This ,unfortunately, another way the way that is taken by all too many ople in our society That way of deception, of denial of the essential self, the way that leads to alienation, frustration, and neurosis. Every individual is born with a unique combination of traits, characteristics abilities, and talents, and an unlimited potential for developing these. But en- vironment in the form of one's life situa- tion, family, society, and experiences exerts pressures, often unwittingly, that repress natural tendencies and promote the growth of a false personality. It is each individual's task, in his lifetime, to endeavor to discover and nourish as much as possible of his authentic self. An individual's patterns of behavior begin to take shape in infancy. Whenever these patterns are in harmony with the essential self, there is growth toward wholeness. No matter how secure and supportive one's environment, however, there are bound to be experiences which to some extent, distort and block natural tendencies. For example, a child who is, logically enough, rewarded for good behavior, may seek to gain approval suppressing desires and yearnings which he, mistakenly, thinks of as bad and un desirable. In doing so, repress healthy aspects of his nature which willremain forever after imprisoned and un- fulfilled. This can happen in a secure, supportive home with loving parents. How much more often does it occur where there is real deprivation-physical material, and/or emotional! The emergent becomes alienated to the extent that his learned patterns of behavior are at odds with his innate self. If, unknown to him, he has learned play roles that constantly torment this inner being, then he be comes a person at loggerheads with him self-frustrated, dissatisfied, often hostile and destructive to himself or others, and always knowing, however much he may attempt to evade it, a vague sense of alienation. Most people are not alienated to that extent. Yet we all learn, somewhere along the line, to respond in some ways that are false, to develop behavorial patterns that violate our true natures. These patterns fit poorly, like clothes of the wrong size and cut. Ill-fitting garments may chafe and irritate, but when these are replaced by clothes that fit correctly the source must of irritation is removed. know his exact physical measurements in order to acquire comfortable garments likewise, it is necessary to find one's inner measurements. The individual who desires to grow in Wholeness and in wisdom must first learn just who and what he is. When the ancient philosopher said, "Know thyself!" he was stating the most basic and necessary of all techniques for acquiring wisdom; yet the most difficult of attainment Usually, an individual own wors deceiver, for he may honestly believeone sort of person wher ity, he is only playing a learned role, one which is actually destructive to his inner self and impedes his develop- ment as a whole human being. Whether one works through meditation, through service, through analysis, through spiritual guidance, or through trial and error, it is a lifetime task to ferret out and to over- come these false personalities and to learn new patterns of behavior that are in harmony with our essential natures One of the first misconceptions, and one of the simplest an individual can overcome, is his fear of being "different." Most societies stress conformity. In some ways this is right and necessary. A secure society could not exist without standards of behavior, rules and laws. Unfortun- ately, human societies have a way of be- coming rigid and even repressive, and of not tolerating differences, even those that are not a threat to that society. The freer a society, the more opportunities there are for individuality. In a repressive society, it is more difficult for an indi- vidual to acknowledge differences. It always possible, however, for an indi- vidual to develop his own awareness and self-knowledge.