Self-Enquiry

Self-enquiry is unconventional. Self-enquiry does not conform to any organization, ideology or belief. It demands no authority or faith. Self-enquiry is ideally suited for the average person. It is the average person, you and I, who must psychologically transform to end the conflict in ourselves and in the world around us.

Conflict exists throughout our world, undeterred by innovations and undiminished by ideological beliefs. Those in authority--our politicians, our teachers, our employers, the media, and even our so-called moral authorities--have failed to recognize the true cause of conflict, and so have failed to resolve it. Religions offer promises and consolations but no real solution. As a matter of fact, religious belief has often fostered war. Academic philosophy has only taught us clever arguments. It has not resolved conflict.

Conflict is the product of the perspective in which we are born and raised. It is intrinsic to the paradigm that we are conditioned to accept as reality. Conflict is ultimately the result of a psychological process that each of us perpetuates on a daily basis. Conflict does not originate externally. It is the consequence of an internal activity. That activity exists in every human being regardless of race, language, education or geographical location. It is a universal phenomenon generated by the thought process.

We are always thinking. Thought is perpetual, continual, incessant. It seems involuntary. Imagine an automobile whose engine is always running, even when the automobile is parked and unused. Our minds are always thinking, even when it is not constructive or functional to do so. This is a clue in our investigation of psychological conflict. It is an indication that something is amiss with the mind.

What are we usually thinking? Most of our thoughts are memories. Our minds are constantly engaged in remembering past events and comparing them with either current situations or imagined possibilities. Our imaginations allow us to remember the past as a sequence of events, thereby enabling us to conceive of the passage of time.

The mind, in thinking, refers to a self upon which all of its memories and experiences are focused. Thoughts revolve around the notion of a thinker.