The Art of Finding Yourself

Book excerpt: What happens when everything you thought you knew about yourself is untrue? In The Art of Finding Yourself, author Fiona Robertson—senior facilitator and trainer of Scott Kiloby’s Living Inquiries method of self-inquiry and exploration—reflects on her own experience of discovering and living with this life-changing process. The Living Inquiries invite you on an inner journey to examine and dispel the stories that make you feel separate, inadequate, or otherwise “wrong.” With this book, you’ll begin to learn how to deal with “the stuff of life” both before and after that false sense of self and separation has slipped away. Our identities are built on the stories we tell ourselves about our experiences, other people, and the world, and on the beliefs that we’re truly separate beings and that there’s something wrong with us—the roots of all suffering. But when you have the courage to really inquire, you discover that your story is not the whole truth, your self-image is not real, and even your woundedness is not what you thought it was. All that’s left is truth: you are not the person you’ve taken yourself to be, and you’re certainly not alone. With the Living Inquiries, you have an effective, structured method for realizing that you are not separate or deficient. In The Art of Finding Yourself, Robertson shares how her own sense of suffering—especially the deep, painful belief that there was something wrong with her—led her to the Living Inquiries, and what this self-inquisitive process looks like in real life. In reflecting on her own personal journey, she helps you explore and unravel the stories that keep you feeling isolated and not good enough. “Living the inquiries” means approaching life without protecting your story, defending your self-image, or hiding from your deepest pain. It’s living with no added analysis, interpretation, judgment, or theorizing, and it can transform your life! No matter how flawed or enlightened you think you are, no matter how much work you think you’ve done or left undone, you’re always faced with life and influenced by your own stories—and moving beyond those stories requires a deep, inward journey. With this book, you’ll discover what it means to realize you are not the separate self you thought you were, and find engaging, insightful reflections on how to move forward in life using the transformative Living Inquiries.