The goal of life is to become our true, unique, whole self. Unfortunately we have been conditioned to be something else. For example, when we are a child we are told we are bad if we don't behave according to the expectations of parents, teachers, and society. We learn to become false to ourself by splitting off from parts of ourself that are too painful to experience or are unacceptable to others. It is clear that we try to "fit in" so that we will be acceptable and loved by these "others".

The part of us that has been left behind is buried in our unconscious. It is pictured symbolically in dreams as a person or animal that has died or been deeply injured. We still hold the suffering of this experience without awareness, until something in life triggers off a resonance of who we once were.

We then ask, "How do I discover this original self?" There are many methods that help us discover our "forgotten" self. However, we need to be aware that forgetting the unpleasant experiences of life is a natural, healthy function of the child. Life needs to go ahead, so "forgetting" has its positive function. But if we want to become our whole, "original" self, we must learn to reverse this process, to "re-member" and re-connect. This means a willingness to reexperience the past in order to heal ourselves. It is a conscious decision.

Those who have taken this "inward journey" and cleared their past say that the journey, when completed, was well worth the suffering along the way. We become like a child with a fresh open mind, able to live in the present moment, in a state of wonder and gratitude for life. Many teachers have described this state as the requirement for true happiness. We become free from the baggage of the past, free to respond to the present moment creatively and without conditions.

Our work at The Golden Dawn Centre is to help people "unlearn", to dissolve their past conditioning, ultimately to become free from their old self.