I Do Not Belong Here

A Personal Invitation from David Samuel

There comes a time in many people's lives when they begin asking questions such as: What's the point of life? Why do I feel as though I don't truly belong here? Am I more than what I appear to be?

We realize how difficult it is to control our thoughts and emotions. We can see that we are often controlled by external circumstances and unseen influences that alter our moods, our thinking, and the direction of our lives. The most frustrating part is that we feel powerless to change it, despite everything we have tried.

Before following any method or teacher or advisor, take some time to consider and test this thought;

’Never take the advice of someone who will profit from your loss.’

You know that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with you, and that there is something more you are capable of becoming. Something beyond simply existing—beyond eating, working, sleeping and eventually dying.

At the same time, we recognize that we must live in the practical world. We need food, shelter and security. Our body demands these things, and to provide them we must work and earn a living. That is simply part of life on this planet. We are a slave to our body, and the master says; feed me, clothe me, shelter me, and we have not choice to obey if we want to survive. 

Yet some people continue to sense that there must be more to existence, others just ignore the feeling and play video games instead or get lost in a career imagining themselves to be so important to the world.  We are not merely another animal surviving from day to day, not just another cat or rat fighting to kill or not be killed. There is a longing to understand why we are here and whether life has a deeper purpose beyond routine.

Some begin to notice patterns in society, in themselves, and in the way human beings are conditioned to think and behave. They sense that many accepted ideas deserve closer examination and that genuine understanding requires questioning even our own assumptions. Are you thinking your own thoughts, or thoughts that you have been fed to think and believe without objective reason and logical examination. 

My father often said; “If 100 people say it is this way, and you say it is different, you are wrong, because 100 people cannot be wrong.” My father followed what the masses said without thinking for himself. I refuse to be a mindless sheep. That just means 100 people are sheep following each other into the slaughter house being told it is a warm comfy meal. 

For those who are willing to look honestly at themselves and explore difficult questions, uncomfortable truths often become the doorway to greater freedom, I invite you to ask your questions. As the saying goes, "The truth shall set you free."

Let me share a story.

While visiting Lake Pokhara, Nepal, I hired a small rowing boat and ventured out onto the lake. Suddenly, a powerful storm arrived. The wind was blowing directly against me, and no matter how hard I rowed, I was being pushed farther away from the dock. I became frustrated, angry and increasingly desperate.

Then a Nepalese man sitting calmly in his boat, instead of fighting the wind, simply allowed it to carry him in the other direction. He shook his head at me as if to say, what kind of fool are you, pointed, and indicated that I should go with the wind rather than against it.

I followed his advice. The wind carried me safely to the shoreline, where the water became calm and I could easily row back to the dock.

This story captures the essence of the advanced level of the David Samuel Institute.

It is about understanding which way the wind is blowing—understanding how our minds function, how life unfolds, and how to work with reality rather than constantly resisting it. Through understanding, we gradually become masters of ourselves rather than victims of circumstance.

Resistance is in fact, futile.

Together we examine evidence, logic, common sense, personal experience and careful self-observation. My aim is not to tell you what to think, but to help you learn how to think more clearly and objectively, free from fixed opinions and inherited assumptions.

From the very beginning, I want to make one principle of the Institute absolutely clear:

Never accept anything I—or anyone else—says as truth until you have tested it through your own observation and experience. Trust only enough to investigate. Let your personal experience become your proof.