The following exercise may help you measure yourself now on the Way of the Soul. As you practice the Way of the Soul, re-rating yourself may give you a sense of progress.
On a page beside you, write down your 30 scores. Add them up and divide by 30. That is your Self-Examination score. You may put it in your registration file.
1 My mind is in the present.
My mind is in the past and/ or future.
2 I love people whether they reject or accept me.
I love people only when they accept me.
3 I live from inner stillness.
I live from inner busyness.
4I am concerned but peaceful without money.
I am anxious and worried without money.
5 I challenge and evolve my faith.
I ground myself in my firm, unchanging faith.
6 I have “give and take” chats with my s(S)ource of inspiration.
I do not have “give and take” chats with my s(S)ource of inspiration.
7I live as me no matter what.
I compromise myself to be accepted.
8I live in peace and joy.
I live a roller-coaster life, from sadness to elation, from regret to worry, from anxiety to euphoria, on and on.
9When someone turns me off, I seek to be more unconditionally loving of him and guarded.
When someone turns me off, I move away from him and guard myself from him.
10I seek feedback from others about how I can improve.
I avoid feedback from others about how I can improve.
11I enjoy sharing and hearing from another about the inner challenge to be more loving and alive.
I like to keep conversations superficial and light.
12I take only one vow—to be unconditional love guarded of all no matter the cost.
I take vows to people, to groups, to my faith, to my flag, and to institutions.
13 I make nonseekers uncomfortable because I am unconventional and unpredictable.
I make people comfortable because I am conventional and predictable.
14 I live from a loving, fierce s(S)pirit within me.
I live from the general spirit of those around me.
15 I have a zeal for personal development.
I seek the easy, familiar life.
16 I become my best me in the moment, and then, respond with unconditional love-guarded to how I affect the world.
I plan and control what happens around me, and then, deal with what I like and do not like.
17When bad things happen, I seek to experience them as perfect-as-is before making changes.
When bad things happen, I do what I can to make things good.
18I am aware of all my thoughts and feelings.
I do not pay attention to my thoughts and feelings.
19I listen to anyone, but trust only my inner guidance.
I trust peers, and authorities including those in scriptures more than I trust my inner guidance.
20I am personally fulfilled.
I am personally unfulfilled.
21When unfulfilled, I use my soul-guidance to find fulfillment in the moment.
When unfulfilled, I seek fulfillment “out there” in people and things.
22 I do not identify with anything but being unconditional love guarded in the world.
I identify with my friends, country, family, race, things, money, religion and my other beliefs.
23 I relate to God only when I experience God.
I relate to God by believing in God.
24I welcome, confront, and conquer my inner turmoil.
I seek outside relief from my inner turmoil through TV, drugs, alcohol, work, chatting, shopping, food, and other distractions.
25 I challenge social and religious norms until I am satisfied that they serve the highest ends.
I trust that social and religious norms serve the highest ends.
26 I experience perfect, loving order behind all events.
I experience good and bad luck, coincidences, that life is not fair, and that prayer may affect what happens.
27I watch for how everything that happens offers me the next perfect step to becoming my fulfilled self.
I dodge and weave through life avoiding bad things happening, regretting mistakes, and longing for what is missing.
28I reveal my own personal truths (about who I am, what happens after I die, who others are, and life’s other core questions) layer by layer, never getting to the core.
Experts (clergy, professors, commentators, celebrities, and people I admire like Jesus, Mohammed, and other Scripture authors) teach me absolute truths about life’s core questions.
29Just like the authors of scriptures, I suspend my beliefs in order to be enlightened with higher truths.
I am in awe of authors of scriptures who were chosen (unlike me) to be channels of God’s truths.
30I love surveys like this which help me decide how to improve.
I hate surveys like this even though they are designed to help me improve.
Compute your score by adding your selected numbers and dividing by 30. Mark you score on the scale below.
Results: The lower your score, the more likely you are on the Way of the Soul. The higher your score, the more likely you are on the Way of the Mind. If Jesus walked his talk, his score would be very low.