Self-Enquiry [Paperback]

Michael William Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2002

Self-enquiry is unconventional. Self-enquiry does not conform to any organization, ideology or belief. It demands no authority or faith. Self-enquiry is ideally suited for the average person. It is the average person, you and I, who must psychologically transform to end the conflict in ourselves and in the world around us.

Conflict exists throughout our world, undeterred by innovations and undiminished by ideological beliefs. Those in authority--our politicians, our teachers, our employers, the media, and even our so-called moral authorities--have failed to recognize the true cause of conflict, and so have failed to resolve it. Religions offer promises and consolations but no real solution. As a matter of fact, religious belief has often fostered war. Academic philosophy has only taught us clever arguments. It has not resolved conflict.

Conflict is the product of the perspective in which we are born and raised. It is intrinsic to the paradigm that we are conditioned to accept as reality. Conflict is ultimately the result of a psychological process that each of us perpetuates on a daily basis. Conflict does not originate externally. It is the consequence of an internal activity. That activity exists in every human being regardless of race, language, education or geographical location. It is a universal phenomenon generated by the thought process.

We are always thinking. Thought is perpetual, continual, incessant. It seems involuntary. Imagine an automobile whose engine is always running, even when the automobile is parked and unused. Our minds are always thinking, even when it is not constructive or functional to do so. This is a clue in our investigation of psychological conflict. It is an indication that something is amiss with the mind.

What are we usually thinking? Most of our thoughts are memories. Our minds are constantly engaged in remembering past events and comparing them with either current situations or imagined possibilities. Our imaginations allow us to remember the past as a sequence of events, thereby enabling us to conceive of the passage of time.

The mind, in thinking, refers to a self upon which all of its memories and experiences are focused. Thoughts revolve around the notion of a thinker.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

In 2001 I began to publish a series of books in which I formulated a system of conscious development. It has been my intention in writing to compose a model of conscious development that parallels and reflects my own development. I began writing from an insight into consciousness, an insight that has since unfolded with greater clarity and definition. The writing process itself has facilitated an increase in the clarity of my insight. Each of my books offers a unique perspective on the subject. Together they constitute my "working model" of conscious development.
 
The centerpiece of my model is a symbol that I refer to as the Archetypal diagram, featured in my first (and most comprehensive) book, The Archetype of Reality. The Archetypal diagram appears in color on the cover of the book, and is illustrated with numerical attributions inside the text. The diagram is the blueprint of consciousness. It bears a resemblance to the Tree of Life symbol found in Jewish mysticism. A comprehension of my diagram, however, is in no way dependent on the Jewish mystical tradition.
 
A tradition I do rely on to communicate my growing understanding of consciousness is that of the Tarot. The origin of the Tarot remains a mystery. The oldest existing Tarot cards date back several hundred years. The design of the so-called Marseilles Tarot deck is among the oldest. Of the seventy-eight cards in the deck, I studied the twenty-two that are popularly known as the Trumps. In the twenty-two Marseilles Tarot Trumps I recognized an illustrated allegory of conscious development. It was the same model of development I recognized underlying the gospel account of the life of Christ. It was the model I recognized in philosophies of the Far East and in the teachings of Gurdjieff. It was, in my consideration, the same model many religious traditions have hinted at without ever explicitly realizing. I recognized in the Tarot a series of composite pictorial symbols representing the sum of the many facets of my own consciousness and life.
 
The twenty-two Trumps, understood individually and in the proper sequence, constitute a perfectly proportioned totality, the very definition of Beauty. They appeared to me as a conceptual distillation of the sense of beauty that formed the essence of my original insight into consciousness. Applied in the context of creative writing, the Trumps constitute the perfect plot. In stories like The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, both of which made a deep impression on me as a child, I recognized allegories of conscious development, and applied the Tarot to them as a means of demonstrating how characters and events in those stories illustrate specific stages of conscious development. Two of my books, The Archetype of Reality and Self-knowledge, contain the details of my use of the Tarot in conjunction with the Archetypal diagram.
 
Without a mutually understood vocabulary, especially on a subject as mysterious as consciousness, people continually misunderstand each other. Through the writing process, I recognized the need to construct a consistent vocabulary. I also recognized that in constructing a vocabulary, by defining terms, I was simultaneously creating boundaries that would both limit and direct my investigation. In the absence of order, there is chaos. Consciousness is not chaotic. Consciousness is a perfectly proportioned totality. Upon that insight I constructed my model. Its structure is not arbitrary. I do not present this model as a belief or an opinion but as a scientific process open to independent verification.

From the Back Cover

We live in an unresolved mystery. It is the mystery of who we really are. Who are you? Are you a name? Are you a body? Are you a product of your thought process? Is thought a product of your brain? Is consciousness dependent on thought?

Do you identify yourself as a "soul"? Try to locate the soul. Is it somewhere inside the body? Is the soul an object? Is the soul another word for the mind? Is the "soul" just one more passing thought in a stream of thoughts?

Self-enquiry is the investigation of this mystery. Why investigate? In the absence of certainty, there is fear. Thought and action based on uncertainty and fear inevitably result in confusion and conflict.

Human nature revolts at its own ignorance. Nothing is more insulting than the absence or loss of identity. As human beings we possess an innate need to investigate. Self-enquiry is what makes us human.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (July 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158898592X
• ISBN-13: 978-1588985927
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,706,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

What is consciousness? Consciousness is the fullness of being. It touches on every aspect of ourselves and in fact constitutes our very nature, without which we cease to Be. Consciousness is energetic, more than flesh and blood. The development of higher consciousness is the development of the energetic body of consciousness. The key to conscious development is to learn to pay attention. There is an art and science to paying attention. The exercise of attention is immediate, tacit and non-conceptual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Self-Enquiry, March 16, 2011

By 

Sylvia Cruz - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Self-Enquiry (Paperback)

Michael William Bennett has opened and broadened my mind about a lot of things about our world we live in. Technology, Money and Society are a few examples. After reading this book, I have come to realize a lot of things in my life and have changed my ways on how to live my life within our society.

For the past few years, Money has been a very big part of my life. I felt like Money is my savior and my everything but I guess I was wrong. I kept on spending money like a flash. I never controlled my spending. Whenever I had money, I kept on spending it on the things that attracted me in the store, especially when it comes to electronics like Cell Phones, Computers, TV's and Mp3 players that I don't need and that I can't afford. It's because of those desires for everything that forced me to buy.

I've come to realize, as the years pass, that the more we buy things the more technology changes, and as it does our desires for something never stop. Like what Michael always says, you can never be contented with anything because that's how technology works. Technology has been a very big issue for me.
In this book, Self- enquiry, Michael wants us to realize the things that are happening around us. By reading this book, it will help all of you a lot to understand our society and culture as much as it helped me. Thanks to Michael, I have been so honored to have the privilege of reading this book.

Self-enquiry is a Brilliant book. I'm very certain that whoever reads this book will be amazed at how much we can learn from it. I am so happy to have Michael as my friend who has changed my life. Thank you for reading this. I think in my heart this book will help people change and understand our society and culture. I am so proud of you Michael. Great job.
@