Internal consistency of thought
The term internal consistency of thought plays an integral part within the self-advancement of an individual. It is a fundamental need in achieving any measurable form of self-improvement which is a requirement in the search for influence and control over one's surroundings. As the saying goes, "know yourself and know your enemy and you will be victorious." Know your enemy, yes, but first you must know yourself. An in-depth knowledge of your inner self, your thoughts, your mind, your spirit is what is needed. Within the knowing of yourself, you must have consistency. But consistency in what? Must one know one's aims and follow them blindly like the fool who follows the light? Not at all.
Everyone of us has many internal contradictions. We all have within us a bewildering array of currents of thought. This is known. Should these currents be kept and thus flourish within our minds and stay within us in some type of contradictory harmony? We should not keep them, but rather we must continuously take a step back for the merest of moments and study these currents. You will then see that some of these thoughts do not fit in with your mind or the mind you're in the process of creating for yourself. You may wonder why you have these thoughts, ideas, or ideals and where they came from. This must be known. Where the clutter within your mind came from can be useful if these ideas which you want discarded reappear. It is also useful as they may be true.
In all of this, you must be truthful. Truthfulness with yourself is what is utterly necessary. Do not blind yourself with the idea you are perfect and all your faults exist because of others. Some of these thoughts which you do not want may be there as you have been pigeonholed by society, but you must ask why you have been pigeonholed. Discard the thoughts which you do not want lingering within and do not give you advantage. Discard them, yes, but see why they exist and why you have these "faults" you do not want. Through this self-exorcism of your inner demons, cruel honesty must be employed. Your society sees you as a fool and thus you feel like a fool. Why? Why does your society see you in that way and why do you see yourself that way? You lack concentration and your mind flickers and wanders constantly from the task at hand. Why? These questions, or rather questions like these, can only be answered by you as the answers for the questions can only be held by the one who asks these questions. You must see your internal faults and fix them. This continuous internal self-examination must be employed if internal consistency of thought will be gained. Through this structure, this constant struggle for self-improvement, this search for the inner evolution of your own mind, we have achieved a step upon the road which leads us near internal consistency of thought. This perishing of the thoughts which hinder us and the improvement of the thoughts which help us is needed. But what is useful and what hinders us? One must be careful in this. Be careful of which emotions you get rid of. Is your hate really a hindrance? I think not. You must be harsh with yourself and mustn't follow the easy path. Follow the small path, the path which shows that which is correct and do not love that which deserves hate. You must be honest and wise enough with yourself so you know what is best for your own inner mind and will result in you gaining that which you want. Is constant happiness really beneficial? It is a dangerous thing, the molding of your own mind and you must be careful so you really become enlightened and empowered rather than following the easy path like that of the sheep.
But what values do we hold and cherish as men and women who seek knowing? These values must largely be decided upon by the individual learners themselves. But there exist some universal values which we have and share within this dark fraternity. It is our internal consistency of thought and in a way it could be argued that it is not even consistency. We have consistency in our change, in our desire for change and our internal search for self-perfection. We acknowledge the need for internal change and improvement and after the base set of ideas we follow have been set, we may revolve head forwards, backwards, up and down in any way we choose convenient. Yet it is within these base ideas in which we have consistency. We continuously struggle, within our own minds and thus our own minds improve, we continuously struggle within the mundane realms and so our mundane wealth improves. It is the idea of the eternal, internal, and external struggle which drives us ever forwards. Within ourselves, we see our many faults and the need for the improvement of ourselves. We change and remain consistent within this. Our base aims of empowerment and enlightenment exist and do not change. Our ideas and how we react is what changes. Our ideals, the way we feel, our continuous struggle, growth, and self-improvement is what remains constant within ourselves.
Internal consistency of thought is a much-needed thing, and by remaining consistent in our desire for self-improvement and the fixing of our faults, we may move forward upon the path along which this darkness leads us.