Practicing Self-referral

People commonly say that we see our own selves the least clearly. In contrast, it seems we can easily see faults in others. One of my earliest rational lessons in self-referral, and the one that has been perhaps the most enlightening, occurred to me in my teens.

I thought that when pointing a finger, figuratively, at another person in judgment, I should instead point that finger at myself and ask if the same were not true of me. Years later I later read in the vedic classic The Bhagavad-Gita that 'the world is as you are.' This saying describes why pointing our finger in judgment at another person is really just pointing that same finger at ourselves.

The next trick is to use that awareness for self-growth.