Emanations
It all begins with an idea.
A person will never achieve self mastery for as long as they think of themselves as an individual. We exist in relation not only to the world around us, but are ourselves an aggregate of countless passions, beliefs, and personalities.
The world is always coming in, and this is obvious. What is less obvious is that we are also emanating out into the world and there’s no telling “who” will be representing us at any given time.
This leads to frustration and anger as we continually fall victim to our own failings.
To overcome this obstacle we must first look inward. From inside we must decide what we wish to embody and who we wish to be. To do this with pure force of will alone is near impossible. The easiest solution is to give ourselves up to an external embodiment of our ideal.
There is no single “head” from which we can command ourselves and so we must select one. This is what we chose to worship.
Don’t fool yourself into believing that there is nothing you worship. The inescapable reality is that our minds have evolved with the need for worship and conviction.
Whether we hold onto something mystical or mundane makes no difference, but be wise in what you chose to believe! This is your “head” and this is what you will use to navigate throughout the world.
To quote Plato, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Seize the day! Discover what you believe and then bind yourself to it.
Doing this will give you a star to follow and when the world gets frightening and strange around you there will always be a path to find in the darkness.