Self Reliance
Todd Hayen
I was first introduced to the brilliance of Ralph Waldo Emerson when studying the principles of Science of Mind over 20 years ago. His essay “Self Reliance” written in 1841 is probably his most popular treatise. I picked it up to read again, probably for the fourth time, a few weeks ago.
Although, for me at least, it is not an easy read. Anything written over 100 years ago (closer to 200 now) has an archaic style to it that is not easy on contemporary brains. He also uses antiquated vocabulary. But the important points are easy to “get” as they tend to jump off the page at you. How about these:
Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
and…
Envy is ignorance, Imitation is Suicide.
or…
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
and…
God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.
and…
Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
And many, many more . . . I will share a few more as we go along.
The primary thrust of the essay is to say that people must trust their own individual voice. Emerson defines self-reliance as the need for each person to avoid conformity and false consistency, and instead, follow their own instincts and ideas. He argues that true self-reliance is a deep trust in one’s own thoughts and inner voice, rather than relying on external approval or societal norms.
What could resonate more powerfully in today’s environment than such words? So, we may then ask, why should we trust our own words and inner voice? Emerson was a transcendentalist, and a primary tenet of transcendentalism is a firm belief that each person contains a piece of the divine and that by trusting oneself, one is also trusting the divine within. This inner divinity connects individuals to a higher spiritual truth and universal moral laws.
And isn’t this exactly what is largely missing from our culture today—a connection with higher spiritual truth and universal moral laws? I believe that in order for each of us to trust ourselves and trust our voice, we have to first be in alignment with God, which is the ultimate Truth. I do not mean we have to be “religious” (although we can be) and believe in the dogma of any particular organized religion, but we have to be aware of, and know, Truth through a belief and faith in God—and this God can be defined in a variety of ways.
Emerson says again and again in his essay that we must be willing to always express ourselves, that our opinions are sacred, and that we must do all that we can to avoid falling into the trap of repetition, or consensus for the sake of consensus. Our primary goal should not be to please others, or to repeat the past, or to appear palatable with the mainstream agreement.
I do not think ol’ Waldo was saying we should spout off information we have no personal knowledge of nor evidence to support, but rather that we must be open to convey our opinion about information. Whether we agree or disagree, or whether we see moral conflict, or whether we even find fault in information that we did not personally gather ourselves (such as what is touted as “settled science”).
Emerson probably still had room for “experts” (but not experts he could not question!) I have to admit that I have been a bit brainwashed with the best of us, and do find myself holding back with certain thoughts and opinions if I feel I am not “well enough informed” to have a valid recourse.
How often have you heard about the stupid people on Facebook? Blabbing out their inexpert opinions on medicine, science, or politics? “People should just keep their mouths shut about the vaccines, or Covid, if they are not virologists, immunologists, or vaccinologists.” At times I have found myself being drawn into this sort of anti-Emerson thinking.
No, we are all experts regarding our own perspective, opinion, and understanding. This is what Emerson I believe is talking about in his essay. We must not be silenced, either by others, or, most importantly, by ourselves.
We all have a “gut feeling” and an intuitive response to the world and the happenings in it. We must never quell any of this divine messaging. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
I believe that Emerson was saying we were all given a little patch of God’s world that is ours, and ours alone. Here we are indeed experts, and the special way that we see the world can be useful to everyone else around us. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men—that is genius.”
He continues to describe the unique perspective, and knowledge, we all bring to the world, and how we cannot rely on others in our expression of our own voice, “. . . that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.”
So, we must never be afraid to speak our mind, regardless of our seemingly “inexpert” observations and opinions. If we are in alignment with God, with Truth, then we are delivering the fruits of our destiny—to bring forth into this world what we have specifically been put here to contribute.
I will end this article with another quote—which will hopefully inspire you to read the entire essay—
If we live truly, we shall see truly. It is as easy for the strong man to be strong, as it is for the weak to be weak . . . When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn.
You can find the complete essay online in several places, here is one link to try.
Todd Hayen PhD is a registered psychotherapist practicing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He holds a PhD in depth psychotherapy and an MA in Consciousness Studies. He specializes in Jungian, archetypal, psychology. Todd also writes for his own substack, which you can read here
SUPPORT OFFGUARDIAN
If you enjoy OffG's content, please help us make our monthly fund-raising goal and keep the site alive.
For other ways to donate, including direct-transfer bank details click HERE.
Religious persons, even if they go the tolerant route and don’t advocate for the destruction of non-believers, are necessarily burdened with a powerful disbelief themselves.
They cannot comprehend how anyone lacking a sense of divinity in their souls can possibly resonate with anything higher than the rational mind. They imagine that what we call Nature, or Universal Truth can be discerned only through a divine filter – that in order to be attuned to higher realms than those immediately surrounding them one must first commune with a mystical being.
Yet the greater the belief, the greater the impossibility of comprehending higher truths. For if their divine spark – their link to God – fails to reveal truths to them, they must necessarily conclude these truths not to be there. They look no further than God; so they never see beyond God.
…Because contemporary brains have been fed a diet of TV and TikTok. Reading matter these days consists predominantly of SMS messages and FakeBook posts.
The predictable decline in writing ability is evident even in the mainstream press.
Give me “antiquated vocabulary” over modern management-speak jargon any day.
We were made to lose our faith in our divinity by the proliferation of false doctrines by people like Thomas Huxley et al. “Darwinism” “Nihilism” and all the other satanic creations which were propagandized to deny the existence of the divine in everyone one of us.
We were led away and astray for a time.
Thankfully many people have realized the deceitful manipulation that was orchestrated by the those who sought to destroy our spirit(s) . Because when you are present in the divine you are raised to a higher vibrational state of being and can not be dragged or weighed down.
Uru in the Valley of Sleepers
https://www.ishmael.org/daniel-quinn/parables/uru-in-the-valley-of-sleepers/
A new star is born: Canada’s chief medical officers offer clarity in age of coronavirus
https://globalnews.ca/news/6716932/coronavirus-canada-medical-officers/
HOW SCIENCE IGNORES THE LIVING WORLD — AN INTERVIEW WITH VINE DELORIA
https://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2020/11/22/how-science-ignores-the-living-world-an-interview-with-vine-deloria/
Interview: How Indigenous spirituality can inform our view of culture, religion and the environment
https://www.cpr.org/2024/01/03/interview-on-vine-deloria-jr-god-is-red-book-reissue/
Easter, 1916
BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43289/easter-1916
England – The Barr Brothers
https://youtu.be/ubqWQ9G3834?si=FGDWqjaEQH0y74N-
There is no ignorance of traditional knowledge. They know that we are enmeshed in and dependent on microbes, over-medication causes resistant microbes, over-development may destroy biomes, etc. It is all about insane greed founded on insecurity: exploiting everyone and everything.
They are not ignorant of traditional knowledge. They know that we are enmeshed in and dependent on microbes, over-medication causes resistant microbes, interference or over-development may destroy biomes, etc. It is all driven by (a) greed founded on insecurity (b) hubris.
Enjoyed your essay immensely.
”Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons, It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth. ” Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
Pity is most people rely on the media for their information. Last nights Channel 5 Dianna tribute Exposing nothing new, keeping to the same old script whilst the Band played believe it if you like. The BBC had a full expose of the Monkey Pox virus this morning and as sure as the sun will shine the cowards will be lining up for their vaccine.
Gazas kids are going to get the polio vaccine soon. Ah well hopefully a few mums tell them to shove it up their arse, stop the bombing and clear the place of infestation.
Propaganda and main stream nonsense is wall to wall. We all know its bullshit but doubt creeps in and being British we just do what we are told.
We are a pathetic race. Gutless and clueless.
Its time to stand up against authority and get them the fk out our life.
It’s enough to make you want to shun society at large.
This sort of post inspires hope and courage in challenging times. Thankyou.
“Frankly, I don’t have much hope. But I think that’s a good thing. Hope is what keeps us chained to the system, the conglomerate of people and ideas and ideals that is causing the destruction of the Earth.
To start, there is the false hope that suddenly somehow the system may inexplicably change. Or technology will save us. Or the Great Mother. Or beings from Alpha Centauri. Or Jesus Christ. Or Santa Claus. All of these false hopes lead to inaction, or at least to ineffectiveness. One reason my mother stayed with my abusive father was that there were no battered women’s shelters in the ’50s and ’60s, but another was her false hope that he would change. False hopes bind us to unlivable situations, and blind us to real possibilities.“
Beyond Hope
https://orionmagazine.org/article/beyond-hope/
Thank you Derek; I’m always in trouble for being too cheerful.
This is totally off topic but not sure who else I could tell that would understand. I had a dream about mark fisher last night. I told him I was a time traveler and tried to explain what was going to happen in 2020 in order to get his opinion but of course I didn’t tell him he wouldn’t reach that time given that he committed suicide in 2017. I felt I was lying to him though so felt terrible. Such a weird dream. I’m sure he would have had some brilliant insights had he remained alive. He and David graebar.
Have you told me yet..?
Off topic, but relevant ….. The father of climate change, Al Gore, has feet of clay! Exposed by Joel Gilbert who has made a film – “Climate Change According To AI AL Gore”. See more as Joel is interviewed at Club Grubbery.
https://clubgrubbery.com.au/graham-and-john-speak-with-joel-gilbert-about-the-climate/
Joel’s film is soon to be released. You can see a trailer here …..
http://www.climatealgore.com/
For the record, the only thing Al Gore is the “father” of is hypocrisy. He has no greater understanding of the climate than anyone else who refuses to acknowledge geoengineering attempts by the US military to control the atmosphere.
Good on ya cobber
And from a Rasta perspective, we still arrive at the same conclusions
Sunday bush vibes..
There is no end
There is no end to a good thing, oh no
Cause everyday there is Jah loving, yeah
Principalities and power
Them planning war on the hour
A spiritual wickedness in a high places
I saw the children cry
I saw the children die
I saw much fuss and fights
Against the truths and rights
Jah love within stronger than there sins
Them just can’t conquer Jah love within
Keep it up Jah children
Livin up your roots
Every tree stays up by its roots
Make we sing and shout
Tell it all about
Jah Jah live and reign
And he is still the same
A some of them the branches
A some a them the leaves
A strictly I and I a the roots
Thank you Israel Vibration
NO fear, LOVE you
Here, Nan, can I have a cup of Tea
RM Bucke, a 19th century Canadian psychiatrist wrote a book called
‘Cosmic Consciousness’
telling the stories of Emerson and many like him who lived the Truth and the Life that is available to each one of us.
Psychiatrist recently has limited belief systems built into its own institutional hardware, [The Fed], relegating cosmic reality into simple dollar bills.
The better to try to control you by
A picture is worth a thousand words… (Old saying) …A deepfake picture is worth a thousand lies … (AI motto) …
A deep fake phrase is worth a thousand lies.
People seem to forget that the expert became so by going to a university. I now as a layman can listen to hundreds of hours of lectures by experts. So how can my opinion on subjects I’m interested in be labeled as uninformed? This is now the problem they face, the public are incredibly informed and can see through the bullshit pretty fast, and so their solution is to shut down the debate to two opposing choices (which are really the same). All other ideas are crazy or dangerous.
There was an old man from Esser,
Whose knowledge grew lesser and lesser.
It at last grew so small,
he knew nothing at all,
and now he’s a College Professor.
Though people like you may not be uninformed, you may embarrass the PTB. They are plotting to end that threat. We may have to report every book or website we take up. Not too different from covid jab passes.
We don’t need to report anything. The data-collecting devices are doing that right now. If you get the government’s digital I.D., nothing will be private!
Here in Australia our so-called ‘government’ will soon be offering the public their digital I.D. numbers. They say its ‘voluntary’ but its not. In the legislation (not publicised) there are three waivers…..
To decline their digital I.D. means living outside the system – which we’ve known now for over three years. Our community has prepared as best we can. I hope you and yours have also.
definitely I want to tell some ranters to shut up when they pontificate as if they were experts merely because they managed to pick up uncritically on some narrative that’s being pushed by mainstream media and now are just repeating it like a broken record
they are ignorant for sure but their flaw is not lack of knowledge, it’s lack of the desire for knowledge
we’re all ignorant to some degree and no one should be browbeaten for asking naive questions, or expressing skepticism based on an intuition that the doctrine we’re ordered to accept doesn’t correspond to our reality
but no one wants to really honestly engage questioners, to recognize the central importance of doubt, to see how precious every question is and open up mentally to what’s coming from that other standpoint
It’s been my observation that the most egregious pontificators are those who pick up their entire store of information from alt media. They seem to believe that just because the MSM did not say it, it must be true. It seems not to occur to them that alt media could sometimes have it as wrong as MSM (and I’m not referring specifically to “limited hangout” types of alt media).
The problem is always the same: opinions. Facts may lead to more than one conclusion – even to contrary conclusions. The Covid vax being the perfect example: we can believe it was an attempt to depopulate the world; or simply that it was an attempt to enrich a few at the expense of the many. Either conclusion is supported by the facts – thought clearly both cannot be true at the same time.
I like the way you wrote this article, just as it is
Thank you for the article ! I loved reading the quotes INCLUDING the archaic style
‘Emerson was a transcendentalist, and a primary tenet of transcendentalism is a firm belief that each person contains a piece of the divine ‘
There would appear to be an overlap between transcendentalism and quakerism then, for the expression ‘there is that of God in everyone’ is a central tenet of the Quaker faith.
I never met an angry Quaker.
Richard Nixon: “I am not a crook.”
By todays standards, he was very correct.
Have you seen some of these rabbits todays politicians are trying to pull out of political hats?
They are already dressed in GI combat gear!
This is subversive. How then are we going to keep people suspicious or fearful of one another?
Just continue to go after one another.
the nail that sticks up will be hammered down
Instead of god, the humanized propaganda of reality, let’s call it nature.
Then it makes sense. No need for the supernatural “out there” worship of a higher authority.
Like Emerson said, some of the divine is within. The rest is in nature and reality, not fantasy.
Profound article and profound statement…thanks both.
Have you ever noticed that in nature there are no clashing colours? Colours can only clash if they are man-made. This harmony extends also to sounds.. Even bird-cries described in books as ‘harsh’ are fitting and appropriate when heard in their setting – for example the skirling of terns or the dawn proclamation of territorial rights by the carrion crow. Everything in the natural world, from the microscopic to the galactic, is rendered in perfect taste and in the highest possible quality. The engineering, the cybernetics, the fuel efficiency, everything involved in producing a beetle, say, dwarfs any technology mere humans are capable of: and there are hundreds of thousands of different species of beetle, with many more no doubt still to be discovered in the rain forests of South America.
It takes a stolid sort of arrogance, for anyone acquainted at all intimately with nature, to deny that some force, some benign intelligence – some god – is behind all this. It cannot all be explained away by Darwin, and of course it was not all created in one week, 8000 years ago.
The idea of a benign creator is a comforting one; there is no reason not to hold it, whether or not it does exist. Christians call this entity ‘God’. We can deduce from the way the world is ordered that certain behaviours are in tune with it and others are not. If one tries to adopt these behaviours for oneself, the result is a clear conscience and a feeling of harmony with the world.
All this is a roundabout way of saying that far too many people today have lost the fear of God, whatever their religion (or none). I submit that this is principally what’s wrong with humanity at the moment; we have allowed ourselves to be ruled by the godless, by sociopaths and even psychopaths, and in so doing have been made godless ourselves.
For the individual, a clear path to redemption comes from more and closer contact with nature. Get in touch with the countryside: marvel – and be grateful.
Beautiful comment, only a robot, an unthinking or damaged person could deny its truth.
A “benign creator” who created a principle whereby to live is to destroy some other living thing. And remember: plants are as much alive – some would go so far as to say sentient – as animals. I fail to see the benign part of it.