Know Thyself; The Key.

At the core of many major belief systems in the world are figures who lead by example. From the teachings of Jesus to Buddha and even Krishna one could easily deduce that these figures, whether real or mythical, were very much concerned with spreading the worship of their message and not the worship of themselves. One could even deduce that at the core of these “all-important” messages, each of which was worded for the people of their day, was the key for human beings to exist together in harmony with their surroundings, not perfectly, humans are not perfect, but balanced. What was this message?

This “Message” loosely states: For a person to best understand and fit into the world around them one must really know thyself. It is essential for a person to have a basic understanding of why they do what they do. Knowing the motivational factors behind one’s choices (Choices which create action in the world.) is a true path to self-control. Self-control which is the keystone for a healthy civilization. Everyone’s behavior is due to the choices they are making at some conscious level. If one is not directly aware of this choice then ultimately this choice is being made, subconsciously, by someone else. The Matrix Trilogy does a fantastic job of illustrating this concept. Neo is the anomaly who the machines cannot control in their quest to enslave humanity. He represents “Choice,” the choice to say “No” and resist. A choice he could only make once he finally realized the true motivating factor behind his choice, his love for Trinity. Causing him to choose the path to save Trinity against the will of the machines, towards the end of the second film(The Matrix Reloaded). It seems that even the machines could not escape Natural Law.

The message also loosely states: One must gain a firm grasp on Natural Law. The concept that You reap what you sow, some call it the Golden Rule, Karma or simply cause and effect. The Non-Aggression Principle and concept of Self-Defense are derived from Natural Law. When compared to Newton’s third law of motion (Which states: For every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction (force).) one may begin to see how every action that one takes has an effect on the entire world around them. Like an ocean of waves, every deed done is like one jumping into the water causing waves felt by everyone in the pool. When morally right people start to grip this concept and look truthfully at their own deeds they start to see that some of their choices are negatively affecting others around them. This leads them to make different choices with less-harmful consequences to others as well as themselves. They clean up their Karma by continuing to discover better choices to make in their lives every day. Not because they have to, but because they want to.

Morally right is a phrase which means different things to different people. In this context “morally right” can be defined simply as the choice to live in accordance with Natural Law. To take no action that one would not want to be done to them. Therefore any action a person takes which doesn’t harm another is a “Right,” because it is morally right. This is also where “Natural Rights” such as Free Speech and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms for self-defense come from. They are Natural Rights granted by Natural Law. The law that governs our entire universe. If you are a Christian that could be God or Jesus, For an Atheist it could simply be understood as a Real Law with very real consequences. Natural Law can be seen as a basic interface in which all of humanity can, regardless of ideology or culture, co-exist as best as humanly expected. Not perfect but perfectly balanced in a society with true religious tolerance.

Morally Wrong people do exist. This is hard for some people to grasp. Many folks tend to think most people are like them, possibly misguided, but at the end of the day, their intentions are still pretty good. Politicians often capitalize on this mindset to get away with their dishonest deeds Morally wrong people can be loosely defined as those who have an understanding of Natural Law but choose to make decisions with negative effects on others as long as they benefit themselves. This is yet another reason why this message makes it clear that you must know your own self. If one person can be responsible for an others’ decisions at a subconscious level, even for something as innocent as a hamburger or Cola, how could it not benefit this person to regain control of their own decisions?

“If it’s Natural Law then why don’t we just know, naturally?” Well, one could assume that many people aren’t living in accordance with natural law in modern society because our modern society is based heavily on systems of control. Natural Law has nothing to do with control. Americans find themselves surrounded by endless systems of control from schools and churches to many workplaces and government dealings, Control is the name of the game. One could see how easily Natural Law could be forgotten by society so steeped in a culture of control; a society where control seems to be considered, by some, a god. These people are among the morally wrong people from the above paragraph. Know thyself to step outside of the Control.

Getting to Know Thyself is not always an easy path. Meditation, Mantras, Prayer, Psychedelics, Running, Swimming and many such paths have been tried by people to get to know thyselves. The knowledge being sought after hides in the present moment. Truth has a better chance at being spotted if its in the clear daylight of now. Away from any cloudy past dogmatic thinking or rose-colored aspirations of the future. Especially the truth about ones own self. In order to gain control of one’s action back, one must understand the underlying forces behind their thoughts which creates their choices. Choices which create action in the world. If one wants to possess true self-control, they must be aware consciously of every decision they make behind every action they take.

The mere fact that this “Message” has been encoded in so many systems of belief and passed down worldwide for thousands of years could be seen as enough credibility to take it seriously. It seems that ancient humans may have figured out a better way to live. It might be a good idea for people today to heed these messages from the past. Any human being, holding any belief system, or none at all, has the potential to benefit from any one of a variety of the messages in the Bible alone. Take the Biblical Old Testament story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Where angels from God come to save a righteous man, Lot, and his family from one of two neighboring cities which God is just about to destroy, Old Testament style, with brimstone & fire.

The fate of the twin cities had been sealed by the immoral behavior of their wicked human inhabitants. As noted above the word “Immoral” means different things to different people, especially throughout time. So instead of looking at this story from the angle where a “prude” God brought destruction down on people crazed with too much sex, drugs & debauchery. Maybe it was the just destruction of society by an unseen force because no one was respecting Natural Law. Maybe people were treading on each other’s rights by locking those people in cages for non-violent crimes. Maybe the mass of people forgot about Natural Law through the years. Maybe some remembered and used this knowledge to control the masses. Maybe this caused an imbalance unconsciously felt by everyone locked in this system of control.

If unhappiness built to a point where the masses were no longer able to repress it subconsciously, and the imbalance in society became too great it could have caused a forced correction of some manner, destroying both cities. Maybe it was a slave revolt. Maybe the food stopped showing up for one reason or another and an immoral people turned on each another. Maybe it was God. It’s hard to argue that the direct cause of the destruction even really matters to people today, just as long as they understand the moral of the story. As long as they receive the message and realize it’s the key to preventing further such human-caused catastrophes.

Seen in this or similar light it would be hard for anyone to argue that the knowledge contained in this story couldn’t be invaluable to anyone, regardless of their belief in a higher power or not. Yet many critics of “religious” works tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater when they say it’s all about control. Some of it may be about this and it’s hard to blame them when many religious teachers interpret the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as God destroying these cities because of wicked people doing wicked things like fornication, drugs & other wicked debaucheries.

Coming back to the message, it is essential for one who receives this message and would like to effect change in the world around them, to first ask themselves this question: How could anyone who wishes to effect change in the world around them expect to do this without understanding and controlling every decision they make, behind every action they take. Know Thyself. It’s the key.