From a quantum perspective, your body and mind are deeply connected. So, getting healthy isn't just about treating your physical symptoms, but also about improving the harmony of your consciousness.
You know, even though being aware is important for understanding consciousness...it's still one of the biggest mysteries.
It’s so fascinating, the more aware you become, the more you realise how little you actually understand about yourself.
Like...you're peeling back layers, but there’s always more underneath. Like...trying to solve a puzzle that keeps changing shape. It's wild!
This paradox of consciousness can be both incredibly rewarding and endlessly perplexing.
Understanding yourself is more than just a philosophical quest. It’s a vital part of leading a fulfilling life.
In this post, I’ll share why getting to know yourself is so crucial, so you can navigate life's challenges with greater clarity, purpose, and resilience.
Awareness and the Quest for Understanding
Becoming more aware is crucial for understanding consciousness, and it’s one of the biggest mysteries out there.
Maybe that’s the driver for needing to know more?!
There’s this humbling realisation of not knowing, and somehow, it’s freeing. Yet, it doesn’t stop you from wanting to know. The not knowing draws you in closer and deeper.
This challenge can be overwhelming and it's easy to give up. I mean, who wouldn’t feel a bit lost facing the vastness of their own mind?
Confronting yourself is no small feat. For me and many millennials, the expedition has become a lifelong pursuit. The deeper you go, the more you come into alignment.
And just as you think you’ve figured something out, BANG! You’re swept back under, facing a new threshold to explore. It’s like opening a door to a room full of more doors.
Internal Taoist Kung Fu & My Sojourn in the Wudang Mountains of Rural China
When I finally arrived after 3 days, I felt a blend of excitement and exhaustion. The challenging trek through unknown territory and steep paths in the humid rain had brought me here.
Living in the city and teaching yoga back then, I had felt a persistent sense of incompleteness. Because yoga had supported and unravelled me and despite the many fulfilling aspects of my life, I grappled with the question: why do you need to know yourself?
I had also hit the edge of my teaching; a roadblock. And this quest drove me to an internal Taoist kung fu academy in the centre of rural China, hoping to uncover more.
Each day at the academy involved eight hours of intense physical, mental, and spiritual training. The schedule was full of Qi Gong, Tai Chi, martial arts, and meditation.
The humble grounds of the academy where we trained in the Wudang Mountains.
These activities weren’t just physical exercises but were designed to forge a bond between my mind, body, breath, and spirit.
I began to experience a sagacious vertical alignment within myself. Like different levels of a column coming into perfect harmony.
After the first initial weeks, the heaviness of city life started to leave my body. Then the rigidness of striving began to leave my mind, and I experienced what it means to blend with your environment.
During a particularly rigorous session, where I stood for over an hour in Wu Ji, I felt a remarkable sense of integration.
My movements, breath, and thoughts flowed together seamlessly, creating a deep connection within myself, my environment and the metaphysical.
This alignment wasn’t about achieving perfection. It was about uniting all aspects of my being into a harmonious whole.
As I immersed myself deeper into this process, I began to understand why knowing yourself is so important.
It’s not about achieving a fixed state of self-awareness but about cultivating a sense of wholeness and acceptance.
Accepting my experience without judgment! This allowed me to approach life with greater empathy, appreciation, and openness towards others and everything else you’ve ever been taught about when it comes to this type of practice and its benefits.
One evening, while meditating by the stream next to the dojo things became clearer.
I returned to my life in the city and carried these insights with me.
The view of Wudang Shan, China from the roof of the dojo in the humble academy I trained with.
The Paradox of Consciousness
In the journey of self-discovery, you often find yourself caught in the web of overanalysing and intellectualising your experiences. Yet, the truth to understanding yourself lies in the paradox of letting go.
Sometimes, you need to embrace a complete lack of self-awareness, allowing you to release the rigid constructs of who you think you are. And in doing so, you open yourself to the purity of the present moment, where your actions flow naturally and authentically.
It’s in these unguarded moments. Free from the constraints of your self-imposed identities. This is where you honestly come to know yourself. This surrender to the present, devoid of overthinking, is where genuine self-awareness matures.
The cyclical nature of it all
Just as you start to feel you’re in alignment, something changes. You learn something new about yourself, or your circumstances shift, and suddenly you’re back to what you think is square one.
It’s like the universe is always one step ahead, keeping you on your toes.
You haven’t returned to square one. Instead, you’ve moved through a cycle in a spiral and ready for the next turn. In fact, it’s part of the process and what I think of as life’s fuel.
I mean, is exploration ever really complete?
As you delve deeper into understanding yourself, you’ll find that your sense of authority and confidence grows.
It isn’t about having all the answers or being perfect. It’s about knowing yourself well enough to trust your intuition. It's making decisions that are right for you. Surrendering to the unknown and then wielding the yield.
Here's another example. It's not about having everything figured out or being perfect. It's about understanding yourself enough to trust your gut. It's about making choices that feel right for you. Embrace the uncertainty and then own the results.
When you understand your strengths and weaknesses, you can leverage them to your advantage.
You become more resilient and adaptable. Able to navigate life’s ups and downs with greater ease.
And this sense of inner authority has a delicious ripple effect impacting your relationships, career, health and overall quality of life.
Something to be solved or championed
In the end, the paradox of consciousness isn’t something to be solved but championed. The adventure of getting to know yourself is lifelong and full of plot twists. Effort and surrender in mutual partnership are key.
So, why do you need to know yourself? Because it leads to a richer, more meaningful life. It helps you navigate the complexities of existence with greater clarity and purpose. And ultimately brings you closer to living in alignment with your whole self.
Remember, it’s okay to feel uncertain or confused. Stay curious. You’ve got this!
Here's to knowing yourself that much more, amid life's plentiful and beautiful distractions!