Temet Nosce
By Ela Mukosiej⎪May 2, 2025
“Temet Nosce” is a Latin phrase for “Know Thyself”. It’s where your inherent sovereignty dwells. It doesn’t refer to being familiar with your ancestral history, preferences, character or those types of things. To know one’s own self is to understand and live by the workings of the very fabric of the Mind-Body-Spirit complex.
There are many paths one can take in order to gain wisdom about the Self and each individual goes through a unique journey. Some people develop an interest in finding the Truth early on in life. Others go through their earthly experience and never ponder upon the deeper meaning of their existence.
In my case, the thirst for occulted knowledge has been a prime motivator to improve myself in a holistic way. I just wanted to learn the Truth about the universe and God, but especially about my real Self. “What is this world that I’m a part of? Who am I really and what’s my role here? Is it all random or is there a greater intelligence to this reality?”
I believe that to Know Thyself is to fulfill a sole purpose of physical incarnation. The older I become the clearer it appears that our journey here is not about discovering brand new ideas and horizons, but about remembering the ancient wisdom stored beneath all those inconsequential labels and dogmas given to us almost at birth. In other words, it is the shedding off of the stuff that we identify with (such as name, race, gender, nationality, religion, profession, socio-economical status, likes, dislikes, et alia) that will lead us to our most authentic Self.
So, if you may, forget about your “separate little me” for now and read this article with an open mind and ego aside.
The Big Picture of interconnectedness
The best entry into your journey of Knowing Thyself is to understand the Big Picture represented by the Law of Correspondence, which states: “As above, so below. As within, so without. As the universe, so the soul.”
These primordial words aren’t just myths for curious minds to ponder upon. They are immutable principles of the Natural Law carved in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus — a legendary embodiment of Hermes, the Greek God of communication, magic, and knowledge, and the Egyptian God of wisdom, Thoth.
This esoteric knowledge is the map to the structure of Reality itself. It explains how the invisible forces shape the material realm, all in a perfect harmony of cause and effect.
The “as above, so below” principle says that all things in the universe are interconnected with each other. Every level of reality reflects the whole. The concepts of holographic universe and fractals — the repeating patterns in nature and mathematics (Fibonacci sequence) perfectly portrait how that is. From the spirals of galaxies to the neural pathways in your brain, from the planetary movement to the structure of an atom you can find sufficient evidence for the Correspondence.
The microcosm and macrocosm are in actuality One — a mirror of each other. What governs the heavens also governs the smallest particles in your physical body. That which is manifested as tangible and experiential is a perfect reflection of that which is stored in your inner psyche.
I first stumbled upon this knowledge in college and was at awe with its magnificence and simplicity. It provided general answers to questions about my own existence and eased the uncomfortable feeling of being separate, powerless, and unimportant. Since then I began using the ‘mirror principle’ in my daily life.
First hand knowledge
In times of stress, stagnation, or sickness I no longer point fingers at others (despite a strong temptation) or my own bad luck, but look inwards for thoughts and emotions that cause an unwanted experience. Although, it’s much easier to learn from the negative outcomes as they force us to change, it is crucial to also examine those positive manifestations in life and learn from them.
One of the greatest lessons I went through on my path to Knowing Thyself came in a form of knee injury. I torn an ACL twice during my basketball career. First as a senior in college and then as a rookie. I ended up having a surgery after it initially happened and was determined to apply the ‘mirror method’ to quickly recover and return to the game.
However, another incident with the same knee (just 16 months later) made me understand that I had to dive much deeper into my thought patterns and beliefs to fully heal the issue. And so I did. Even thought the MRI and two different doctors confirmed a torn ligament, I managed to escape an already scheduled surgery and came back to playing in no time.
Once I figured out the mental cause(s) of my physical predicament I hadn’t suffered another serious injury that would keep me out of games or practices for the rest of my professional career (6 years). At some point I may write a detailed story of how I created such a miracle, but for today I just wanted to give you a testament to the Law of Correspondence.
To take home
If you’re serious about Knowing Thyself, you have to understand that there’s an unbreakable union between the visible and invisible. You are not ONLY what you see or what you think and feel. In reality, you’re all and none of them.
You are an infinite Consciousness and, while being a human, there’s a spiritual side of you, as well as mental and finally the physical (in that order). Neglect one aspect of the Self and the imbalance reverberates through all levels of existence. When chaos reins within it shows up as conflict, disorder, or disease. Conversely, when your thoughts, emotions, and actions are aligned with higher vibration and understanding, your environment reflects clarity, growth, and joy.
By mastering the microcosm of your inner world you can influence not only your immediate environment, but our collective reality. How come?
Because you are inseparable from the Universe/Source/God and your seemingly trivial thoughts and actions cause ripples through the fabric of entire existence - whether you are aware of it or not. That is how important you are and how important your understanding of this principle is to the whole of humanity and beyond.
“If you see yourself in the correct way, you are all as much extraordinary phenomena of nature as trees, clouds, the patterns in running water, the flickering of fire, the arrangement of the stars, and the form of a galaxy. You are all just like that…” — Alan Watts