“Self-observation is essential for self-growth. You must first understand the motives for your own actions in order to understand others. It is especially important to look within yourself in times of great distress and misfortune. If you can succeed in detaching yourself from the misery of your experience, you will see, with complete clarity, the real nature of the situation.
The world is not so simple that we can just make and follow rules about what is wrong and what is right. We seek an understanding of ourselves so that we will know what we ought to do in any given situation. You will gradually replace the beliefs you were taught with the truths you discover. It is not whether you turn the other cheek that is important. WHY you do or do not is most significant.
Self-knowledge is a more reliable guide to behavior than adherence to arbitrarily imposed standards, though both are susceptible to error. You will make mistakes no matter which path you follow, but mistakes made on the path to self-discovery will correct themselves, while those made through blind adherence to subjective standards simply perpetuate the folly.”
Chin-Ning Chu, in “Thick Face, Black Heart”
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Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.
