Just Be Yourself

Book excerpt: Self-knowledge and self-remembering Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment. (Lao Tsu. Tao Te Ching, Sutra 33) If you are seeking self-development, growth and transformation on a soul level, self-knowledge is the key. It has always been the key. Throughout the ages, prophets and mystics have called it different things: meditation, self-observation, watching or self-actualization. It is the key that opens the door to freedom from self-inflicted unhappiness. But it comes with a price; the courage to observe ourselves objectively so we can see ourselves just as we are. Not as we imagine ourselves to be, not as we wish we could be, not as we pretend to be in front of others, but just as we are. Because we are not aware of how repetitive and mechanical our thinking patterns really are, we unconsciously let them sabotage our happiness, our relationships and our world. The story of Melodie allows us to observe these unconscious patterns and the extent to which we remain at their mercy. Until we understand ourselves and transform the unconscious patterns into conscious understanding, these self-sabotaging thought patterns control our lives. Melodies intent to remember who she really is, takes us on a journey of awakening from the belief in duality consciousness to the experience of unity consciousness that lies dormant as a seed in the heart of each and every one of us.