Do you know yourself? Are you self aware?

Online meeting.

One of the hardest things you can do in life is to be self-aware. We all have an image of ourselves that we like to project to others, but how much does that image of ourselves actually stack up to how we really are?

Can we ever really know ourselves in the same way that others know us, or are we just too locked up in our own self-perception that we are unwilling, or even unable, to see ourselves in any other way than that self-image? Do other people's perception of us even match up to what our self-perception is at all?

There's a lot of questions that can be explored with this topic:

-What is our self-perception based upon?
-Do we have the willingness and/or ability to incorporate other's perceptions of us into our self-perception?
-How much do other people's perception of us influence our self-perception?
-Does us our self-perception ever change once we set it?
What happens if we find out that our self-perception is radically different than how others perceive us?
-Are we even aware that our own self-perception is just that- a self-perception?

There's a lot of ways we can look at this question (and many ways that people have looked at this question) - socially, psychologically, spiritually, metaphysically - or choose your own (it's your own self-perception we're dealing with after all).

Note:

Please recognize that an aim of this group is to engage in a civilized dialogue /conversation with each other while at the same time maintaining the freedom to be ourselves and honestly say what we think and feel.

An emphasis in this group is to be aware of one's own immediate and direct perception and experience. This is meant to encourage one to go beyond a mere intellectual or conceptual "knowing", to a more holistic or healing awareness and experience.

Freedom of thought and expression are valued greatly. There is no designated expert, no guru, no leader/facilitator per se. Diversity of perspective and opposing points of view are frequently expressed and the value of each person expressing their point of view is acknowledged.

What is, or what is true or meaningful is a theme often explored in dialogue at our meetings. As are thoughts related to life, self, awareness, consciousness, perception, thought, relationship, love, compassion and the like. These topics often arise in one way or another, either directly or indirectly. Also explored frequently is the meaning of the words in the group's title - dialogue and experience.