Searching Within: Taking the Way of Self-Discovery for the Journey to Source Paperback – 27 Sept. 2017

What comes to mind after reading this book is how helpful and innovative the information is. The author's expertise on psychology showcases a fundamental discovery on what it means to be human. He writes gently and clearly, going into great length and detail to convey the topic of self-discovery with simplicity and practicality so that it can be easily understood. His work in ‘Searching Within’ offers a signpost pointing towards the understanding of a person’s deeper inner responses, emotions, drives, anxieties, thoughts and feelings and so much more that describes the nature of who we truly and the internal motions that we live through each and every day.I have read the first edition many years ago and find this one completely upgraded with a much fuller, more detailed, and more understandable explanation of the subject matter. I was left speechless at the new insights and examples, as though they brought more colour and depth to the approach of what it is to ‘’search within’’. The book showed what mistakes, artificialities, and common setbacks can arise, and brought vividly clear cases where someone could take notice of where the learning and self-discovery could be acquired. I found this especially helpful.This ability to see within oneself, to uncover, piece together, study, research and begin to understand the psychological states, impulses, fears, worries, depressions etc... has been explained clearly with practical and first-hand experience. Much of the author's accounts and examples harness a simplicity that aid the reader to de-mystify the often vague, generalized, sugar-coated, feel-good approach of personal development. In his book, Belsebuub outlines a hands-on strategy for anyone interested in pursuing a serious and thorough look into the nature of oneself.After finishing reading I caught myself comparing the methodology of this book to the needs of the human body. Just as we need to treat, nourish, understand, examine, look after, heal our own physical body, I believe the author directs our attention to examine and ultimately heal our internal body/inner world, and the spiritual potential it has to work optimally.

Simple to understand

I have read and re-read the previous edition of this book more than any other book I own, so I was eagerly awaiting getting my hands on a copy of this revised version. It definitely has not disappointed.The first edition I found very helpful. It contained the guidance I needed to start practicing awareness. It made clear what consciousness is and how it is a source of peace, intelligence and spiritual experience. It also explained how to learn about various psychological states that can prevent consciousness from being active and / or impede its development. This information helped me overcome a number of difficult emotional states that I had struggled with previously. Learning about myself through the methods the author explains also led to other big improvements in my general well-being and circumstances in life as a whole (eg. I have been a lot happier since working with the author's methods, and have become more employable due to reduced anxiety in situations like public speaking).Through trying the methods I found I started to understand other people better because I could see their actions and reactions were motivated by similar psychological states to my own. This has led to a deep interest in psychology. It has also developed my capacity to understand, relate to and empathize with others in ways I wasn’t able to previously.This new edition has been greatly expanded, and a lot of the previous information, approaches and practices have been re-framed and made even clearer and easier to understand and use. Self-discovery has also been put into the context of the path of the Spiritual Son (Sun) and a return to source, showing how self-knowledge is the basis and introduction to a potentially much greater spiritual journey which has been taught in different cultures throughout the ages.The meditation and other self-knowledge methods in the book (mantras, retrospection, awareness and self-observation, analysis of inner states, remembering dreams, analysis of dreams etc.) are clearly explained and accessible. There is also a section in the book that clearly explains how to incorporate all the exercises into a program of practice for gaining self-knowledge which I find helpful.As with the previous edition of this book I’ve found that the information and practices have many layers of depth (as we do ourselves), which the author manages to convey in a simple and easy-to-understand manner suitable for newcomers to the topic. Because of its many layers of depth however, each time I come back to the book I find I get something new out of it. It's a book which I anticipate will continue to reveal new insights on re-reads for many years to come.Highly recommended for anyone who wants an actionable guide to gaining self-knowledge.

Excellent book! This is a real piece of esoteric work - a must read (and practice) for those in search of the Divine within and all around!Belsebuub is the best author / teacher I've ever known!

So many practical self-knowledge exercises, and even a full chapter devoted to meditation and analysis - this is such an amazing book. It really details everything I needed to start learning about myself and make changes in my life. It's not just theory like so many other books out there - it really focus on helping the reader to learn on their own, and by using the author's explanations, I could finally get to see and understand things within me. Many concepts are really clearly explained, and I'm thankful for that - even though some of these I thought I was quite familiar with after several years, I find that I could uncover a deeper depth of understanding on something I thought I already 'knew'! And the title of the book is perfect too, Searching Within is spot on. It's not about waiting, it's not about wishful thinking, it's about acting up, an acitve search of the psyche, to really understand it, and it's helped me understand other people too. Like the author says, everything is contained within us - the pain of the world are the same pains we have within. And this book explains and gives the understanding and practical aspects needed to make true lasting changes within.

There is no other book that lays out with such clarity and depth of understanding how to seek the understanding we so long for in our hearts about ourselves, about others and our world.Too many people in this world are suffering, in pain, broken-hearted and dishearted, each of us fallen prey to blame. How different our world would be if we could search within and find the answers inside us, that are both the cause and the effect of our suffering, lifting ourselves and each other up, bringing compassion and understanding to our world that would allow us to resolve so many issues we face with care, love and a peaceful heart.I wish more people would read this book, and empower themselves with not only the understanding and knowledge it contains but the huge potential of that unfolding infinitely when its applied in life.

How could anyone insinuating that they've written a book containing a guide for searching within oneself for self-discovery fail to include a chapter on meditation, self-actualization? This is the third book, Astral Codex and Self Knowledge being the other two, I have read by Mark Pritchard (Belsebuub) and the third time I have been dissatisfied. Here Pritchard tells us that 'This book explains how by looking within we can learn about ourselves', but he never really gives a definitive approach. Instead, we are subjected to page after page of simple psychology, a mixture of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, and Pritchard's idea of the ego, consciousness and subconsciousness. I somehow got the impression that he either viewed his reader as unknowledgeable or ignorant while trying to convince himself of his own theory which was reiterated unmercifully throughout. I will say the best part of this book began on dreams and out of body experiences, but then he returned with his continued rhetoric regarding the ego. Several referrals were made regarding the path of the Spiritual Son (Sun), but again, Pritchard never goes into detail unless he'll offer that information in another book. So, may I make a suggestion? As one trained in the field of psychology, which basically disregards any approach in any spiritual sense, may I suggest to readers to partake in some of the Edgar Cayce material regarding searching within for self-discovery? Cayce not only presents the subject in an understandable way but also gives you the methods to use for attaining self-discovery. From Cayce at least you'll understand that God didn't make us as complex as Pritchard presents. It is true that in order to understand the engine we must have a knowledge of how it is put together, it doesn't mean we have to tear it totally apart which may take years to rebuild.