My American Journey. Summer 2010. A Travel Diary - First Impressions

The people in whose house I will be staying turned out to be really neat couple of a third generation Italian immigrant male and a Chinese female. They picked me up from the airport and were very nice to me. They took me with them to a super market, where I bought some food essentials and made use of their transport once again. They were also very cooperative when I forgot my bag with all my documents in a cafe at the ferry station, but this is another short story.

I am staying in Staten island, about fifteen minutes bus ride from the St.George ferry station. By the way, I flew with Airbus A380 and it is a really huge double decker airplane, an impressive machine. It flew and landed very smoothly, but I don't know why the air condition inside was turned up so low, that I couldn't get a proper sleep even, since I was freezing. The meals were good too and the seats comfortable, 4 out of 5 points for Air France, if it wasn't for the freezing condition. Maybe they should install heaters, instead of coolers, lol, being -40 C outside at 11,000 km. most of the time.

Anyway, when I arrived the first couple of days it was scourging heat in New York, probably the temperature would have felt much more comfortable if it wasn't for the extreme humidity in the air. The worst thing is, that I was told, that in the following summer months ahead, this hot and humid hell will settle to be the norm for the summer. Not good. Just as I was beginning to think that I shouldn't have taken my spring jacket, the weather drastically changed. Strong winds brought thick clouds in the sky, rain began to pour and the temperatures dropped so low, that a few nights I had to sleep with clothes on and still I was freezing in my bed. My room's walls seemed like cardboard with no insulation at all. The wind gusts were not only strong, but really cold too. Freezing ocean breeze just went straight trough my bones. It was tough, really tough. If there are such cold winds in the spring, I can't imagine how people survive here in the winter outside!?

Yesterday and today the weather is improving, being cold mostly during the A.M. hours before noon. The nights aren't that cold anymore too. The humidity completely disappeared and the sun's warmth is very neat and pleasant. Crazy weather shifts.

Let's start chronologically from the first day now. I arrived on Friday and on the first day of May I took a good urban hike around the streets of Manhattan. Urban hiking is one of my favorite activities in new and exciting cities! Riding a bicycle is fun too, but you can't really see as much details and the bike rentals weren't exactly cheap really, especially if you want to rent it, say for a whole day, since it is paid on an hourly basis, something like 10-15$ per hour, helllo?

So, I got up early in Saturday morning and took off to the bus stop, which the Chinese lady showed me the previous day. The buses are well air conditioned (sometimes too well), the fair is a bit expensive tough, 2.25 USD per ride, no matter the distance. Having said that, everything is a bit expensive, too expensive even! And I also heard comments in this regards from other European tourists on many occasions. (Which reminds me about Michael Moore's movie "Sicko"and the part with the 120$ asthma inhalator that costs 5 Cents in Cuba....), but this I will expand in another post. I wen to the St.George ferry station and got on a big, smooth riding orange boat, that had three floors and hundreds of seats inside. The Manhattan - Staten island ferry is free, probably one of the very few free things in USA, apart from public fountains to quench your thirst at. From the ferry I turned left and went into Battery park. I phoned my employer, but they seemed surprised of my arrival, even though my start date was 1st May. So, in all, I had a full free week to just wander around and gradually run out of cash, lol. The organization and cooperation between the different agencies involved in this Work and Travel program do seem very loose, I guess every party is mostly concerned with collecting their taxes, of course, leaving the rest to the student's orientation skills. Luckily, mine are fairly good. So, after I knew I wasn't going to meet the work environment today I just proceeded to the urban hiking part.

I simply took off from the park, following the side walk towards the impressive heights of the buildings around and intuitively found myself on one of the probably most famous streets in Manhattan - Broadway. I took a picture in front of this charging bull Brass sculpture at the entrance of Broadway, which I guess symbolizes the aggressive financial risks people take on Wall street, which was near by. There was a line of people wanting to do the same. Then I just started to walk and look all around me, mostly upwards.

The 20th century high rise architecture of Manhattan is truly impressive with gorgeous masonry details, packed with symbolism in the form of sculptures, ornamental elements and esoteric allusions. And esoteric symbolism in the New York architecture is plentiful indeed. It seems that NYC is full of masons and their signs are just everywhere. Which adds up more to the experience of the mystery-minded adventurous traveler, who is looking up to read the signs. Hermes/Mercury and his Caduceus are just everywhere, being a favorite figure of architects and traders alike. Walking further along Broadway I passed by a 300 year old church made of brown stone with Gothic design and an old graveyard. There were a few masonic graves there as well, along with many other 18th century inscribed grave slabs. A bit further northwards there is another old church, where George Washington used to pray and some 100 meters behind it is the site of the 9/11 WTC twin towers, now a big construction lot with huge cranes working.

As I was walking and enjoying the grand scale and masonry of the buildings a negative trend established, that was the last thing I expected to see and this were the dirty streets. The pavements were stained with some kind of spots and greasy-like spills and also there were these black spottings all over the sidewalks, not only on Broadway, but on every street I have walked on so far in Manhattan and Staten Island alike. Do they wash the streets? The commercial garbage was also not lacking, mostly cigarette ends, candy wraps and papers. I mean, in my country - Bulgaria - we have been recently having some troubles with the garbage disposal company taking care of my city - Sofia - and yet the streets are cleaner than the streets of New York. I really completely didn't expected to see that and I was truly surprised. The verdict is that the streets of New York need to be cleaned and the people should learn to dispose their garbage and cigarettes in the trash cans, not on the pavement. In many European countries there are fines if you trow your cigarette on the street.

When I reached Union Square, there was a modest protest of working unions for Labor Day. I passed by them and continued straight on Park Ave. Guided by a huge, plain and ugly corporate building in the distance with a big "Metlife" logo (which reminded me of "Sicko"again) I reached the Grand Station terminal. There was this big and gorgeous stone sculpture of masterly craft with Mercury, standing on top of a beautiful clock with roman numerals, in symbolic composition with a man, holding tools on his right side and a scribal woman on his left side. I will dig deeper into the meaning and interpretation of the architectural symbolism of different statues like this one in another post! Inside the terminal was very impressive, the masonry decorations above the sealing windows, the huge chandeliers and zodiac sky sealing - a real beauty of human creativity indeed. The Mercury's caduceus persists almost in every decorative element, along with an old-style ship steering wheel with wings (which I presume are the wings of Hermes). Later on I will include photos as links to the posts where appropriate!

From the Grand Station I continued on, passed the Rockfeller building and finally reached Central park. In all I walked about 2.5 hours from the ferry station to Central park. A walk that I really enjoyed and recommend to every tourist who really wants to experience Manhattan close up. You should hike the streets, forget bus rides, bicycles or cars, you will see nothing from a window! Central park was a pretty fresh green spot amids the skyscrapers surrounding it. A beautiful piece of phytodesign and landshafting. I hiked a little bit along the alleys and went on the other side, which is the east side. Then I took the street next to the park back, which was the 8th Ave. The grid is a bit confusing to navigate initially, but when you get the hang of it you can orientate well in it. So, I passed by Times Square and I really kind of almost missed to notice it. There was nothing too impressive about the place, the pavements were dirty, but the excessive number of blinking commercials on the buildings finally caught my attention and I recognized the popularized place, where teen fans of MTV Total Request gather to scream and wave to the cameras. In all, I was really left with the impression that those famous landmarks of Manhattan are simply overexposed and overadvertised, so that when you see them live you just can't help it but remain somewhat disappointed with the difference of what you have expected and what you actually see. This is the negative effect of too much populism I guess. Or maybe, New York has kind of a lost its former glory, for a complex of reasons leading from the past and the build-up of mistakes and negatives.

My American Journey. Summer 2010. A Travel Diary

If someone had told me just an year ago that I would ever have the desire to go to USA, I would have laughed. What will I do at the source of all ugly stereotypes of contemporary culture, social manipulation and global propaganda? I have always thought of the general American public as pretty dull people, narrow minded and religious fanatics with their commercialized churches with all kinds of ridiculous titles and slogans like "Don't be too open minded, your brains may fall out". The country of fast food and obesity. And this is the opinion of most Europeans.

December last year I thought that by the beginning of this summer I would have finally finished my magnum opus literary piece of philosophical criticism to old and new issues in our world. Then, I stumbled upon one of those Work and Travel programs over the internet and suddenly I pictured myself going in New York and publishing my book there, a true adventure with a great purpose it would be. So I was hooked to my newly evolved dream and went to an agency and applied. I paid promptly all the fees and everything, which at the end summed up to a little over 3000 US dollars, including plane ticket and 800$ cash in my pocket upon arrival for paying my accommodation and having means to sustain my life functions until I receive my first salary.

So there, in short, on April 30th I arrived in New York. Having prearranged housing, which I found over a website and a job offer with Evelyn Hill inc. I was unable to finish the book by now, but I bought this very nice HP Mini 5102 netbook (with the performance of which I am very, very satisfied, not to mention the keyboard, that is a real pleasure to write with and this is not an advertisement), so my initial plans of publishing it here had to be dropped off the picture. However, I will continue working on it from here, along with the first hand insights I will gain on north American culture on the way. I think I finally decided on my mission in this life, Criticism and a tough one too. I think this is what my brain trained for all these years in my developing life up until now when I will be turning my 26th anniversary since I was born in this world on the 2nd of July.

In this travel diary I will be publishing my experiences, pros and cons, insights and everything interesting about my stay here for the summer. Along with some updates on the much anticipated book from my closest circle. Closest, because I had kind of a kept in a secret, despite all the secrecy, it does trigger much interest and I can humbly disclose that when it is finally ready, it has all the potential to turn into a big scandal to a variety of social fields. We will see. For now, I am eager for insight on this much controversial culture of USA and I wish to share it too :)

I thank to all my readers and I will also appreciate comments from you, questions and just general feedback! I think I will keep the same main title for all future posts regarding the Diary. Alright then, this was the introduction, I know two weeks have already passed since I am here, and I have not been standing still either!

What Are Human Rights?

A very inspiring video I came across! An interesting topic as well, a multi-layered one too. In end, it is not about treaties, declarations and laws, but the way humans think. Because the way you view the world is reflected in your behavior. The narrower your view is, the more basic and instinctive your behavior is! Aggression and war are not domains of the advanced consciousness. Sadly, we, as humanity, are still so far away from any such higher state of perception on the global scale ..

Happy New Year world! Let it bring much inspiration in the months ahead

When Man Created God. Genesis of Religious Thought and the Spiritual Need [part 2]

In our contemporary societies, intrigues, rows and fights, jealousy, hypocrisy, selfishness and ignorance, break-ups and problematic communication are considered as standard spices to human relationships. It is normal for people to fight and be unable to reach consent with each other. It is normal to hurt each other both physically and emotionally, whether or not we feel sorry and apologize afterwards. Violence has always fascinated man and has been a preferred form of entertainment for both children and adults alike until this day. It is normal for peoples` behavior to first react and think later. Stereotypes and behavioral frames plague the minds of the youth, as well as their parents`. In their relationships, people do not seek harmony, but domination. Helplessly submitting to the will of their emotional affections and spontaneous urges.

It is no wonder really that ignorance and mental passivity are preferred states of the mind by default, since realization in self-awareness is not an easy process and causes much emotional distress to the traveler who dared to plunge into the depths of his soul. Self-control is an art that only the strongest wield. The first steps are the hardest. Just as the darkest hour is just before dawn.

A grotesque picture can be drawn of humanity today indeed, a present that we can radically transform. We create the future today, whether we do it consciously or not. If the average levels of awareness and understanding are heightened globally, we will make the next step in our social evolution as humanity and as self-aware, intelligent beings. This mental evolution is necessary if we are to move positively forward as humanity, because if we continue to develop only our exterior habitat, but remain stagnant and narrow-minded in our spiritual concepts and understanding one day a third world war with technologically advanced weapons will be inevitably fought. And this is a very grim prospect indeed, but lays very real and immanent on the path we currently follow. Our future relies upon us. Every individual matters, because if we are to truly change our world for the better, the change must begin in the mind of the individual! You may not be able to change the world alone, but you can change yourself and with that to positively influence your very local world. You may not be able to stop war and hate in the whole world, but you can stop those in yourself and bring peace and harmony in the world closest to you in the face of your family, at work, at the street in your relationships with friends and all the people you communicate with in your life. If you improve yourself and aim to higher awareness and understanding you influence the people around you and bring positive change in your life and the lives of people close to you.
And together we can move the world and drown it in a global wave of inspiration!

So, where do you start? Start with yourself!
How? Transform yourself into an example and embodiment of the new ideals – patience and understanding in your relationships with others, self-control and higher awareness in active mentality. Search for the reasons of your reactions and behavior, analyze, comprehend and understand yourself. Build your character, ask questions and search for the answers. Do not be passive – improve, dare and do!

Know yourself and reach the profound depths of your mind. Do not simply be an average person driven by your instincts and primal reactions, push your limits over the edge, sculpt yourself and wield yourself.
Most people find it hard at first to even see their inferiorities and imperfections or perceive their limited awareness, so that they wonder whatever there is to improve in themselves.

The human Ego is a strange entity or this essential personality that is formed in your childhood and established in your adulthood that you address when you say “I”. Often our perception for ourselves and what we show to the world differ, whether we do it consciously or not. Mostly our behavior as personality is driven by psychological motifs that are beyond our awareness. There are many common forms of behavior noted by the science of psychology that people share, like the compensatory behavior that is widely spread. For instance, a person who has poor self-esteem and deepened level of uncertainty tends to adopt an arrogant, aggressive and anti-social behavior with varying levels of intensity. Aggression always is a sign of inner uncertainty and fear.
Our ego has the peculiar property to conceal the true motifs for our reactions and affections, always searching for justifications, never allowing you to be critical towards yourself and ever sustaining a sense of greatness and impeccability. As if the purpose of the ego is to keep your consciousness in a semiautomatic state, preventing it from expanding and awaking. As if the human ego is a primal chain that frames our consciousness and keeps us asleep. A primitive mechanism that we haven`t realized as a limitation yet, along with our very basic mammalian behavior in the face of all the primal instincts that drive us.
As if, indeed self-knowledge is hidden from man, as the ancient wisdom says and human eyes have not yet fully awoken.
By a rule, if you are to grasp and comprehend the world and the most hidden mechanisms of the Universe better, you must first comprehend and understand yourself, the cosmos within you.
This is achieved by the process of self-observation that results in a heightened self-awareness and realization. By putting yourself at the place of the known object, whom you poke, question, explore and analyze. The more questions you ask and the more persistently you think on the answers the deeper your insight goes and the more you realize and understand.
Observation and contemplation are at the base of all knowledge. The answers rarely come in an instant with a flash, but usually unfold gradually in time becoming more and more profound and complete. Seek and you shall find.

How knowing yourself changes you? In quantum physics there is one fundamental principle, without the presence of which no system would have existed at all – this is the observer principle. The act of observation changes the behavior of the observable object, even more the act of observation sets it in motion and definitiveness. Without an observer no knowledge and no form exist. This notion is quite profound as it implicates that beyond our own consciousness that creates our personal reality, we live in another much bigger reality that is the Universe itself. And as far as we can discern this cosmos we live in is filled with all kinds of forms and definite objects with definite shapes and electromagnetic properties. Furthermore, this atomic soup of particles ultimately organized and reorganized in such a way that eventually led to life on Earth and evolution of human beings.
The Universe, from the energetic aspect we perceive it, is an unimaginably huge void of blackness and intangible nothingness that is scarcely filled with all the atoms that make up the billions of octillions of stars, all the exotic stellar objects of the cosmos, our planet and all life on it. As chaotic and unpredictable the quantum world is, all the systems from the stellar to the microcosmic are guided by certain patterns, physical principles and existential rules that define their form and movement. That is, the cause-and-effect link chain rules the world as we know it. Anthropology and cosmology tell us that the physical systems were set into motion and definite existence before the emergence of human consciousness, therefore there must be a greater, cosmic observer who by the act of observation has set into motion the organization of the atoms into ever more complex structures and the birth of the Universe itself. This is essentially the consciousness of the Universe herself, this Cosmic observer that observes itself and by this act creates all the forms, life and everything we know. Just as there are dimensions inside dimensions, so there are consciousnesses inside consciousnesses in a fractal manner and our human consciousness is a living mind inside the Mind of the Universe or this that we call God. Extremely profound. We discussed more this concept in our previous lecture and we will unfold it more in the lectures to come.
So, the act of observation gave birth to organized physical systems that led to our creation as well. Governed by the very same principles, the act of observing yourself sets your inner universe into motion. By observing yourself you gain insight about your inner workings and psychological mechanisms, you ask questions and tackle the answers, you analyze and by this process of taking notice of yourself you reveal new space in your mind and create new forms and knowledge.
Again, the more you take the effort to think, the more thoughts in your mind move, merge and organize into ideas, comprehensions, concepts and unfolding insight.
In the process of knowing yourself you become a creator of your very own, inmost universe that you fill with life. This is the deepest meaning to human life, that began to unfold since the ancient times when human consciousness gradually awoke for itself and began observing the world, this process of awakening from the primitive mammalian consciousness level to human is the profound transformation that inspired its symbolic reenactment in the biblical story of Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;” The subject has detached itself from the object, the consciousness became autonomous and differentiated from the primordial womb of the unconsciousness. Now, the consciousness perceives itself as a subject that observes the world without as well as its world within. The symbolic psychological process this biblical story describes is very interesting to analyze, which we will do in an extensive lecture soon to come.
“And the eyes of them both were opened..” the human consciousness revealed.

It is time for the next big step in our spiritual, mental evolution. It is time to think deeper and realize wider, it is time to evolve our minds further! Someone
recently told me "What is normal?" in regard to psychopathologies in our contemporary society that are propagated as acceptable, so I though if we loose all of our criteria, what are we going to turn into ? And what about the health of this psyche of ours? I believe people should stop ignoring psychology, or deep troubles await us ahead!

“Your life is a reflection of your mentality.”
Bruce Lee

Improve yourself, change the world!

When Man Created God. Genesis of Religious Thought and the Spiritual Need [part 1]

"The experience of being the knowing subject . . is only one half of the process of knowledge. The other half is the experience of being the known object.”
E.Edinger

To know yourself. This shrouded in mysticism ancient concept brings a sense of esoteric mystery in modern thought. But the human soul has been an object of exploration and contemplation since tens of thousands of years ago. It has been the tool for spiritual insight of the first shamans of ancient tribal communities, who felt there is more to themselves than can be seen. Self-knowledge was born back then, when people for the first time began to interprete their dreams and the symbolism that sprang out of the depths of their minds. When people began to search for the source of their thoughts that appear in the mind as if having a life of their own. The source of their emotions to which they were subordinate.
Since then the great endeavor in search of answers that human though embarked on gradually gave birth to all the legends, philosophies and religions we have today.

Spirituality is a fundamental and intrinsic quality of Homo Sapiens. Our ancient predecessors felt their intangible connectedness to those invisible aspects of nature, to this hidden life-giving Source that was behind everything. And thus ritual was born, out of the need to communicate with the intangible that was later recognized as God.

The perception of the mystic, hidden, spiritual and this intimate connectivity of all that is visible with something beyond ordinary senses do not spring from anywhere else, but the human soul. Satori, enlightment and divine insight do not come from anywhere outside, but take place in the soul. All this is important to mention, because worldwide there is this prevailing age-old delusion that the Divine is situated somewhere outside ourselves, what is more, somewhere far away and far above up in the unreachable heavens. We are used to perceive God as a human-like figure with human emotions who sits authoritatively on a throne in the skies forever watching the crawling little specs below, may be eating chips while following up the developing intrigues, war conflicts and newest technological brake-throughs.
Of course, our whole view of the world from a religious perspective is old and inconsistent with modern humanity and this is why there is so much tension between peoples and religions. We need a new, wider, deeper and more encompassing view and understanding of God, the Universe and our place in it, a view that will suit our mental potential and capacity as intelligent, civilized beings. We do not live in the middle ages anymore, despite that the new pope seems to have been living under a rock.

And there is only one way to achieve the next level in our social advancement as one humanity – by realizing and understanding ourselves deeper and better. The change must begin in the mind of the individual, the transformation from the primitive levels to higher levels of self-awareness and realization on the whole.
Which returns us to the ancient notion of knowing yourself.

To know yourself is the process of self-realization, self-contemplation and self-improvement. It is the active consciousness that is aware of its mechanisms, that observes itself, takes notes of its behavior and reactions, understands and realizes the psychological motifs of others as well as those in itself. Active consciousness that operates on a higher level than the average awareness we have as a social standard today.
The science of contemporary psychology, as though still in its infancy, has organized and synthesized all the empirical knowledge we have thus far about the mechanisms and structure of human psyche into an elegant and comprehensive system. Psychology is the modern analogue to the ancient practice of knowing yourself.
People from the past had always perceived this inmost, invisible darkness that has control over them and filled them with fearfulness. This darkness is the very nature of the predominant part of our psyche – the unconsciousness, the contents and mechanisms of which are unseen and unknown to our regular “I” consciousness that is by default our self-perception and all this that we call “Me”. When you say “I” you address this limited perimeter of awareness that floats “on top” of the depths of your complete Self.

So, what exactly is this unreachable unconsciousness? And if our wishes, moods, affections and behavior are predominantly set to motion by psychological motifs that we are not aware of, then how can we realize all these so that we expand the limits of our minds?

The unconsciousness contains all the mechanisms that drive us in life, its roots begin from our DNA, where the fundamental instincts are encoded (Self-preservation and Reproduction instincts that we share with all other life on this planet, as well as many other forms of behavior which we will discuss at another lecture). The structure of our psyche is in layers and as we pointed out the deepest layer begins in our DNA that contains all the information from the very beginning of life on Earth. We have much to understand about this and much to learn. This is what the old Sanscrit esoterics call “Akasha”, the Informational pool of Earth or what Carl G.Jung describes as the Collective Unconscious, the source of primal symbolism. In brief. Then comes the personal level of the unconscious where all those emotional affections, events, twists and turns that shaped our personality throughout our lives are contained. In the universe energy is never lost, information is energy, memories are information. From the very moment when your brain is complete in the womb you start the record button and it never stops until your death. The psyche records your life completely, even though consciously you forget many things and remember just a few of all.
Having described these very basics of the psyche you may argue that if your psychology is rooted in your DNA then personality is predetermined genetically. The answer is a firm No. Firstly, you cannot dismiss the influence over ones personality the family setting has. The influence that the setting where you grow up has on your personality is tremendous and is the main shape-giver of what you are as a person and character. Then when the child is older it is greatly influenced by its peers, the “spirit of the era” in terms of the most fashionable stereotypes, mind frames and traditions that prevail in the society it lives in. And until it is adolescent and able to think and analyze on its own, this child` psyche is already fully formed and in most cases it remains in this shape with very little change throughout its life. That is why how you rear up the child is of utmost importance about what it is going to be when it grows up.
Of course, this is the case for most people who never embark on the journey of self-realization, observation and improvement. Because whatever your psychological start in life, when you grow up you have the ability to consciously reshape yourself, rebuild your personality and radically better yourself as a self-aware individual.
Considering the more or less uniqueness of every individual psyche, the process of self-improvement thus cannot have one universal formula that will work for all. However, there are certain key points that are collectively applicable to all and a must in order for you to achieve results, these are as follows: to put yourself at the place of the object of observation, to ask questions about yourself to yourself and search for the reasons behind your behavior, character, personality traits, moods, affections and reactions; honesty and sincerity with yourself. Perseverance and persistence in your will to achieve results and attain insight.

The first steps are the hardest. For me, after a decade of active mentality and self-analyzes I have achieved remarkable results that are already visible for everyone who knew me since back then when I first began. And even, I can say that I truly put my will into this some five years ago when I overcame my worst teenage years. So, in this period of five years I improved my character and relationships greatly, attained amazing insights about the nature of human mind, soul, society, religions, God… during the last two years I`ve increased my IQ with 30 points and my understanding about myself and the world is increasingly deepening and widening. Also, I notice an acceleration in the rate of sudden realizations and profound insights. A truly remarkable journey that sadly very few people undertake.

In the beginning it is hard, confusing and seemingly futile. The hardest part is being honest with yourself. It is very hard to admit to yourself that you were wrong, that you reacted inadequately, that the blame is in yourself and to acknowledge your negative personality traits. But if you persist, the results gradually come and in time you expand your awareness and the process of self-analyzes becomes a state of your mind. Your ability to communicate with others improves as well as all of your relationships. And problematic relationships are a plague for modern societies, resulting in all those ridiculous intrigues, constant fights, brake-ups and divorces.
Just imagine if everyone consciously betters him/herself and heightens his and her awareness. Humanity will radically transform into something unforeseen by grim science fiction views of the future where the same people fight with better guns.

Let us turn our attention now towards the introductionary quotation of E.Edinger and analyze that, which it describes.
In order for any knowledge to exist two fundamental factors must be present – observing subject and object of observation. When the scientist examines the atom, he or she is the observing subject, while the atom is the object of observation. When we explore the world we live in, the world is the object of observation and we are the observing subject.
During the predominant part of their life, the average person is mostly in the role of the observing subject, experiencing the world with our senses that connects us to reality outside and our consciousness with gaze fixed on the scene from without. It happens more or less to occasionally reflect on oneself, but so rarely this self-contemplation is persistent and consistent enough so to lead the personality to realization and awareness, to improvement, unfoldment and perfection.
In the process of self-knowledge and self-awareness, you put yourself at the place of the observable object, while the observing subject is you again. This is the consciousness that is aware of and observes itself. And in this process of self-observation your inmost universe becomes alive and fills up with forms, emotions and symbols that were previously unseen by your minds` eye.
Self-knowledge, as the highest aim and spiritual meaning to human life has been a central part in all philosophical and esoteric teachings since the most ancient of times.
Yet, our psyche remains largely unexplored and poorly understood to this day. The average levels of self-awareness being so low worldwide and humans still primarily driven by their most basic instincts. Mostly incapable of self-control, slaves to destiny, relying on the main stream to guide their thoughts, behavior and life. Still living by the laws of the herd and mental passivity.

[continues..]