There was once a wise man who lived on the shores of the Caspian Sea. All day long people came from near and far to ask for his advice on their personal problems.

One day, a man struggled up to him with a large sign which was carried awkwardly in his arms. The sign read:

Here is a Very Important Person Who Knows What He is Doing Every Minute

“My problem, sir,’ said the visitor to the wise man, “is the terrible weight and irritation of this sign. Please show me how to carry it more comfortably.”

“There is no way to carry it more comfortably,” replied the wise man, “but you can drop it altogether, and must have the courage to do so.”

At this advice the visitor’s face flashed with hostility. “You don’t understand,” he snapped. “This sign has served me for many years by attracting money and honor and friends. You would be surprised at the great number of people who believe it simply because they see it. Besides, I am so used to this burden I would not know how to live without it. I came here hoping to learn how to keep this sign, while making it more comfortable. It is obvious, great teacher,” said the visitor with sarcasm, “that you are not as wise as you think. I bid you good day.”

The visitor stumbled away with his heavy sign.

That evening, the wise man taught his class of advanced students, “You can help only those who are ready to give up their illusions about themselves. Try to show people the terrible burden of their vanities. Those who will listen will change.”

Decide in Favor of Yourself

Lorraine J. reflected upon her inner life as she worked in her small dress shop. One evening, in class she asked, “I am beginning to see what you mean by false self-images, but will you please explain how they enslave us?”

Reply:

“It is like a hypnotized man trying to feed an imaginary horse. If we wrongly believe in our fictitious identity, we will also wrongly try to feed it with foolish ambitions, causing grief. Freedom occurs when the imaginary self fades through self-insight.”

If you can read human faces you will read apprehension in them. Apprehension ends through insight. If you walk over rocky ground while wearing only one shoe you will be apprehensive at every other step. This is the daily walk of most people. They feel fine as long as their artificial selves remain unchallenged, but apprehensively realize there must always be the next rocky step.

See that whatever happens to you also happens to the entire universe.

The self which sees this is not separate from the universe, therefore there is no division and no apprehension.

An audience in Nebraska heard, “You can decide in favor of yourself or you can decide in favor of false personality traits which parade around as you. Can you see the difference? Try. Try to detect false personality in action, for example, in connection with suffering. By trying to understand why suffering occurs, a man decides in favor of himself. By using suffering to make himself the center of his own attention, a man decides against himself. Always decide in favor of your own life. No other decision makes sense.”

We must approach truth with an honest list of our fears, for truth understands and accepts that, but it cannot accept mental forgery.

Never hide from yourself the way you really feel about someone or something. Make it conscious to yourself and do not feel guilty about it. Just look at the way you really feel, while considering it an intelligent exercise in psychic health, which it is.

Any temporary feeling of discomfort should be considered as normal to the exercise, for it is caused by the clash between the conscious real and the unconscious unreal.

Be active with this exercise, remembering that we are punished by whatever we hide from ourselves.

Whenever you wish to do something in the spiritual life, but fear it may make you feel foolish or make you appear to be wrong in the sight of others, do it at once.

This is the secret to liberation. This is true courage.

It is our wish to appear right and respectable which alone is wrong. It is wrong because it perpetuates self-punishment.

Have no hesitation in proving yourself mistaken, for each time you do you lose one minute of night-time and gain one minute of daylight.

Never mind how weak and ineffective your early efforts may be. Never mind how little you understand.

Plunge straight into the center of all your thoughts, while being watchful of all that happens.

This is doing what is right and best for you, even though you may not see it as yet.

Just remember that your part of the process of self-change is to become aware of all that is going on.

If you water the root, the petal will unfold of itself.

from Secrets for Higher Success by Vernon Howard

AI Art by: @NilTheYogi