crickety Most are strangers to themselves, asking other strangers to understand them, because feeling understood is one of they human needs. That need to be understood is sometimes overshadowed by need to be accepted, so we often pretend to be something are not, fearing we won't be accepted. Because historically being accepted in society or rejected was the difference between survival or not. The dilemma we face so often, especially today, is being a true self and being accepted for it. Furthermore, others are like that as well, leading to people misunderstanding each other everywhere. That is one of the great tragedies of modern life.
"People misunderstand one another everywhere."
― Woodroffe to Lama Kazi Dawasamdup (26 May 1919)
A person hears only what they understand.
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”
― C.G. Jung
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
― C.G. Jung
“We fool ourselves so much we could do it for a living.”
― Stephen King, Duma Key
“You are who you are when nobody's watching.”
― Stephen Fry
“When you put on a clown suit and a rubber nose, nobody has any idea what you look like inside.”
― Stephen King, 11/22/63
Self-acquaintance is a rare condition. (Robert Henri)
“We lie best when we lie to ourselves.”
― Stephen King, It
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”
― Aldous Huxley, Complete Essays 2, 1926-29
No matter how fast a man is, he cannot outrun his shadow. Cameroonian Proverb
"How ironic it is, having perfected our disguise, we spend our lives searching for someone we don’t fool?" ― Robert Brault
Here are some useful quotes on the topic that helped me shed some light onto it and ultimately myself.
"There’s nothing more intimate in life than simply being understood. And understanding someone else."
— Brad Meltzer, The Inner Circle
“Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us.”
― Leo Buscaglia
“We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
"You may be misunderstood if you express yourself, but you will never be understood if you don’t; repression is chosen isolation. Risk rejection to establish connection." — Paul John Moscatello
"Because isn’t that the point of every relationship: to be known by someone else, to be understood? He just gets me. Or she simply gets me. Isn’t that the simple magic phrase?" - Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Introspection - examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings, privileged access to our own mental state.
Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology the process of introspection relies exclusively on observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul. Introspection is closely related to human self-reflection and is contrasted with external observation.
It generally provides a privileged access to our own mental states, not mediated by other sources of knowledge, so that individual experience of the mind is unique. Introspection can determine any number of mental states including: sensory, bodily, cognitive, emotional and so forth.
It has been a subject of philosophical discussion for thousands of years. The philosopher Plato asked, "…why should we not calmly and patiently review our own thoughts, and thoroughly examine and see what these appearances in us really are?" While introspection is applicable to many facets of philosophical thought it is perhaps best known for its role in epistemology, in this context introspection is often compared with perception, reason, memory, and testimony as a source of knowledge.
"Where does a thought go when it's forgotten?" - Sigmund Freud
Quotes on Introspection:
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
― Aristotle
“To find out what is truly individual in ourselves, profound reflection is needed; and suddenly we realize how uncommonly difficult the discovery of individuality is.” ― C.G. Jung
“I have the choice of being constantly active and happy or introspectively passive and sad. Or I can go mad by ricocheting in between.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
“The philosophy of the wisest men that ever existed, is mainly derived from the act of introspection.”
William Godwin
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
― C.G. Jung
“To find out what is truly individual in ourselves, profound reflection is needed; and suddenly we realize how uncommonly difficult the discovery of individuality is.” ― C.G. Jung
“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.”
― Aldous Huxley
“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion." [The Minotaur]”
― Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
“We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy's fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure--your perfection--is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the buy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
“The only journey is the one within.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
“The problem with introspection is that it has no end.”
― Philip K. Dick
“Many people suffer from the fear of finding oneself alone, and so they don't find themselves at all.”
― Rollo May, Man's Search for Himself
“You're a slave, a bound helpless slave to one thing in this world, your imagination.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise
“The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize."
[Modernism's Patriarch (Time Magazine, June 10, 1996)]” ― Robert Hughes
“My friend...care for your psyche...know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves" -Socrates”
― Socrates
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
― C.G. Jung
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
― C.G. Jung
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”
― C.G. Jung
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
― C.G. Jung
“There's no coming to consciousness without pain.”
― C.G. Jung
“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”
― C.G. Jung
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
― C.G. Jung
“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.”
― C.G. Jung
“We cannot change anything unless we accept it.”
― C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul
“It all depends on how we look at things, and not on how things are in themselves. The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.”
― C.G. Jung
“There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
― C.G. Jung
“What we do not make conscious emerges later as fate.”
― C.G. Jung
“Every individual needs revolution, inner division, overthrow of the existing order, and renewal, but not by forcing them upon his neighbors under the hypocritical cloak of Christian love or the sense of social responsibility or any of the other beautiful euphemisms for unconscious urges to personal power.” ― C.G. Jung
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into yor heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
― C.G. Jung
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves”
― C.G. Jung
“Resistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in his individuality as the mass itself.”
― C.G. Jung
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
― Socrates
“To find yourself, think for yourself.”
― Socrates
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
― Aristotle
“Don't you notice that there are particular moments when you are naturally inspired to introspection? Work with them gently, for these are the moments when you can go through a powerful experience, and your whole worldview can change quickly.”
― Sogyal Rinpoche
“From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing in disguise for it has taught me to appreciate the inestimable value of introspection in the preservation of life, as well as a means of achievement. The pressure of occupation and the incessant stream of impressions pouring into our consciousness through all the gateways of knowledge make modern existence hazardous in many ways. Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves. The premature death of millions is primarily traceable to this cause. Even among those who exercise care, it is a common mistake to avoid imaginary, and ignore the real dangers. And what is true of an individual also applies, more or less, to a people as a whole.” ― Nikola Tesla
“Anything outside yourself, this you can see and apply your logic to it. But it’s a human trait that when we encounter personal problems, these things most deeply personal are the most difficult to bring out for our logic to scan. We tend to flounder around, blaming everything but the actual, deep-seated thing that’s really chewing on us.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
“A man,who realizes the potential of his mind by means of introspection and contemplation, he does not lack self-confidence. He has control over his mind and he is able to realize it's full potential. ” Sam Veda
“We forge gradually our greatest instrument for understanding the world - introspection. We discover that humanity may resemble us very considerably - that the best way of knowing the inwardness of our neighbors is to know ourselves.” Walter Lippmann (American Journalist, 1889-1974)
To find yourself, think for yourself.
"It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious."
- Alfred North Whitehead (1861 - 1947), English mathematician & philosopher
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.
—Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)
"Beware of no man more than yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us."
- G. K. Chesterton, English author & mystery novelist (1874 - 1936)
“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.”
― Wallace Stevens
"To do great work, a man must be very idle as well as very industrious."
- Samuel Butler, British author (1835-1902)
Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius.
Edward Gibbon, British historian (1737-1794)
Some days you must learn a great deal, but you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up and touch everything. If you never let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle round inside of you. - Elaine Lobl Konigsburg, US author (b. 1930)
It is generally recognised that creativity requires leisure, an absence of rush, time for the mind and imagination to float and wander and roam, time for the individual to descend into the depths of his or her psyche, to be available to barely audible signals rustling for attention. Long periods of time may pass in which nothing seems to be happening. But we know that kind of space must be created if the mind is to leap out of its accustomed ruts, to part from the standard, and generate a leap into the new. - Nathaniel Branden, US psychologist, author (b. 1930)
If you happen to be one of the fretful minority who can do creative work, never force an idea; you’ll abort it if you do. Be patient and you’ll give birth to it when the time is ripe. Learn to wait. - Robert Heinlein, US author (1907-1988)
Allow regular time for silent reflection. Turn inward and digest what has happened. Let the senses rest and grow still.
John Heider, US management author (1936-2010)
Before I compose a piece, I walk around it several times, accompanied by myself.
Erik Satie, French composer (1866-1925)
Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character.
John Russell Lowell, US poet, critic, statesman (1819-1891)
You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.
Indira Gandhi, Indian Prime Minister (1917-1984)
It would do the world good if every man would compel himself occasionally to be absolutely alone. Most of the world’s progress has come out of such loneliness. - Bruce Barton, US author, advertising executive (1886-1967)
Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together, that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of life. - Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese philosopher, author, poet (1883-1931)
Don’t just do it, stand there!
David Williams, British author, presenter (b. 1950)
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. - Carl Gustav Jung, Swiss psychiatrist, analytical psychologist (1876-1961)
The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. ~ Aristotle ~
"A complete life may be one ending in so full an identification with the oneself that there is no self left to die."
― Bernard Berenson (1865 – 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance.
“My destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.”
― Marcel Proust
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
―Peter Drucker, "The Definitive Drucker: Challenges For Tomorrow's Executives" by Elizabeth Edersheim, McGraw Hill Professional, 2006,
"Introspective observation is what we have to rely on first and foremost and always. The word introspection need hardly be defined—it means, of course, the looking into our own minds and reporting what we there discover." — William James (1890/1981, p. 185; emphases in original)