FAQ's about Your Higher
What is a "higher self" and does
it have meaning for me in my busy life?
Jerome Ballantine, A New York
fashion executive, told me recently:
"In meditation, in my inner eye I saw my higher self as a tall,
radiant being in yellow robes with penetrating large brown eyes.
Identifying himself as Sananda, he led me through a doorway into a
vast space. With stars and galaxies all around me, I ascended into
a realm of light and left time and space behind. I became
infinitely expanded, and the universe became a tiny dot within me.
I was filled with great happiness and peace. For a time I became
one with the universe and completely forgot my body and everything
else. As a result of this experience, my higher self is with me
daily, granting me constant support, comfort, guidance, love, and
Even busy executives can have profound experiences of their higher
self. Not just isolated flash-in-the-pan phenomena, these are
profound, meaningful occurrences that affect every aspect of daily
The higher self is a part of you that usually remains hidden from
view. It's thought of as your spiritual self or the higher aspect
of your being. Yet most people misunderstand it and don't realize
In what way does an experience
of my higher self have meaning to me?
Experiencing your higher self can
literally transform the way you see yourself, how you relate to
your environment, and how you interact with others. It can augment
your career success and dramatically improve your level of
self-confidence and measure of happiness.
Why and how can my higher self
transform my life?
Getting in touch with your higher
self awakens hidden aspects of yourself that haven't yet been
brought to conscious awareness. These higher aspects, with special
properties and abilities, can exercise your mind in new ways. Like
an out-of-use muscle that has atrophied, your higher self needs to
be used. Then it becomes an ally that transforms your life into
something new. You become more happy, successful, radiant,
beautiful, and fulfilled.
How can I contact my higher
Through meditation you can
connect with your higher self. By quieting your mind, you can
recognize who the higher self is and what it can do for you. In
this book you'll learn some practical ways to do this.
How does my higher self
Your higher self works with your
ego-self to carry out the process of your spiritual awakening in
consciousness. You're constantly reinventing yourself into higher
states of awareness every moment, opening to understandings you
weren't previously aware of. Each new day brings a higher state of
consciousness than the day before. You're waking up day by day, as
you recognize the perfection and truth of your being.
What is the purpose of my
Your life purpose is to enjoy
greater happiness and express more of who you really are. Who you
really are and who you think you are may be very different from
each other. For you are an enlightened, spiritually awake, highly
tuned, powerful being, at one with the universe and with your
How can I begin to realize who
I really am?
Your higher self will teach you
who you really are once you experience it directly in meditation
and communicate with it. But this must be a direct experience, not
an intellectualization. Only by going direct to the source, without
any intermediary, can you realize your true self.
What benefits can I receive
through contacting my higher self?
Contact with your higher
self brings more love into your life, since you drop personality
façades that previously created walls between yourself and
You also become more powerful and effective, since you're
tapping an unlimited gold mind of power and wisdom at the center of
Since the experience of the higher self is great joy and deep
satisfaction, you naturally become happier and more
You have more energy, since you stop trying so hard to please
others and relax into being more natural and true to
You develop your full mental potential when you awaken to the
innate wisdom and inner knowing of your higher self.
6. Less Stress
You reduce stress and tension and increase well being and
contentment, since you become more self-contained and
Your health improves because, as you start to identify with
your higher self, you become more physically relaxed and
You feel more content when you attune to the higher self,
because you gain trust in the universe to provide for your
9. Peace of Mind
You experience greater peace of mind, since you find what
you've been seeking all your life, even if you didn't know it at
What is the nature of my
Your higher self is your true
nature-the divine within. It may be completely unlike what you
believe yourself to be. In fact, you may not recognize it as your
self when you first encounter it. You might even think it's someone
or something other than you. But in reality it's the true nature of
your being-beautiful, free, loving, generous, joyous, wise, and
creative-the divine in action, expressing itself as
What does my higher self look
like and how does it feel?
Your higher self is a radiant,
beautiful light being. It has no heavy mass like your earthly
physical body. It may be myriad beautiful colors and isn't confined
to the space or even the time where your physical body is located.
Deep in meditation you'll experience your higher self as a sense of
happiness, fulfillment, wholeness, and profound peace.
Can you tell me more about my
Yes. It's multi-leveled and
multi-faceted. Your higher self is not your human personality and
not just your soul. It includes layer upon layer of dimensions. All
aspects of the divine abide within you. At the heart of your very
nature dwells the higher power (in whatever form you believe that
to be), in all its multifarious forms.
You'll experience your higher self in a way that's suited to you
and makes you comfortable. For example, if you happen to be Jewish,
you may not want to meet Jesus during your trips to inner space. If
you're Catholic, you may feel uncomfortable meeting Buddha. (But
don't be too surprised if you happen to run across them at some
point down the road.)
Beyond all your multidimensional aspects there's an even deeper
aspect-the absolute-beyond all forms and phenomena of the material
world and even beyond the celestial realm. But now we're getting
ahead of ourselves. We'll explore more about this later
Why do I need to know this
If you don't learn it now, it's
okay. It doesn't matter. Eventually you'll come back to it in the
future, either in this life or another life (whoops, yep,
reincarnation). Somewhere along your path you'll have to stop the
madness of living in the illusion of maya (identifying
yourself as your ego) and wake up to who you really are. It's just
"The question 'Who am I?'
is the one that annihilates all others."
Above is an excerpt from
EXPLORING MEDITATION, published by Career Press.
Copyright 2002 by Susan Shumsky
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