How do i integrate the philosophy of self awareness with the philosophy of selfl

Question:I see two paths, one is self awareness and the the other is selflessness. One cannot exist without the other, and yet it seems both cannot be practiced at the same time.

To be self aware, you reflect upon your experiences and gain new insights as you learn more about yourself. You continue doing this increasingly becoming more aware of how the self can relate to the universe in a sort of manner that allows for infinite growth so long as the self chooses to never deny itself anything.

Then there is selflessness, to lose all reason, all connection to ideas. It would be like you almost don't exist without a concept of self. Even the pursuit of selflessness couldn't have been initiated without the self becoming aware of the concept of selflessness in the first place.

I don't understand why selflessness is desirable. It would be like giving everything up for nothing.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I see two paths, one is self awareness and the the other is selflessness. One cannot exist without the other, and yet it seems both cannot be practiced at the same time.

To be self aware, you reflect upon your experiences and gain new insights as you learn more about yourself. You continue doing this increasingly becoming more aware of how the self can relate to the universe in a sort of manner that allows for infinite growth so long as the self chooses to never deny itself anything.

Then there is selflessness, to lose all reason, all connection to ideas. It would be like you almost don't exist without a concept of self. Even the pursuit of selflessness couldn't have been initiated without the self becoming aware of the concept of selflessness in the first place.

I don't understand why selflessness is desirable. It would be like giving everything up for nothing.

self-awareness leads to selflessness...
when you practise it, instead of considering it as a philosophy.
it is not an effort, it is simply being aware of yourself. and this leads to more efficiency, more awareness, more energy in your daily life.

Without sun we die. Too much sun will surely kill us.
We cannot live without water, too much will drown us.
Warmth from a flame is comforting, it will cook our meals.
The same flame will burn us.
Selflessness is commendable and so is self awareness.
Both must be balanced and they will coincide in harmony.
We must be self aware to not impact on others and selfless to help them.
And selfless/self aware enough to know the limit.

Selflessness is the process of becoming unselfish.That in itself will make you more aware

Relax dear..you are already there..

well the answer is in what you say. to underestand the self is to understand the entity beyond the ego. I think the ego can certainly not be selfless. Beyond the ego is to understand the same self in us all. I dont know if you have ever looked into someones eyes and realised there is more within than the physical being? The self is the same for us all. If we can love our self then we may love the self of others. If we know and understand ourself then we come to know and undersstand the self of others and if we let go and accept our self then we let go and accept the self of all others. The true self is bare of ego and thr trappings of the humanistic world, it sees what the physical needs to survive but understands the physical is only part of what we may be. We are spiritual, physical and mental (intellect if you prefer) the true self knows and understands these relationships in all.

Selflessness does not exsist. There is no such thing. Every action that we take is for a reason. If someone gives themselves up 'selflessly' for a God it is actually selfishness in disguise (it is done with the self believe to gain a place in heaven or where ever) I am going to give up everything to act selflessly - I AM GOING TO - I take the action because I want to do this for me in my life I choose this action to be selfless.

To give up yourself, for whatever reason and in whatever way - to become selfless, is to deny the world a full person. That is pretty selfish.

To intergrate and be both selfless and self aware you need to balance your own life so you can offer for free yourself and strengths to others along the way whilst enjoying and experiencing the full journey of your life for yourself also.

As you have observed, neither state is an acceptable end state. The awareness of the balance between the two is the ideal. The unfortunate aspect of selflessness is its use by those in positions of power. Those who wish to gain power use selflessness as a philosophical tool. If one accepts the doctrine of selflessness as proposed by such an entity one becomes a follower and loses the sense of self, or self awareness, in the mob. The mob can be a comforting place, as one does not have to take responsibility for ones actions - simply join the flow of the mob. The dangers in choosing this form to live should be obvious.

[Everything but what is between brackets comes from the 3 links. Between the brackets are my words.]

A man's self is his mind—the faculty that perceives reality, forms judgments, chooses values.

To challenge the basic premise of any discipline, one must begin at the beginning. In ethics, one must begin by asking: What are values? Why does man need them?

It is only an ultimate goal, an end in itself, that makes the existence of values possible. It is only the concept of 'Life' that makes the concept of 'Value' possible.

What standard determines what [value] is proper in this context? The standard is the organism's life, or: that which is required for the organism's survival.

In a fundamental sense, stillness is the antithesis of life. Life can be kept in existence only by a constant process of self-sustaining action. The goal of that action, the ultimate value which, to be kept, must be gained through its every moment, is the organism's life.

In psychological terms, the issue of man's survival does not confront his consciousness as an issue of "life or death," but as an issue of "happiness or suffering."

Happiness is the successful state of life, pain is an agent of death. Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values.

But while the standard of value operating the physical pleasure-pain mechanism of man's body is automatic and innate, determined by the nature of his body—the standard of value operating his emotional mechanism, is not. Since man has no automatic knowledge, he can have no automatic values; since he has no innate ideas, he can have no innate value judgments.

The most selfish of all [values] is the independent mind that recognizes no authority higher than its own and no value higher than its judgment of truth.

[This is rational egoism. Egoism is opposed to altruism,] a term coined by Comte and adopted in Britain by H. Spencer.
For Comte Altruism meant the discipline and eradication of self-centered desire, and a life devoted to the good of others; more particularly, selfless love and devotion to Society. In brief, it involved self-abnegat[ion.]

Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice—which means; self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction—which means: the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.

It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgment of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. [This is the opposite of self-abnegation.]

I know not if this earth on which I stand is the core of the universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternity. I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.

It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.

I don't know. It may be helpful simply to free yourself from the need to integrate, or the need to be selfless or the need to be self aware. Maybe what you seek appears when you release yourself from that struggle. Maybe what you seek is always present within you in this moment.

Plotinus' One Mind Soul-realization accomplished this, but less easy to learn from "Enneads" if one is not soul-ready....

"Man, Master of His Destiny," O. M. Aivanhov, combined with "A Philosophy of Universality," Aivanhov, approach this balance.

"The Path of the Higher Self," Mark Prophet, truly integrates, by a higher and more profound perspective, the dichotomy you perceive.

In brief: what some Buddhists refer to as the "Void" is the dichotomous level, beyond which Prophet teaches, much as Gautama, who, in the Theravadic scriptures, states that he is anchored and rooted in Atman, and teaches "neti, neti"--not this materialistic physis, not this mortal-minded psyche.

The "Void" is thus the "pons asinorum" which, when understood and demonstrated, is seen to be a stepwise energy spinor--the "flaming sword" or Sacred-Word of the angelic guard at the Mystery School. Such focused Light, or sacred Fire, is the purifying and refining Fire of the Bible. As Saint John writes, "God is light"--and no mortal looks upon--encounters--such infinitely transcendent Light, without being purified. Re-collecting, re-forming mortal mindedness later recasts (this) Nirvana as either "Void" or "selflessness," or, for some, dogma as a kind of talismanic realization, a kind of "Light as alchemical key." However, all at the Barrier (Islam), flaming Cherubic Presence (Jewish and Christian), and/or Void (Buddhist) is indeed either surrendered for Christ's sake, i.e., the individed Oneness of which Plotinus wrote (One Mind Soul-individuation and -realization), or--in a few cases--e.g. Paramanhansa Yogananda's and even Sri Yukteswar's maha samadhis ("Autobiography of a Yogi," Yogananda, http://www.yogananda-srf.org ) a conscious, Mindful, Gautama-like movement from glory to glory (Shekinah "glow-ray"), in which the last enemy, dea-th, is overcome. The Apostle Paul's "I die [ascend in Christ] daily" and Prophet Mohammad's (owbp) "Die before you die" reflect this ongoing wisdom of "putting off the old deeds of humanly synthetic, selfish, lesser egotism."

This in fact is mini-replicated in "sleeping daily," e.g. Ann Ree Colton's "Watch Your Dreams" and Mark Prophet's "The Masters and Their Retreats."