Pages of Awareness  

Dear readers,

In my life’s journey, I consider awareness a great treasure, as it helps us protect ourselves from negativity, which, in the form of thoughts or beliefs, traps us in vicious cycles that limit our growth.

For this reason, I’ve decided to share some of my deepest reflections with you, hoping that at least one of them will resonate with you in a special way.

Happy reading! 

(1) What is a language and what does it really mean to learn one?

A language is not just a set of words and grammar but a tool through which we express our way of perceiving and thinking. It is the imprint of a culture, shaped by the experiences of that population, by the events that have forged their feelings and thus their soul. By soul, I mean what stirs within us and makes us feel alive—the bubbling part of ourselves. We can say that every language is like a garment designed and tailored directly onto the culture from which it originates, reflecting it and possessing a unique and vibrant imprint.

This is why learning a language different from our own means acquiring a new personality. Every language has its own character, an energetic identity shaped over time. Consequently, when we have truly absorbed the essence of a language different from ours, we manage to display a different personality; our facial expressions change, and we can even speak and act differently in the same situation depending on the language we use, observing things from the same point of view generally typical of the people to whom the language we are speaking at that moment belongs.

Many people say that "besides the language, it's important to learn the culture," which is true, but they often consider these things as two separate elements that partially influence each other, which is minimal. Most of the time, they say it just because someone else told them and because mentally it's something that "makes sense." Very few of them consider the true connection between these two elements. The most serious issue is that among these people, there are also language teachers who are not able to transmit something they have not fully or at least sufficiently understood. (Fortunately, with the necessary exceptions.)

Language and culture are intrinsically fused together; they interpenetrate so thoroughly that through language we can perceive the culture, and through culture we can understand the logic of the language. Every language contains a vibration that can be perceived and decoded.

The real difference does not lie in the number of degrees and certifications obtained in linguistic or psychological fields but in having begun a deep journey within ourselves, aimed at understanding and liberating our soul, which has been suffocated by mental schemes: a set of rules that we faithfully follow but have never truly observed or questioned. Everything our parents and teachers teach us becomes our religion. The quality of the teachings doesn't matter much, nor their deep understanding; only obedience and possibly acceptance matter.

Freeing our soul allows us to rediscover sensitivity, the ability to perceive and see the world in a more enlightened and profound way. Knowing ourselves better enables us to understand the rest of humanity better.

It might seem rather strange or unusual to talk about all this during a language course, but we are studying a "HUMAN LANGUAGE." Humans are part of nature, just as weight is part of lead. Everything we create, especially a language (which is an expression of our feelings and thoughts), bears the imprint of nature, just as we do—only sometimes we forget it.

Learning a language by considering it almost as an entity endowed with its own personality will allow us to fully grasp its meaning and unique imprint, to absorb it and make it a part of us. Studying a language by adopting a mechanical approach, almost mathematical and full of fixed, standardized, and timed schemes will make everything heavier and unfruitful. It is necessary to dive into its world and live it fully, following our emotions and a non-limiting guide. Looking at it only through a book or always clinging to something for fear of falling will only make us victims.

After understanding this, we realize how learning a language is much more than a simple educational path; it's a true adventure that can give us an infinity of different emotions.

Emotions are what suit human beings best. Our ability to feel emotions is innate, and anyway, the human race is not the only one to enjoy this ability. However, as fate would have it, we are the only ones who experience our emotions as a problem rather than a blessing. In fact, since childhood, we are often taught to repress our emotions, to control them, to suffocate them—especially as we grow and face greater responsibilities, such as exams and work. Everything must follow the scheme imposed by the society in which we live.

Freedom makes us true, unique, and original, but above all, it makes us human.

Considering language learning only as a subject of study is extremely reductive and deprives us of all the beauty this experience has to offer. Learning a language means learning art and science mixed with history and psychology. It is an intimate and invaluable experience—overwhelming and magical in the true sense of the word—thanks to which we can break down barriers inside and outside of us and expand our world. It is something that forges us and allows us to acquire greater knowledge and mastery of ourselves. Self-knowledge is a source of inner light that allows us to grasp the nuances of the world; it is a source of strength and inner security.

Certainly, school can play a very important role, especially if the teachers are enlightened people; in that case, they will do their best to help us seize the maximum. But much also depends on us and on how we decide to approach this adventure.

You won't become a superhero after undertaking this experience; they, as they are, exist only in comics. But if you live this experience in the right way, you will discover a part of yourself and the world around you that you were previously unaware of.

Brandon - July 2024 

(2) The true task of a teacher

A teacher who humiliates or penalizes their student because they cannot accomplish something is not worthy of this profession. The task of a teacher is not to use the rod to instill discipline but to help the sincere student find the light in what they themselves are teaching.

Brandon - July 2024 

(3) There is no reason for shame during the learning process

None of us is born knowing how to do things. Everything in nature is in a continuous evolutionary process, each being and element in its own time, including humans—or at least it should be... In many circumstances, from a young age, we are taught that we should feel ashamed when we can't do certain things. But in reality, it's just a baseless belief that everyone accepts without ever truly evaluating it.

Humans are, in fact, the only beings who often make exceptions to this natural logic because we've placed a division between ourselves and nature. We increasingly identify through a set of mental frameworks, many of which have nothing natural (nor logically sound) about them, and only a few of which are healthy. From this perspective, we find ourselves in a process of involution because we pretend (often unconsciously) not to feel like children of the earth but rather children of a society to which we owe obedience.

As a language tutor, I can say that among the various things we seem to find normal to be ashamed of is not being able to speak a new language we are learning. This belief is quite dysfunctional and creates unhealthy effects within those who submit to it. Every skill has undergone an evolutionary process that has forged it through mistakes and direct experimentation; this has already given us dignity. There's nothing else to prove; we just need to continue to evolve with strength and love for ourselves, recognizing our natural rhythm and perhaps finding the way that suits us best to learn, which is fundamental, though often completely ignored.

Brandon - August 2024 

(4) It happens very often but we don't realize it; We even do it to ourselves

Blame an embryo for not yet being a complete being. If it could speak, it would tell you that you're completely out of your mind.

Is one of our developing abilities perhaps different from any embryo?

Give yourself the necessary time to grow in learning everything!

Brandon - August 2024 

(5) A great truth

I have never said that learning a new language is simple, but I have always asserted that it can be a truly exciting experience or a real nightmare, depending on how we choose to live it. When we realize that we are part of nature and that we are all truly interconnected—in fact, we are all part of a whole (including animals and plants)—and all this takes root in our hearts, we understand how barriers are secondary things, even linguistic ones. This is because we all communicate with an invisible energy (that magical understanding you can feel with a dear friend or other people). This type of communication surpasses everything because it is primordial.

But our minds are too busy to notice this, and we have been taught to fear not knowing how to do things and to judge ourselves (so when there is no one in front of us who can criticize us, there is always an inner judge; thus, we are never alone—we are always in the crosshairs of a sniper, which is a stupid and harmful thing). If we base language learning on this awareness and on the flow of human emotion, things we could call magical will start to happen. A part that we currently ignore will begin to function and will help us learn more quickly and more deeply.

I say this because I have experienced it personally.

Brandon - September 2024 

(6) Loving Yourself: A Journey of Healing and Awareness

Truly loving ourselves is the first step to feeling better because we finally stop criticizing and judging ourselves as a despotic person would. This alone will give us much more energy. Treat yourself as you would treat your best friend or a child. Inside you, there's another you who is often scolded, criticized, humiliated, and sometimes even beaten. We do this to ourselves, but we often don't notice; then we don't understand why we feel frustrated and depleted of energy. But feeling bad under these conditions is absolutely normal.

Love yourself, silence the conditioned mind that sees evil everywhere, make peace with your past and understand it, so that it doesn't pollute your present and doesn't inhibit love and understanding toward yourself and others. Take care of yourself. I hug you tightly!

Brandon - September 2024 

(7) The Real Source of our Fears

When you’re afraid of something or someone, or feel hesitation or a sense of self-devaluation, stop and ask yourself: “What have I forgotten?”
This is an important question because, nine times out of ten, these kinds of weaknesses are caused by past events related to our parents’ attitudes toward us and our relationship with them during childhood or adolescence.

Not everything parents do is truly for our benefit, even though it’s often claimed otherwise. Parents are people just like us, with their strengths and weaknesses, and like all of us, they have mental patterns and fears that can lead to dysfunctional behavior. Not all parents are really ready to be parents, and becoming one places additional pressure and fears on them. Often, they too are victims of their own circumstances, and, lacking a profound inner journey in their lives, they haven’t understood how to truly love themselves—nor how to properly love their children.

A child tends to forget, excuse, or ignore parental behaviors that cause them pain, just to maintain a good relationship with them. As a result, the child continually blames themselves, thinking they are a “bad” child, unworthy of love and approval from anyone, and thus believes they must do something special to earn it.

Providing a child with medical care, education, food, and valuable items does not mean loving them; these are the basic duties of a parent. Truly loving a child means focusing primarily on their real emotional state rather than only their academic performance or career success. Above all, loving a child means: accepting them for who they are, loving them simply because they exist, showing them in countless ways that they are precious just by being in this world, apologizing to them when you’re irritable and take out your anger on them, helping them understand that it’s not their fault if mom or dad are a bit distant, but rather that they’re going through a difficult time. It also means showing them that they are as important as a tree in the forest.

In this way, no one will be able to make them doubt their intrinsic value, because they will have full awareness of it.

Brandon - February 2025

(8) Distorted Reality – The World as Our Family

The way we perceive reality depends greatly on our relationship with our parents, because their regard for us, from childhood onward, shapes our sense of personal worth.

In other words, we project onto others the same attitude we once had toward our parents, and build our view of the world based on how they made us feel.
 If the environment around us is fairly calm but we still perceive it as hostile, it’s because we’ve repressed negative memories of our relationship with our parents. In fact, to protect ourselves from pain, we create a separation between the “good parent” and the “bad parent,” forgetting the bad part each time physical or psychological abuse ends.

Furthermore, if we justify the few negative memories we still have by telling ourselves “They did it for my own good,” we’re reaffirming the idea that we deserved the mistreatment, which is absurd. A child who’s lazy might be so because they’re depressed; if they aren’t studying, it could be because their mind is distracted by some difficulty; if they’re always playing video games, it’s because they’re escaping a reality that makes them feel bad. Instead of humiliating or punishing them, parents should reflect on themselves and ask, “What am I doing to my child that makes them feel so miserable? I need to go and ask him.”

But unfortunately, not everyone can do that… Many parents feel like semi-gods… they have an image to protect, even at the cost of their child’s mental health.

If you recognize one or more of these signs in yourself, yet at first glance think you had a happy childhood, stop and reflect, because that might mean you’ve blocked out many events and situations that caused you pain.
 A child will do anything to maintain a good relationship with their parents. It’s far easier to believe they are “bad or wrong” — since that means they can still change and be accepted — rather than feel hopeless by admitting they have parents who don’t love them enough or have no idea what they’re doing.

A child’s mind can effectively erase negative events (often even the most serious ones), but the pain remains within us. Once the memories fade, our parents become wonderful or at least decent, and at that point our rational mind can only conclude that the evil we sense must come from the world. This is how the pain from our past haunts our present like a ghost. To varying degrees, it happens to all of us.

Until we open our own Pandora’s box, we’ll go on living in our past every day, and remain unable to feel the unconditional love that people — and nature itself — offer us.

I love you. A big hug!

Brandon - February 2025

(9) A School Grade Does Not Define Your True Worth

If you receive an average grade, you don’t become any less attractive; if you achieve the highest grade, you don’t magically become more beautiful or important. The truth is that no one will remember your grades— not even you. Strangers couldn’t care less, while those who genuinely care about you focus on who you are as a person, not on your academic performance.

Those who truly see you appreciate you for who you are, enjoy your company, and exchange energy with you. On the other hand, anyone who makes a big deal about your grades (parents, relatives, friends…) isn’t really seeing you deeply—and often isn’t even able to recognize their own worth. They’re clinging to a “social ladder” mindset to which they themselves have submitted.

Also remember that a teacher is a person just like you: they have a private life, insecurities, happy moments, and difficult times. Whether we like it or not, a person’s mood influences everything they do, including how they evaluate others. If a teacher is in a bad mood—maybe they had a fight at home, were robbed, or received sad news—they could, without meaning to, project some of their tension onto you, reacting sharply to a small mistake or your shyness. Conversely, if they’re in a peaceful period or something nice has just happened to them, they might encourage you even if they see you’re nervous. (Of course, these are just a few examples and don’t encompass every possible situation.)

In any case, the final outcome of an evaluation can change, and that’s perfectly normal: we are human beings, and what happens in our lives affects us. The alternative would be to entrust everything to artificial intelligence, but we will have to discuss its ethical implications in the future.

So, should we stop studying altogether?
 Of course not. We should still do our best: increasing our knowledge is important because it opens up more opportunities and helps us defend ourselves in various areas of life. However, remember that grades—whether they’re high or low—don’t directly measure your worth as a person; they only reflect a single performance in a specific moment. And very often, a test can be retaken with better results.

If one day you become a teacher or someone influential, this won’t turn you into a “demigod.” You’ll remain yourself: a human being among many others. If the opposite happens, it means you haven’t found your true value, and so you feel forced to seek it through external validation and titles.

Brandon - February 2025

(10) The false ego: the “self” that suffocates your true being and harms those around you

The false ego is a “false self,” an “other self” (from the Latin alter ego) that operates within us, possessing a personality and characteristics utterly different from our true nature. We all have it to varying degrees, and we don’t develop it out of malice but rather for self-preservation: it’s an attempt to be accepted by our parents and, by extension, by society.

However, this artificial front smothers our true self, intimidating it more and more until it eventually subdues it (if we could see it, it would be quite a violent sight). Deep down, we feel worse and worse, while the moments of emptiness and silence grow longer because we lose our sensitivity… We end up perceiving only our artificial identity—cold as metal, fragile as glass, but seemingly as solid as steel. The more empty and sidelined we feel, the more we try to display the opposite, both to others and to ourselves, adopting arrogant or vain attitudes and drawing on our “social standing” to feel special and look down on others.

It’s a widespread phenomenon because, to some degree, we’ve all felt the need to please our parents, and our parents themselves weren’t entirely exempt from this dynamic. We shouldn’t condemn ourselves for developing a false ego, because it doesn’t mean we’re bad—just that we’re trying to suffer less. We don’t deserve judgment, but rather understanding and help. If we feel the need to judge ourselves or others, let’s stop and ask, “What am I missing here?” and start anew. Judging is quick and easy, but it restricts us and makes us accusatory; understanding, instead, opens the doors to awareness and makes us stronger than before.

How to dismantle the false ego?

It takes courage and willpower to revisit our childhood, analyze our parents’ behavior, and understand how often and why it caused us pain. By doing so, we stop seeing parents as “untouchable” or “semi-divine” and begin to view them for what they truly are: people on the same level as ourselves. From this vantage point, the rest of the “temple” collapses too: teachers, employers, doctors, friends, office workers… we realize that each one is simply our equal. Recognizing our true worth makes us feel more grounded and balanced, and we can show ourselves to ourselves and others more naturally and spontaneously. We become more sensitive, more human, freer, and stronger, because truth is unshakable.

We have a duty to take care of ourselves, both for our own dignity and so as not to inflict our suffering on others. This applies to everyone since we all have a job or role involving interpersonal relationships. It’s valid for anyone, anywhere in the world. Let’s be attentive and learn to love ourselves: only in this way can we also love others.

Brandon - February 2025

(11) The quality of a professional: A reflection of our inner selves 

The reason it’s often difficult to find truly competent professionals and practitioners in any field does not depend so much on the number of years they have studied, but on how hard it is to come across people who have preserved their own soul. This applies to everyone: from custodians and office workers to consultants, teachers, and doctors of all ranks and degrees. After all, they are ordinary people — just like you and me — offering a service whose quality primarily depends on three factors:


Therefore, the quality of the help we receive is directly proportional to the overall quality of the person providing it.

It is normal that even professionals might make mistakes in good faith, and this does not diminish their value. However, only those who are truly enlightened have the strength to acknowledge their own errors and work to correct them. Others, on the other hand, remain trapped in their false ego — a mask constructed by the mind to shield itself from a sense of self-devaluation inherited from childhood. Thus, in a desperate attempt to feel like “someone,” they seek validation through titles and socially accepted accolades, often deluding themselves into believing they are above others — even when they deny it.

Some examples?

Unfortunately, such episodes are common… But thankfully, there are also professionals we can trust — capable and enlightened people who go about their work with dedication, authenticity, and freedom.
 When confronted with certain behaviors, stay calm and hold your ground. Remember that these people try to appear strong to mask their inner fragility. They are trapped in an artificial identity in which they have placed their personal worth — an ephemeral value that they can no longer do without, because they fear facing a void that has never been filled; they live every day like tightrope walkers on a wire… They need help.

Understanding their situation does not mean justifying their behavior or the pain they cause, but it allows you to recognize that the real issue lies within them, not you. These individuals lack the clarity necessary to empathize with others—they cannot even see themselves.
 The root cause of so much suffering in the world is precisely the lack of natural affection — an actual pandemic that afflicts humankind and takes over the hearts of those who do not take a stand within themselves.

Although it is not simple, we should all learn to love our inner child, to improve our own condition and pass on this love to others. It is important for everyone and absolutely indispensable for teachers (guardians of future minds) and doctors (guardians of today’s and tomorrow’s health) — categories that often bear a greater responsibility than most.
 We must strive, each in our own small way, to make a difference, because human beings are also capable of extraordinary deeds. Yet these are reserved for those who develop awareness — awareness being the precursor of love, that essential flame no living being can live without if they want to see life in full color. By learning to love ourselves and sharing this love with others, we can hope for a better life for ourselves and those around us. Life is short; we need to try to live it as best we can.

And you, what kind of professional will you be one day? It all depends on how much freedom you give to the light coming from your soul.

Brandon - February 2025

(12) Repressed Desires

Repressing the desire to experience something that would harm neither ourselves nor anyone else means depriving ourselves of precious awareness and stifling a part of our being along with its vital energy. This triggers a subtle, constant sense of unease, difficult to pinpoint, which can literally poison our days and compromise our overall health. We become fully aware of this when, suddenly, we get the opportunity to fulfill that desire—sometimes in front of others (often completely unaware), other times in the depths of our innermost self—and we notice that certain troubles afflicting us diminish or disappear entirely. In that moment, we feel alive, free like any other animal.

But why should we suppress one of our desires?

Well... the conditioned mind—developed during childhood and adolescence—leads us to constantly judge and categorize every action as “right” or “wrong,” then further subdivide it according to externally imposed criteria that have little or nothing personal about them. Consequently, we sense a marked distance between ourselves and “new,” “unusual,” or “socially taboo” actions, which we often label as “wrong” or “negative.” This causes a high number of perceptual errors, prompting a certain mental resistance to those actions—a resistance that often proves contradictory because it goes against the desire of our pure instinct.

If you are sensitive to others’ judgment, it’s because you felt judged by your parents, directly or indirectly. This gave rise to an inner judge—a merciless false master—that constantly makes you feel inadequate and flawed, guilty of not being a “top” person according to their standards (i.e., your parents’).

If you look back on your past with a strong desire to rediscover your true self, you will start to notice the conditioning your parents instilled in you, whether in absolute good faith or through a scarcity of love. You will become aware of their errors in judging you (and themselves). Once you recognize this, all other forms of authority—teachers, employers, and so on—will gradually lose their grip, because you will have rediscovered your uncontaminated identity, which, being genuine, is unshakeable.

Pause for a moment on those thoughts that keep you from acting and ask yourself, “Does this voice truly belong to me, or does it come from someone else?”

Brandon - February 2025