A State of Consciousness

“Know Thyself” is inscribed on the Temple of Delphi - and through millennia, this has been a fundamental axiom in our philosophy, wisdom traditions, world religions and modern psychology. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my life’s purpose? What do I truly value? What do I truly believe?

If we never consciously think through these questions - if they’re a muddle - or if we let them be whatever events automatically and unconsciously determine them to be - we’re walking through what Socrates called “ the unexamined life ” (and in fact, according to Socrates, “the unexamined life is not worth living”).

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A lot of our stress, anxiety, unhappiness and depression bubbles up naturally from a sub-conscious reservoir of outdated beliefs, inaccurate assumptions, unconscious biases, automatic reactions and unexamined world views. Unless acted on by a conscious outside force, these not only determine our emotions, but our mindsets and behaviors.   

In this section of the course, we’re going to focus on the fundamentals of insight meditation, and the self knowledge that can only come from observing our thoughts and emotions in consciousness. Our goal is to understand who we are, so we can intentionally create who we want to be.

Like fundamental stress relief, the process of insight starts with the capability to direct awareness and attention.