as a general procedure :
1.The setting up of a conscious command metaprogram for the purpose
of evaluating, examining, provoking and observing one's own behavior
patterns in reference to a projected state or purposeful pattern of
behavior.
2. The study and digging up of deeply operating sub-conscious behavior
patterns and underlying control programs, to bring them under the
command of the conscious.
3. The study of one's own concept-belief structure, the hierarchy and
interrelationship of the elements and values of these elements. That is,
a clear identification of the underlying assumptions, the highest value
operating beliefs, the supporting concepts and their applicability.
4. The differentiation of operating beliefs into biologically driven, socially
or culturally driven, general education implanted or generated internally.
This differentiation is useful in order to differentiate between personally
valid and generally valid
belief spheres of applicability.
" When you have
faults, do not fear to abandon them."....Confucius
To further this process, the following articles deal in greater depth :
1. The Conscious, sub-conscious and the Supra-Conscious.
2. The art of self analysis and synthesis
TO HOLD OR TO DISCARD
TO TAKE OR TO LEAVE
TO BE OR NOT TO BE Or TO BE AND NOT TO BE
Whatever has been presented here should serve only as a guideline
and not as a hard and fast procedure. Just as it is being stressed here
that it is vital to repeatedly command oneself to self examine, it is also
being stressed here that at times it is appropriate to just reverse this
command : to
plainly drift, to just defocus.
"One must let the play happen to one; one must let the
mind loose to
respond as it will, to receive impressions to sense rather than know,
to gather rather than immediately understand".........Edward Albee
And the time to defocus and drift is definitely there if one feels stuck,
frustrated or just not getting any worthwhile results. And so this art of
self-exploration hinges considerably upon the ability to know when
to focus and when to defocus, when to drift and when to get down
to the nitty gritty, when to get hold of oneself and when to let go of
oneself, when to wait paitently and when to act fast, when to 'go
with the flow ' and when to fight the flow. When to compliment
something and when to oppose something.
To know when it is the time for action, and when is the time for inaction,
when it is the time for acceptance and when is the time for resistance,
which situation calls for conflict and which situation calls for harmony,
which conditions call for change and which conditions call for statis,
when a situation demands interaction and when a situation
demands withdrawal,
which is the time for quick descision and which is the time for
patient waiting,
which is the knowledge that one has to seek and which is that
one has to avoid,
which is the knowledge that has to be held, and which is redundant
which is that held knowledge that is useful, and which is useless
which of one's held knowledge and belief needs further testing
and exposure, and which needs consolidation
which of one's knowledge has reached its limits of usefulness and
which needs further development,
which is the limitation that must be taken as a challenge and which
is a limitation that needs total acceptance,
which of one's resources is an asset to be put to optimum use
and which is a liability to be discarded,
which of one's possessions are really neccessary, and which
are redundant,
what are those things that are really needed, and what are those that
are a burden and must be quickly rid of
which are those relationships that are fulfilling and which are
those that are draining,
which are the relationships that need to be developed and nurtured,
and which are those that need to be dropped,
when is the time for extreme caution and when is the
time for uncalculated, reckless risk,
when to believe in something and when to believe the opposite,
when to take on a path, and when to leave the path,
which situation calls for a rational, analytic approach, and
which siuation demands an intuitive, instinctive response,
and which situation needs a intertwined balance of both,
which is the place and ground for a decisive battle,
and which is best avoided,
which is a battle to be fought within and which is
a battle to be fought without,
which ideas are worth living for and
which ideals are worth dying for,
which are the qualities of others to learn from and which to reject
which qualities of others are worth complimenting and which need
to be opposed, which issue to confront and which to avoid,
When to know that it is the time to do something
and when not to do something.
"The time when you need to do something is when no one else
is willing to do it, when people are saying it can't be done."
...........Mary Frances Berry
That is the art.
" Art is a way of
recognizing oneself, which is why it will always be modern."
.......Louise Bourgeois
NEXT PAGE 17 : 2.07 Conscious, sub and Supra- Conscious