The Dangers
of
Self-Inquiry

QUESTION: Is insight into who we are really dangerous like you warned on the entry page? 

ANSWER: Yes. Real knowledge -- the type that has the power to illuminate your emotions and transform your life -- reveals to you your unreality, your nothingness. This perception could have many expressions, and lead to different types of crises. 

For example, you could -- like Wiley Coyote in the cartoon -- look down and realize that you are standing on nothing, that your life is without foundation. Then you feel like you are about to plunge into the void. Of course, we are always standing on nothing. It's just that we are not usually aware of it. Becoming aware of it can lead to unmanageable levels of anxiety. 

And as we said, the sense of groundlessness is only one expression of our nothingness. 

QUESTION: How can I make the journey to self-awareness safer? 

ANSWER: Self-knowledge will always be a dangerous undertaking, and the philosopher must, as Frederick Nietzsche recommended, "live dangerously." The best thing that you can do to increase your chances of surviving the journey is, as Don Juan Matus says, to live impeccably. Do not indulge in self-pity, self-importance, anger, confusion, etc. To live impeccably is to be aware that you do not have permanent tenure on this earth, which means that there is no time for the usual nonsense. (See Carlos Castaneda's books for more on this.) 

QUESTION: Why would someone embark on this dangerous journey? 

ANSWER: Because of a lust for a life, for a real life. Because of a longing for liberation, for spiritual illumination, for the power and the glory. 

QUESTION: What is the alterative? 

ANSWER: As Socrates said "The unexamined life is not worth living." It is not worth living because without philosophy, without the quest for spiritual liberation, life is either a "short brutish affair," or else it is paltry, empty, meaningless and boring. 

QUESTION: Why then the warning about the dangers of self-inquiry? 

ANSWER: Because you should have a sober minded sense of what you are getting into. If you feel that you are not ready to enter into battle, then there is no shame in deferring it until you are inwardly ready. There are times when even the most impeccable warrior needs to rest. As it's been rightfully said, "Discretion is the better part of valor." 

And so remember, this is not psychotherapy. This is not about "getting it together." It's about waking up. The latter is a much more difficult, challenging, and risky enterprise. But it's far more invigorating, and the rewards are immeasurable.