look at yourself and decide what you want to change in order to do a better
job in life.
Decide to Stop Being the Old You
When you can become conscious of those unconscious aspects of the old,
habituated self, rooted in the operating system of the subconscious, you are
beginning the process of changing anything about yourself.
What steps do you normally take when you get serious about doing
something differently? You separate yourself from your external world long
enough to think about what to do and not do. You start becoming aware of
many aspects of the old self, and you begin to plan a course of action
related to a new self.
For example, if you want to become happy, the first step is to stop being
unhappy—that is, stop thinking the thoughts that make you unhappy; and
stop feeling the emotions of pain, sorrow, and bitterness. If you desire to
become wealthy, you’ll probably decide to stop doing the things that make
you poor. If you want to be healthy, you’ll have to stop living an unhealthy
lifestyle. These examples are to show you that first, you have to make the
decision to stop being the old you, to such a degree that you make room for
a new personality—thinking, acting, and doing.
Therefore, if you eliminated stimuli from your external world by closing
your eyes and becoming quiet (decreasing your sensory input), putting your
body in a state of stillness, and no longer focusing on linear time, you could
become aware solely of how you are thinking and feeling. And if you began
to pay attention to your unconscious states of mind and body and became
“familiar with” your automatic, unconscious programs until they became
conscious, would you be meditating?
The answer is yes. To “know thyself” is to meditate.
If you are no longer being that old personality but, instead, are noticing
different aspects of it, wouldn’t you agree that you are the consciousness
observing the programs of that past identity? In other words, if you
consciously observe the old self, you are no longer being it. As you go from
being unaware to being aware, you are beginning to objectify your
subjective mind. That is, by your paying attention to the old habit of being