KNOWING YOURSELF
KNOWING YOURSELF
By
Prof. Sylvester Idemudia Odia
Professor of Philosophy (Epistemology & Philosophy of Culture), University of Benin, Nigeria
(Founder/CEO Epistemic Concept: https://epistemicconcept.com/wp)
Email: sylvester.odia@uniben.edu Phone: +234-8037192977
Introduction: Our ancestors in ancient Egypt were very wise people. With their wisdom they developed philosophy, mysticism and science with which they built cities, a strong army, and a flourishing agriculture. Some Western philosophers like Thales (who said everything is made of water), Pythagoras (who gave us the Pythagorean Theory in mathematics), Plato (who gave us the world of Idea or Form where souls lived before they are imprisoned in the body to form the human person), and Democritus (who gave us the Atomic Theory and soul atoms that animate the human body) studied in Egypt. In the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, we have an idea of the might of Egypt beginning with the selling of Joseph to the Ishmaelite traders, the movement of the parents and brothers of Joseph into Egypt, and the exodus of the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Some of our ancestors in ancient Egypt were sages who produced many words of wisdom or wise sayings that are still very useful to us today. Some of these wise sayings were written on the walls of some temples. One very popular wise saying that was written on the wall of the temple of Luxor in ancient Egypt is “Man, know thyself.” What does it entail to know yourself?
Let us begin from the composition of the human being. The human being is a person that is biologically a male or a female, and composed of a body and a mind or soul or spirit. As a person, the human being has five characteristics: (a) consciousness (b) reason (c) a will (d) freedom (e) the ability to produce language, music, dance, art work, and manufacture or produce things. With these characteristics, the human person acquires knowledge of his or her physical body, his or her purpose in life, and the various careers that flows from his or her purpose. Also, with these characteristics he or she is able to discover and enhance his or her aura, energy or spiritual quotient.
Knowing Your Physical Body: Biologically, you are born either as a male or a female, and you carry in your body a combination of the genes of your father and mother (parents). Whether or not you will be tall or short, fat or slim, light or dark in completion, very intelligent or an average student depend on your parents. Also, your dominant and less dominant temperaments that explain why you behave the way you do depend on your parents. In addition, your longevity, that is, how old you can possibly live on earth, certain illnesses or diseases you are prone or allergic to, and certain virtues and vices you practice also come from your parents. So, it is very important to know your genealogy or lineage, that is, to know the family history of your parents (father’s and mother’s family history). This will help you know yourself bodily, psychologically and, to some extent, spiritually as it relates to the virtues and vices you practice. Remember that the genealogy of Jesus Christ was recorded in the Bible to teach us the importance of genealogy (Matthew 1: 1 – 17).
Your Purpose and Career in Life: Knowing your purpose in life is key to knowing the kind of careers or jobs you can do in life. This requires some training and mentoring. However, you can begin the process of discerning your purpose from what you enjoy doing effortlessly. Another area to look at in discerning your purpose is your temperamental strength. Once you are able to discern your purpose, you can now choose from some careers or jobs that are related to your purpose. Avoid the mistake of choosing a career or job that you think is very lucrative, or that many people are into. Know yourself and work out you path in life. Do not be other-centred.
Aura, Energy, or Spiritual Quotient: Every person has a mind, a soul, or a spirit that possesses certain force, energy or power called an aura or spiritual power or quotient. Psychologists have split the human mind into conscious mind and the subconscious mind. With the conscious mind you perceive material things using your senses, you think and make judgements, and you fantasize. With your subconscious mind you experience intuition, intrusions (revelation), feelings and telepathy, dreams, and the universal laws of attraction, repulsion, etcetera. Through the aura or spiritual power of your mind, soul, or spirit, you can do a lot of positive things. Your presence can enhance or improve or help make persons, objects or things better and more successful. For example, the presence of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, made John the Baptist to leap for joy in the womb of Elizabeth (Luke 1: 39 – 45). Your presence can bring about stress, anxiety, pain and depletion to others if your aura is negative, or your spiritual power or quotient is very low. A good example of someone with a negative aura or very low spiritual energy or quotient is Jezebel the wife of King Ahab (1 Kings16: 29 – chapter 22, and 2 Kings 9: 30 – 37). Note that the practice of virtue enhances and grows your aura and spiritual energy or quotient, and the practice of vices depletes and diminishes your aura and spiritual energy or quotient. Since you live in a world of good and evil, it is very important to enhance your aura and spiritual quotient through the practice of virtue and a deep understanding of the workings of the laws of nature (Science/Magnetism), the workings of the mind of the human person, and other persons operating in the universe like God, gods, angels, demons, ancestors or saints (Religious and Cultural Mysticism).
Conclusion: Knowing yourself requires a deep study of the extent and limits of human knowledge (Epistemology). To effectively study human knowledge, you need a comprehensive grasp of the totality of human experience which includes material and non-material or spiritual realities. Epistemic Concept (an online school of philosophical knowledge) offers comprehensive courses/training on the knowledge of the totality of human experience. Courses/training in the Epistemic Concept School are: (1) genealogy, temperaments, virtues and vices, (2) Knowing your Purpose and Growing Wealth, (3) Enhancing your Energy (body), Aura (Mind), and Spiritual Quotient, (4) the Knowledge from the Subconscious Mind (Intuition, Intrusion, Feelings/Telepathy, Dreams, and Magnetism/Mysticism, (5) Professional Ethics Series: Teaching/Research, Medical, Business, Judicial Profession, Politics & Governance, Entertainment, Social Media, Christian Work, Environmental, and (6) Critical Thinking and the Logic of Non-Material Realities
For more inquires on the Epistemic Concept School visit https://epistemicconcept.com/wp
(Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Model School, Meiran: Celebrating 25 years and 19th Graduation Ceremony: Honouring the Past, Inspiring the Future, July 2025, pages 48 – 49)