Growth | Inward - Yung Pueblo (2017)

I stumbled upon 'Inward' first via 'CEO's Diary podcast - Yung Pueblo episode.' It is a quick easy-to-read poem-style book you can finish in a couple of hours. It was a timely discovery as I was embarking on a 'self-love' journey this summer. If there is one rule I can implement in the world that everyone has to follow - it is to love oneself unconditionally. self-love. Hurt people hurt others and healed people heal others. I see that we are living in a world where fearmongers are rampant and the environment we are living in - the climate crisis, pollution, and massive extinction threats - is all the result of the inner state of our collective being. The only way to get out of this collective madness is by going inward and discovering our 'true self' - the essence of light. The goodness of human hearts. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!

🐵 I. One-sentence summary:

Inward is a transformative exploration of self-discovery and personal growth, guiding readers toward inner healing, self-love, and finding peace within.

💯 II. Key takeaways (my favorite quotes instead):

• Two of the great lessons humanity will learn in the 21st century will be: to harm another is to harm oneself when you heal yourself, you heal the world.
  reclaim your power, heal yourself, love yourself, know yourself—these phrases are becoming more and more common. why? because they are the pathways to our own freedom and happiness contents distance union interlude self-love understanding distance
• Before I could release the weight of my sadness and pain, I first had to honor its existence.
• i was never addicted to one thing;i was addicted to filling a void within myself with things other than my own love to solely attempt to love others without first loving yourself is to build a home without a strong foundation
• three things make life harder: not loving yourself refusing to grow not letting go
• i lived so long with a closed heart, not because i was afraid to get hurt but because i was afraid of the pain i had hidden away.
• Before we can heal and let go, what ails us deeply must first come to the surface.
• "i spent so much time creating versions of myself that were far from the truth, characters i would perform depending on who was around layers that could hide the inner dance of turmoil between my lack of confidence, the pain i did not understand, and the uneasiness that comes with reaching out to others for the love that i was not giving myself (before the healing) i kept running away from my darkness until i understood that in it i would find my freedom."
• a hero is one who heals their own wounds and then shows others how to do the same
• i started speaking my truth when being free became more important than guarding  the fear of my ego
• her rebirth was stunning—she lifted herself up from the depths of despair, grasped her dreams, embedded them in her heart, and walked forward into a future that only her will and vision could control
• (revival) i closed my eyes to look inward and found a universe waiting to be explored
• ego sees problems consciousness sees solutions
• if you measure the length of your ego, it will equal the distance between you and your freedom
• honesty creates intimate connections and decreases the turbulence of life dishonesty creates distance and problems that have to be dealt with in the future
• reminder: you can love people and simultaneously not allow them to harm you
• since true self-love is the gateway to unconditional love for all beings, this must mean that many people in our world are suffering from a lack of self-love
• (the missing peace) your self-love is a medicine for the earth as your self-love grows stronger, so do the waves of change that you can create the beauty of self-love is that it can grow into the unconditional love that can end all harm
• the mind is a series of patterns if we wish to change ourselves we should create new habits when we build new habits we are creating a new life we carry our attachments and pain in our bodies; as we let them go our bodies change
• a body is a field of moving energy and a system of information. as life
  continues its fluctuations, we tend to gather attachments, burdens, and sorrows. we hold them so tightly that they become embedded in the body, causing blockages and disruptions in the flow of our system, which can limit access to the best possible version of ourselves— this sometimes manifests as ailments or diseases as well as a lack of belief in our own power and a lack of understanding of the universe.
• when we use purifying healing techniques, the body begins releasing these knots of attachment, allowing our field of energy to return to balance and move more freely and powerfully. this causes changes in our body: not just physical changes, such as the healing of disease or ailments, but immaterial and internal changes as well, such as believing in oneself more, the growth of love, and the aspiration to grow into wisdom. really, there is no separation between the mind and the body; they move together as one under the leadership of our mental contents.
• how can you measure your peace? by how calm you stay during a storm how do you know if you are attached to something? because it creates tension in your mind where are the greatest revolutions fought and won? in the heart do you know why you are powerful? because you can change the future
• feed your fire / cleanse your air / tend your earth / treat your water
• (release) i feel victorious and free every moment i do not measure my personal value by the things i do or own
• a partner who supports your dreams and your healing is a priceless gem, heaven in a human form
• much of my confusion and sadness came from being disconnected from myself.
  the greatest journey i have taken so far is the one where i ended the alienation between me and all that i am, the one where i connected my light and my darkness, where i united what i wanted to know with what i did not want to face. only through is union and truthfulness did i begin to feel at home within my own being
• (coming home)forcing ourselves to be happy is not genuine or useful being honest about what we feel, while remaining calm and aware,is the real work
• (liberation)then came the day when i looked into a mirror and saw ten thousand faces;in that moment i understood that my body not only holds a multitude of stories but that i also exist in many places and many times at once
• rebirth:the moment people wake up to their power and start moving toward their freedom
• my mission is to heal my mind with wisdom and to infuse my body with love
• as she looked into her past, she noticed that the road she had traveled was no simple straight line. her journey toward fully loving herself and the world was full of forward and backward movement, twists, turns, detours, and even some pauses.at times, she doubted her progress, her potential, and even her power to change. but today, with the wisdom of experience at hand, she knows she could not have gotten to where she is without every movement she has ever made.
• (experience)serious transformations begin with two commitments: the courage to try new things and act in new ways the honesty needed to no longer hide from or lie to ourselves the people with the power to move and act through unconditional love will be the healers and heroes of our plane
• “what is the key to saving the world?” she answered, “you. you are the key. heal yourself, know yourself, make yourself whole and free. release all limits so that your love can flow unconditionally for yourself and the world. this will open the heaven of your heart and it will guide you without fail.
• they asked her, “why are we here at a time when there is so much misery and despair?” she responded, “because you answered the call. the earth signaled for heroes, and the heavens sent forth the ones who were most ready to grow and unleash their unconditional love. you’re here to shine the light of your own healing,to offer the world the gift of your balance and peace.”
• they asked her, “are you wealthy?” she responded, “yes. it took years to build, but now there is a palace in my heart that i have constructed out of awareness, calmness, and wisdom.”
• they asked her, “what is true power?” she answered, “true power is living the realization that you are your own healer, hero, and leader. it is when you share your truth with compassion and peace. your power grows when you make progress in your own freedom and wisdom. those who are truly powerful do not harm themselves or others; instead, they use their energy to enrich all they know with love."
• i want to live in a world where harm is not systemic, where love organizes society, where the earth is respected, and where life is valued above all else
• anyone who is willing to know themselves, to face themselves with honesty and work toward loving themselves and all beings without condition, is a hero who is adding to the collective peace of humanity
• two things are true: people who truly know and love themselves cannot be hateful toward other people
• the same way we are anchored and grounded by the earth, the earth is healed and nurtured by our unconditional love
• (deeper healing)though the pain once felt unbearable and everlasting, the peace i feel today is a testament to the heart’s ability to heal
• all along i have searched for knowledge when what i was really looking for was wisdom not the information that fills my mind with details and facts but the experiences that fill my being with freedom, healing, and the light of insight
• the world itself is currently shifting from being ruled by the fear of ego to being liberated by the love of consciousness; what we face internally is a microcosm of what humanity faces globally— this is why growing our self-love is a medicine for our earth.
• heaviness comes from hanging on tightly to emotions that were always meant to be ephemeral.
• it is not easy to let go, especially when all we know is attachment. we want things to last forever and we turn difficult moments into long-lasting pain simply because we have not learned to let go.
• (meditation)we live in a unique time, when fear-driven and hateful emotions are coming to the surface so that they can be completely released, so that we can create a new world where institutionalized forms of harm are no longer factors in our lives.
• as it works for the individual,  it also works for the collective of humanity— we can’t heal what is ignored, nor can we live happily and freely if we continue running away from our own darkness.
• humans affect one another deeply, in ways that the world at large is just beginning to understand.
  when we begin healing ourselves, it sets off waves that connect us to those who have healed in the past and those who will heal in the future.
  when we heal ourselves, it gives strength to those who need more support to take on their own personal healing journey.
  what we do reverberates throughout time and space— like a rock thrown into a lake, the circles it creates move in all directions.
• they asked her, “how did you free yourself?” she answered, “by embracing my own power.”
  Embrace Your Power
• they asked her, “what does it mean to love yourself?” she answered, “it means to uncover and release whatever keeps you from true happiness; to love, honor, and accept every single part of you, especially those that are kept in the dark.
  it means to observe yourself continually with the utmost honesty and without judgment.
  loving yourself means striving to reach new heights of self-understanding so as to cultivate the wisdom that inner peace requires.
• they asked her, “what is true power?” she answered, “true power is living the realization that you are your own healer, hero, and leader.
  it is when you share your truth with compassion and peace.your power grows
  when you make progress in your own freedom and wisdom. those who are truly powerful do not harm themselves or others; instead, they use their energy to enrich all they know with love.”
• self-love. self-love is the beginning: an essential centerpiece that opens the door to unconditional love for yourself and all beings
  self-love is a sincere acceptance of the past an agreement to make the most of the present and a willingness to allow the best to occur in the future

🛰️ III. Other recommended references: