Self-Knowledge

Many spiritual traditions speak of a “guardian” or “dweller” who protects the threshold to the spiritual world, warning the unprepared to pause in their quest for access to higher knowledge. The Guardian reveals the consequences of our negative actions and points to the full reality of our untransformed nature. This experience is said to be one of the deepest and most harrowing on the inner path, but is an essential precondition to any form of true initiation. The words “know yourself” were inscribed at the entryway to the ancient Greek temple of Apollo. Those who sought initiation in the mysteries were instructed to look within themselves first. Likewise today, as spiritual seekers we need true self-knowledge to distinguish between what belongs to our awareness and what is objectively part of the spiritual environment. Steiner taught that, as long as we draw back from such knowledge, our spiritual quest will be unsuccessful.