Author’s Note: I have a confession to make. I’m a writing hoarder. From notebooks to coffee shop napkins, if I’ve scribbled something down on it at one time or another, I feel compelled to keep it. Sometimes this just leads to more boxes neatly labeled on the shelves in my basement. And sometimes it leads to re-discovering little gems like the following, from a journal dated 1994, on self-mastery and the discovery of one’s path:
Self-Mastery
The first step to mastery of yourself is self-knowledge. Through meditation and looking inward, you must come to know yourself completely. Know what motivates you, what troubles you, what gets you through the day. Know your fears, yours joys, your passions, and your sorrows. Know the light in you, but also know the darkness. Even if you would rather turn a blind eye to something that is a part of you, force yourself to look at it. Pick it up and turn it around in your hand. Analyze it until you know why it is there, why you dislike it, and whether or not you can safely discard it or suppress it without compromising the essence of who you are.
Once you have come to know yourself wholly, only then can you begin shaping yourself into your most ideal Self. Discover who you are and who you would like to be. Uncover those aspects of yourself that must be changed or abandoned in order for you to reach that ideal, then do the work you must in order to get there. The road is not an easy one, and it takes only a small defeat sometimes to throw you back into a state where you would rather be blind to yourself than to struggle so hard toward your ideal. Here I cannot say, “Don’t give up hope!” for you must find hope and everything else on your own. I cannot walk the path for you, nor can I (or anyone else) show you how you must walk in order not to get lost. At best, I can show you where the path begins. After the first step, your journey is your own.
Twilight Path 