he anonymous quotation above says, "He who would know the truth must first know himself". What does that mean?

Anyone who wants to measure anything knows that the accuracy of the measurement is dependent upon the reliability of the measuring instrument. I recently bought a thermometer, but no matter how long I kept it in my mouth, it never read any more than 25 degrees C. The result was that I had no idea what my temperature was.

In an earlier day, measurements of length were made using parts of the body - hands, spans, cubits, feet, paces. A small man's foot was not the same as a big man's foot. The long-legged man's mile of 1,760 yards was much longer than the short-legged man's. If you wanted to buy some cloth, then you'd be better going to the clothier with the long forearm, whose cubit was better value than his competitor with the short forearm.

The only equipment that I have for knowing and understanding is my own intelligence. You may be far more intelligent than I, but that is of no benefit to me. You may be able to unravel the mysteries of Egyptian hieroglyphics or quantum mechanics, but I am still in the dark unless someone is able somehow to impart enlightenment to me. Again, perhaps I have the ability to understand, but because of some hindrance in my mind, whether it be as a result of trauma, or faulty education, or cultural prejudice, or social taboo, I am unwilling to think the thought or receive the information. Or it may be that because the focus of my attention is on physical or emotional pleasure, or on career progression, or pursuing fame, or winning a race, or climbing a mountain I have neither time nor inclination to even try to understand.

For my own part, I was always acutely aware that I knew enough only to make me aware that I did not know enough; that I was able enough only to make me aware that I was not able enough; that I was smart enough only to make me aware that I was not smart enough. This bred frustration and the urgent need to find out how to make sense of it all.

veryone's journey is different, for everyone starts from a unique position. My journey started in earnest in my late teens. I am now in my early fifties. Much has changed over those years, but one thing has remained the same - the truth. The truth is always the truth. Fashions come and fashions go. Thinking changes, philosophies change, scientific understanding changes, but the truth remains the same, and will always do so. In the end, the truth is the truth whether you believe it or not. My objective was to find the truth - to find the answers to the unreachable, unfathomable depths of this life - to know who I am and why I am - and to get the changes made to me that would make it possible for me to know these things.

This is my journey. Yours will be different. The important thing is that we have some idea of where we are going, because a journey without a destination is not a journey, but an aimless wandering. I am convinced that I now know the destination. Perhaps you are still unsure, or perhaps your conclusion is different from mine. Whichever may be the case, come with me now and I think you will find that you also can benefit from that which has been such a blessing to me.