\"Gift of Being Yourself: Sacred Call to Self-Discovery\"

¶ … Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner

Discovery and Knowledge of the Self in "The Gift of Being Yourself" by David Benner

The Gift of being Yourself: the sacred call to self-discover" by David Benner offers new insights about the importance of discovery of one's self in order to discover God in the process. The book's thesis illustrates a new way in which the seemingly scientific notion of self-discovery is integrated into the theological teaching of discovering God. Introducing two concepts, which are 'theological way' of self-discovery and transformational knowledge acquisition, Benner provides a thorough explanation of the arduous, yet rewarding, process towards establishing a strong relationship with God through self-discovery.

The first concept that Benner categorizes as vital to self-discovery is the development of transformational knowledge. This concept takes self-knowledge one step towards taking action, once an individual gets to know the truth about and knowledge regarding himself/herself. The book criticizes how the psychological concept of transformational knowledge differs greatly from its theological counterpart. Transformational knowledge in the social sciences is meant to allow the individual to know "periodic interpretations of the meaning of these free associations to guide...exploration." This differs from the theological concept of transformational knowledge, wherein self-knowledge can lead to "freedom or psychological health." This can only become possible is self-knowledge is used to motivate an individual's actions and behavior towards himself/herself, others, and life in general.

Another important insight that Benner offers in the book is the relationship that is inherently found between the process of self-discovery and discovery of God. The author posits that it is in knowing one's self that s/he can truly establish a strong relationship with God. However, he warns that in the process towards self-discovery, the individual should be weary of the true and "false" selves that may emerge upon his/her reflection. The true self, according to Benner, is the one wherein "you discover your unique vocation and deepest fulfillment...you will never find this 'until you have excluded all those superficial and fleeting possibilities of being and doing..." It is the false self that emerges when the "superficial and fleeting possibilities of being and doing" are enacted by the individual. This statement shows that upon the discovery of the true self that the individual will be able to create a lasting and strong relationship between him/her and God.