are. That is why not liking yourself and therefore especially
not liking being alone with yourself causes the mental and
emotional discomfort known as loneliness.
That subconscious mind of yours starts digging
up and parading before your conscious mind unpleasant
thoughts involving you-and you don't like it. Psychiatrists
have found that the hypersensitive, irritable, annoying,
criticizing, nagging people who are quick to use those
unpleasant qualities to hurt others, are the ones who tum
those same qualities inward when they are alone. Perhaps
they feel a sense of guilt. Anyway, they feel lonely.
We can state it more simply. If you get along
well with others, you will get along equally well with your-
self-and you will have eliminated the basic cause of
loneliness.
But what to do when you are alone? One of
the most rewarding things to do is nothing! Actually it is
far from being nothing, but it does consist of almost total
physical inactivity. This physical inactivity when you are
alone enables you to engage in two of the most enjoyable
and rewarding mental and spiritual activities:
(1) MEDITATION
(2) CONTEMPLATION
Let's consider the rewards of (1) MEDITA-
TION. There comes a thunderous command: "Be $liU, and
know that I am God'" And every religious leader, every
philosopher, every thinker, every great and good man and
woman has heeded those words, has gone off alone to a
quiet place, has been $liU and meditated... and listened
spiritually.