The better one knows
oneself, the greater the possibilities are to actively try to improve the
personality.
One has to
find one’s own inner truth in every part of life, both outwardly and inwardly.
To allow others to guide one’s own life is to do oneself a big disservice. In
the long run it results in one losing the feeling for what is right and wrong
and one turns into a victim of the forces moving in the collective consciousness
we are all a part of. If one succeeds to stand free in this respect and build
up one’s own standard of what is right and what is wrong, one becomes a more
useful member of society and a happier individual.
If one
allows emotional and intellectual prejudices to rule without actively trying to
counteract and dissolve them, one is not using the possibilities of
development that life offers. The key to real development is the active work on
one’s own personality. The possibilities for that work are inherent in the
person’s degree of self-consciousness and self-knowledge.
If we listen to what we in
our innermost know is right, we can guide our own development and in this way
we can advance faster. The day one has total contact with this inner voice one
also has total freedom. Then, nothing external can disturb the inner
development any longer. One will instinctively know what it is meaningful to
devote one’s life and time to. One can prioritize without hurting those around,
and one will know when it is time to change the direction of life. But a lack
of inner contact gives confusion and often leads to physical illnesses and
problems in the long run.