533. Your Most Valuable Skill

In an age when events move ever more swiftly and information overload threatens to swamp your mind, the most valuable skill you can acquire is to be able to tell for yourself what is true from what is false. This is done by polishing your mental faculty called Buddhi, or conscience. Meditation is the way to do this and when your mind is still, it will be able to see clearly what is true and what is not.

506. See Things as they Really Are.

One definition of a wise man is one who sees things as they really are and not how he would like them to be. This is called the faculty of discernment. Avoid fooling yourself and remember that self delusion is the worst form of delusion - you yourself will always be the easiest person you can fool. Self-delusion is the most widespread mental illness that there is and it is the root of serious loss of sanity. Strive always to see things as they really are. You should always look below the surface in any situation and try to see what's really going on. If you don't like what you see, devise methods to make things how you would like them to be, but never fool yourself into thinking that they are as you would like when in fact they are not.