Self- realization is a process that happens throughout life or at punctual moments. A fulfilled individual is a self-realized one, he has come to learn and experience himself and the world in order to be true to himself. In this post, I will discuss the aspects of self-realization in four parts. First by defining what makes the self, secondly by elucidating what Truth is, then by explaining the importance of awareness. Finally, I will put in evidence the process of growing out of fear into love and understanding the dynamics of a community.
To begin, the Self is the “I” and the “me”; who you are authentically, when withdrawing the ego from your actions. According to White, it is not until we have lost ourselves and the world that we can begin to find ourselves and grasp the extent of our relations. His idea is supported by Thoreau who tells his readers that he decided to go into the woods to find himself:
“ I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts for life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived ”.
Finding the self, also called self-realization is a lifelong process with its peaks of consciousness at certain point in time. We discover ourselves through experiences which confer our significance as we respond with intuition and emotions. We must be engaged, curious, open and compassionate in every experience. When one is a vibrant, energetic and creative self, he becomes sufficient to himself and is at peace with himself and understands the patterns of his life. Experience can be acquired through life challenges that we overcome or endure and suffer through to eventually lead to self-realization. There is a tendency to believe that emotions are mutually exclusive, but there is always a duality in every emotion, joy has sadness and gain has losses and vice versa. The misconception of dissociating emotions is like detaching some one’s shadow.
Essentially, to find the self is to find meaning in life and unravel truth. Humanity is placed in the impermanent world and is challenged to find the eternal truth and as Thoreau says: “rather than love, money, than fame, give me truth”.
It is the human spirit that gives a meaning to existence. When the spirit grows, our capacity to evolve follows through. Indeed, the spirit is the vital energy that guides humans to overcome their fear. Unlike the ego, the spirit is not focused on results, and instead generates a sufficiency of state of being. There is a constant need for revival of the spirit in a world that turns off the spirit. According to White, meaning can be found everywhere; in work, in relationship, through experiencing beauty and through feelings. The experience of beauty and delight is slipping away and we are dispirited.
Synchronicity of life can provide meaning, that is when events occur and meaning can be extracted from them, there are not mere coincidence. When one finds meaning in life he ignores all the little disturbances of life that would have a greater impact on people with meaningless lives. For some people, life is like a treadmill; they must run until the end of the program, unaware of the process without deriving pleasure in the process but only seeing the anticipated final result.
Awareness of processes and experiences is key to self-realization. In the distraction of our world that puts our spirit and self to sleep, we must learn to reawaken and to find ways to maintain ourselves awake. We must look upon each days as an opportunity to live enriching life experiences or using Thoreau’s words; through “infinite expectation of the dawn”. When awareness is infused in someone, then he ceases to see and instead observe, he ceases to hear and starts listening to be fully in the moment. When one is self-aware, he intuitively knows that he belongs to everything and that everything part of himself. Evolving from self-ignorance to self-awareness is like evolving from separation to unity, from fear to love.
White argues that the process of self-realization comes from growing out of fear to love. Fear is a primitive and instinctive need for survival. It is greater than emotions, it is a way to experience the world in which one becomes weary and open to vices. Moreover, it is an instinctive condition of anxiety that leads the self and the spirit to depreciating thoughts and actions. Fear also make one impermeable to love from the world. On the other hand, love is a devotion to an ideal, to elevate the self. Love functions against the gravity of the condition of fear. Love is found in relations and in human life in general, it generates virtues such as compassion, care and authenticity. Thoreau testifies that he senses similar feeling;
“I found in myself […] an instinct towards a higher or, as it is named, spiritual life, as do most men, and another towards a primitive rank and savage one”.
In White’s approach’s what Thoreau is mentioning is the dialectic forces of the spiritual elevation working against the savage and fearful condition of human.
Understanding the global unity of our world is primordial for self-realization. The world is made up of systems which are web of relationships in which all the elements influence each other. The smallest parts of the world such as atoms are made of particles that interact, and this dynamic exchange is what sustains the system. Humans are also systems, not only because they are composed of atoms but they also have a moral aspect in their system with the complexity of consciousness and spirituality. The human system is dependent on the interactions between the gravitational downward force of fear and the upward force of love.
On the scale of society, community is essential for the well-being of each human system. In order to maintain equilibrium there must also be detachment, because the community is fostered by the practice of solitude of each system. When a true and authentic community is established, each system is capable to flourish. Indeed, living in community gives the opportunity for the human to explore the outer reach of their humanity through the interactions of their souls and spirit. This leads to the growth and evolution of the entire community, since through the experience of unity one experiences individuality.
Overall, the ingredients to self-realization, include meaningful experiences that lead the self to find the truth within himself. The human must stumble and battle through these experience and grow out of fear to love himself in order to love others and be spiritually prosperous within his community. In my next post I will elaborate on living in simplicity.