FEATURED MEMBER ARTICLE

This morning, I invited my higher self to enter my house.

The thing that has been giving me a gnawing feeling in my heart, is the fact that I have invited my higher-self to completely show up in my temple, my house, my body, but it doesn't stay. I am here now, in this place of the ever-unfolding moment in time, but it disturbs me that I feel and see a duality. The lower separate self-serving self and the higher self, the watcher, watching and weighing the soul with every action , thought and movement. Why would the part of me which experiences life here and now see itself as separate from that which gives it life? Why is there no integration?

I ask myself why the higher self doesn't come in to stay. "The door is open", I am saying. But the answer is quickly given. I mean, would you really want to stay here? Look over here, there is a tight constriction on my heart and throat, oh yes I see it now, it's dishonesty and withhold. It is some kind of ungiving, preserving of the self same old self. It has a nasty vibration and it smells of disgust. And oh yes, over on the left hand side there is a pain in the intestines and up under my ribs, it is filled up with greed, ambition and wrong motive. It is stagnating and I just keep adding more to it. Well across my back there seems to be a stress, my shoulders are burning; maybe it is just this computer posture. Oh no, no, no, "rational mind", don't try to avoid it, look at it. It is the burden of trying to hold up something that is old, heavy and rotten. My right side, surely there is something good here. Mmm... I feel a burning muscle sensation down my right shoulder and arm, a kind of numbness in my hand. Somehow there is a conflict about my right hand and eye co-ordination. But I know what the right thing to do is. My back hurts from bending and my knees hurt; it is all that lifting I do. But overall, I really want my higher self to show up here.

My mind is good; after all I have a good intellect and can plan and do things efficiently. I make sure that I have thought of every detail and enjoy reviewing, correcting and perfecting how I would explain an idea or concept to someone. I really do know a lot, if anyone would listen, I could help them and really do good in the world. Now I just need my higher spiritual self to join in here. All the rest wouldn't matter - would it? I could be a really great person if only my higher self would come to stay.

Well yes, the house is a bit of a mess, but my higher self could help me clean it up. I mean it wants me to change doesn't it?

The truth is, it does show up, unconditionally, eternally, ever forgiving, radiating the cool white light of spirit, unchanging and forever here in the now. I am ashamed that every time it visits, my house is a mess.

Oh thank you, great eternal One for coming even though I don't deserve it. What will I do with this dirty house now? It is a mess. I could just move out, but where would I live and who would clean up my mess? It would just sit there I guess, and add to the garbage of the world pollution. Yes I know it's mine but I have to let it go and be in a clean and righteous place don't I?

But my conscience asks, "How can I be in a clean and righteous place when I have added to the pollution of the world?" There is a dishonesty about that; some kind of lack of responsibility. Look at the world I have created, and just look at what I have given in this lifetime. Have I really ever given anything to anyone that hasn't been conditional that they come into my house?

Well okay then, I guess that I have to clean house if I want my higher self to show up here. The option of death, which I seem to have been choosing, is the only other choice; I mean the living death that I am in now. It's the pits living in this mess all the time.
Ok then, where do I start?

I guess I will have to clean house. Ok then, where do I start? How about that tightness in my heart and throat; it is dishonesty, withhold, ungiving, unloving and self-preserving. Yuk, I want to get rid of that. I'll replace it with honesty, openness, compassion and generosity, love and selflessness. So, every time I feel this in my heart I will consciously replace it. The pain is a gift from my higher self; a reminder. I will welcome that pain; I will welcome my higher self and be grateful that my body is telling me something and I am aware enough to see it. I will change my attitude.

Now, what else was there? Oh, yes, that pain in my gut. That was from greed, ambition, gluttony, self-indulgence and wrong motive. I think that I just need to release it. After all it has just been poisoning my system. I could replace it with the cleansing waters of generosity and altruism, fervent unrelenting desire to work for humanity, and clean positive thoughts and deeds. So the next time I have that nasty pain in my intestines, I will just let it go and replace it with pure motive and intention. Thank you higher self for letting me see what I need to do.

This stress in my shoulders will be a reminder that I am carrying a burden that should not be there. I will drop my rationalizing mind that tells me that I should have guilt and be punished by it.

And what about my right hand, there is something here that tells me that I need to consciously act in righteousness. I see what is right to do but my hand becomes numb or unresponsive when I see something needs to be done or said and I do not act. When I have this sensation, it will remind me to act with the sword of righteousness at that moment in time.

My aching back, oh yes, I see that I should stop bending the truth. My knees hurt from taking on the weight of responsibility that is not mine, quite a heavy load.

Now the last thing to clean up is my mind. Couldn't I just leave it for a while? God I'm tired after doing all this work. I've been so smart and clever, really efficient you know, cleaning everything up. Quite rational I would say. I'm really a good person to do this.

Now higher self, won't you come in, my door is open? Oh... what did you say? You don't want to be part of this. But I've just cleaned up, you know, no garbage fermenting and putrefying the space, its all neat and tidy. I'm not adding to the pollution of the world, I've recycled everything that I could. I have a change in attitude. I really want to work for humanity, really!

What do you mean remember what I asked before? "What will I do with this dirty house now? I could just move out but where would I live... and who would clean up my mess?" Yes, I remember what I said. I decided to clean up my own mess. Now what?

Oh... you are saying it is time to move now? Do you mean just leave this house? It's ok now..... just come into a different place..... but I would have to give up this house, I would have to give up myself if I move; give up this really good person who has created this house. She's really clever and always tries to do the right thing, why do I have to give her up? Well yes, I understand that you don't need to be me, separate and individualized. You are the ONE and you want me to be you...... ok, but what will happen to me now?

I'm feeling a little nauseous and sick and my head hurts. It's not so great being in this place, staying separate from what is real. It's a nice house but I'm lonely .... I don't want to be separate anymore....

Can I come in to a new place where this body and spirit are One, living in awareness in the ever-unfolding moment of the present? The door is open you say .....

Theseus	The House 1/9/2003 5:03:21 PM
This is one of the best pieces of Spiritual Realist writing that I have ever read. When I saw this in your member Journal I knew that we must share this with as many people as possible. I am looking forward to the comments on this by other members. I will be back later to reflect on some of the insights in this excellent writing. Congratulations!

rabbithowl	thank you 1/9/2003 5:16:30 PM
Star, I am very moved by what you have written here. I have no doubt that it speaks to everyone struggling to find, or currently on, the path. In a later journal entry I will probably share my own experience with my Higher Self, how, by means of a strange physical affliction, I was brought to my knees and forced into awareness of my unclean mind and empty heart. Thank you for sharing this earnest, bittersweet and evocative prose with us.

Sarpa	Cleaning House 1/9/2003 9:09:53 PM
An amazing article Star... I love how you have so pragmatically illuminated the struggle on the path. It really is up to us isn't it... up to us to choose and be different. I certainly struggle with my seperative mind, that clever part of me that thinks it's in control. The part of me that thinks it will remain through all of the 'cleaning house' required to live a a true and real life connected to the One. But as you are showing in this piece, it is not so mysterious. If we listen to ourselves - to what our higher self is telling us all the time - the path becomes clear. A wonderful teaching and beautiful prose. Thank-you!

Makura	The House 1/10/2003 4:49:24 PM
Thank you so much Star. This is beautiful and clearly illuminates the struggles I've been having. And, you know, this "simplistic analogy" as you say really, really speaks to me because I'm obsessive about keeping a clean house, I'm fascinated with cleaning products and sometimes I stop myself and wonder why this particular neurosis, is there something else I could/should be doing? And, then, I keep cleaning but not really working. I, too, really want to just give her up and come into a different place, all clean and shiny and welcoming to my higher self. Thank you, Star. Your teaching is wonderful. Your writing provides so much focus and good sense. You've provided an excellent, clear-headed, down-on-the-ground, in-your-face practice that I intend to use. I'm amazed and very thankful that you have shared this with all of us. Thank You!

Maya	The House 1/10/2003 7:32:42 PM
Thank you, Star, for a most inspiring article. It flows like a river through, and gave us a lot to think about. I could feel your struggles and also mine, as you mentioned how your house is. Time and time again I have asked myself, how can I pollute this temple where my Higher Self resides. How can I be dishonest and still feel that I can be part of a community that would want me to show up as I am. The struggles will continue, but the path is clearer, and the mind has to learn silence. Once we reach there, and try to be at all times present, then we should be able to feel more like one. You and I have had many things going for us in common, and can see with not much effort that our experiences have led us to meet more openly, which we both love. I am sorry we didn't discuss your article more before you left to the West, but there will be more days. It was truly beautiful, and inspiring.

Theseus	The House 1/10/2003 11:58:02 PM
. In The House it is said: “The truth is, it [the higher self] does show up, unconditionally, eternally, ever forgiving, radiating the cool white light of spirit, unchanging and forever here in the now.” “Oh thank you, great eternal One for coming even though I don't deserve it.” People might wonder how spiritual realists differentiate the Higher Self from the God/ess of the traditional religions? I think that this is a very good question. Does anyone want to speak to it?

rabbithowl	finding the Logos within 1/11/2003 11:41:34 AM
In my first year of university, I had the opportunity to take a philosophy of religion course. One of the things that my professor told us then has inspired me ever since: he said that the Christ, the Buddha, and other enlightened beings began as ordinary people, they are not the few "chosen" by a higher authority, but rather, we are all capable of finding the eternal Higher Self within, of becoming good, selfless, "enlightened" people capable of enormous beneficence to humankind. I don't need an outside god or goddess, or anyone for that matter, to give me permission to be an Individual Spiritual Being. No god, no person holds dominion over me. In saying this, I realize that, without an outside god or Messiah to take responsibility for me and my soul, to forgive me and grant me salvation in the final hour no matter how abominably I have behaved throughout my life, I am now completely responsible for my thoughts and actions, for the energy that I am putting out in the world, for the quality of my relationships with people and the earth itself. As I sow, so shall I reap. I would say, Theseus, that the Higher Self is a very different thing indeed from the god/dess of traditional religions, gods who deem human beings lowly and unworthy of the spirit, gods who claim the authority to decide whether we shall be blessed or not. Each of us has a Higher Self residing within, an inherent spirit-soul which no god or person can deny us. It is our responsibility to find a way to let that spirit within come out and play and shine in the world. I think that's what the concept of "cleaning house" is all about.

Blondchakra	Your House-cleaning 1/11/2003 7:08:55 PM
Dear Star What a truly creative piece of writing! I love your metaphor and I love your humour. Oh, it just depicts like a hidden camera the ridiculous dilemma of the entity we name as "I" or "me" or more appropriately "poor me." Yet, it's tragic too, that we call out beseechingly to our Higher Self to enter our house, to be the priestess in our temple, while our dwelling is filled with the dirty dishes accrued from gluttonous feasts. And there is so much accumulated baggage, discarded possessions that we hang onto, that we cannot see the Higher Self waiting at the windows of our mind. What a great description you give of the work to be done! How thoroughly I can relate to every painstaking detail of the cleaning! Today when my old bones were creaking at work, I suddenly visioned that delightful picture of the "House" with the enigmatic face of the Higher Self hovering above, and my life lighted up. Yes, yes, we can do it. We can clean our house. We can make a temple for our Higher Self. Thank you, Star, for pointing the way. And thank you for doing it with such inspirational force.

Makura	Higher Self or God/ess 1/12/2003 12:18:43 PM
This comment follows the thread initiated by Theseus in relation to The House (i.e., How do Spiritual Realists differentiate the Higher Self from God/ess?) In Grade 10 history class we studied British history for the whole year. One of the topics that I've never forgotten had to do with the formation of the Church. The teacher taught that the Church was the first corporation; it's organizational structure became the template for the modern corporation. By extension, then, God is the CEO, which means that He/She is definitely not you. I do not believe that Spiritual Realists agree with this section of the training manual. The difference is all within the taking of responsibility, that is, the ability to respond in every moment to HERE and NOW. We make choices in every moment: will I be truthful, will I be courageous, will I be who I really am, will I make room in my heart for my Higher Self to shine through, will I live or will I die? These are my life or death choices. Can't leave it up to someone else. Can't blame the weather. Can't rationalize (though I love a good rationalization). The God/ess of the traditional religions would have me/you behave like an obedient employee and cede all responsibility to Them. The Higher Self resides within each of us and will take up full-time residence in each of us in the world when we have cleaned each and every corner of our House.

littleroomtornado	Cleaning House 1/12/2003 1:17:05 PM
Thank you, Star. This is an amazing entry! The struggle you described is one that I have been feeling too. The desire to continually fix things in myself (Is this alright? Will this do? Is this acceptable now?) as opposed to just letting go and being. The struggle is unnecessary. I see that this just perpetuates self-involvement and isolation. It is a trap and stuck in it, I remain the same, I remain dead. The only thing to do is to just let go of everything that I have been. I cannot draw on the past (looking at aspects of myself that need to be "worked on") to propel myself into something new. The something new is there all the time. I just have to let go of everything and trust the moment and myself, just be in it and LIVE. Thank you again. Your article certainly hit home for me.

The Pook	The House 1/12/2003 3:52:52 PM
How courageous, bold and revealing your wonderful writing on cleaning house. Certainly it challenges each of us to pay closer attention to each and every one of our physical pains and the constrictions in our psychic closets. It reminds me again how diligently we are called to stay awake even when wakefulness is already given. I think of the birth and death of each moment that is given to us in the phenomenon of our being breathing creatures. I am more and more learning about the necessary attention we must give to that most simple and basic cleansing tool, and how in that act of paying attention, we are also involved in the act of of surrendering and getting out of the way of ourselves. Your writing also reminds me of the strange analogy and correspondence between spitual development and learning how to become a great actor. How it is in the work that we do to get out of the way of what is trying to come through that we may make progress on both of those paths. ( I hope to write more about this matter soon!) Thank you Star, for the inspiration you have offered to us all. Blessings and continued creative energy and light. At this rate, we'll be able to eat off of your floors!

Theseus	Who is the Higher Self? 1/13/2003 2:32:07 PM
~rabbitthowl says: "Each of us has a Higher Self residing within, an inherent spirit-soul which no god or person can deny us. It is our responsibility to find a way to let that spirit within come out and play and shine in the world. I think that's what the concept of "cleaning house" is all about." ~ makura says: "The Higher Self resides within each of us and will take up full-time residence in each of us in the world when we have cleaned each and every corner of our House." What I get from The House, from these and some of the other comments, is that the Higher-Self is the real individual, the True Self. The House that needs to be cleaned is the lower/delusional self. I wonder if anyone would like to describe the characteristics of the Higher Self?

Deepmoon	Theseus-Characteristics of Higher Self 1/13/2003 4:49:46 PM
The higher self to me is represented in the brightest child in the class that knows the answer to the teacher's question ,but whose voice isn't heard often enough, because the other voices drown it out; yet when that voice is acknowledged the answer is purely and simply given without the expectations of something more. The higher self is the lightening flash which allows you to catch a glimpse of something that you can't quite discern in the dark, that unless you take the time to get closer and investigate, to tramp through the mud and the sludge, you only see it for what it really is after the storm has passed. It is the fork in the road before you - one route is filled with roadblocks - the other is the more direct and clear path - Yet, how could it be so clean and so simple? It must be that you are meant to take the more difficult path because you are taught that nothing of any value comes easy - it has to be - only when you reach your destination, you look behind you and realize the roads are now one and you really could have gone on the path of least resistance - that in fact you would have arrived at your destination much sooner, in the light of day, energized by your accomplishment and ready for the next day's journey. The higher spirit seems all of this and more to me - the voice of pure and simple undiluted knowledge that we often don't hear above the din; the brightest, whitest light that penetrates the dark; the simple, unencumbered path that we fear because we are not worthy or deserving. Thank you so much for your terrific article. I have been very focussed this past year on finding and working my path. You very succinctly brought much light to much of what I've been struggling through. I look forward to more of your insightful work!

rhea	The House 1/13/2003 5:11:04 PM
Star I loved your article, and as I read it fell into all the traps, they are so familiar - and you articulated them so well. The hard work, interwoven with rationalization and conditions, that make the work so complex - only to realize it's the wrong work - and the right work is so much simpler, more productive and rewarding. How easy it is to relate to your struggle - thank you for sharing this with us - it certainly hit the target and I believe will form a basis for many discussions. This simple metaphor is one that will facilitate valuable discussions with those attracted to the Spiritual Realist Group. You've certainly set a benchmark in your journal for us all to aspire to. A beautiful article. Thank you.

paris	The House 1/14/2003 9:43:09 PM
Star, thank you very much for your contribution. The honesty and humility that you have presented is cleansing. You have reminded me that the higher self is always present - it is here to be greeted and invited into our house and it is here to guide us on our path. We need to allow it more space.

Sarpa	Higher Self? 1/16/2003 7:00:41 AM
THESEUS, in trying to articulate to myself what the characteristics of the higher self would be I've realised something shocking. I have had the notion that my higher self would be 'me at my best' or 'the me I would be if I wasn't such a wretch'. But who is this "I" that thinks it could be it's higher self? It's just me the wretch having a fantasy about being a brighter, better, happier wretch. It seems to me that the notion of a higher self that is coming together here is arrogant and ego-centered. Is this notion of having a higher self just wishful thinking? Am I just imagining my ego under so much self control that I never make mistakes again? Is it a super personality that can't be argued with that I'm after? The desire for power dressed up in spiritual sounding virtues? It's a strange dilemma, being an unclean house, and thinking about what my higher self would be like. I can say what it isn't, namely everything I've described above. But what than is it? Surely it must be something other than this super perfect control freak I've been imagining...

redoak	Keep on cleaning 1/16/2003 5:07:06 PM
I’m pretty sure of one thing, the higher self is not an idiot. Even the lower self does not want to be lured or trapped. I think that if you forget you are cleaning and just clean the struggle ceases. And it is actually the higher self, doing the cleaning. But when you stop cleaning and look around for praise or profit, It’s gone. When you say oh I’m wonderful now, won’t you come and stay. It sounds like your done, like there is no more cleaning to come. We can just sit on the couch and eat popcorn. Because we are done, we have reached the end. Aren’t we special. I wonder if we finished first. I would like to share some wisdom I learned from a Ziggy comic strip. Along our path of life we get a series of detours…and we all get frustrated and impatient when we feel we have to leave the path we’ve chosen…but what if THE REAL PATH OF LIFE…is REALLY made up of all these detours…and instead of learning the real lessons of life, we miss them because we were too busy being frustrated and impatient !!

rabbithowl	the real path of life 1/17/2003 7:23:11 PM
Redoak, I have to agree with you: the real path of life is actually made up of the detours. My own life attests to that truth! I was on the road to my hoped-for career when I was side-lined by a physical affliction which I now understand to be a gift from my Higher Self. Well, it sure didn't feel like a gift at the beginning! I was devastated. The internal struggle began. I had moments of absolute depression, overwhelming frustration, and impatience. Recently, I embraced at last the detour which had been causing me so much frustration and heartache and suddenly awoke to discover all the gifts that the Universe had brought me as a consequence of this detour. The detour that I had fought so hard against for so long was actually the best thing to ever happen to me. It's true, the work is never done. There is no end to learning. We will never have that moment on the couch when we can complacently announce that we have finished cleaning house. Embrace the challenge of spiritual work. It isn't easy, it doesn't always pay off. Getting frustrated or willful is only a waste of good energy which could be put forth out in the world rather than dwindling away in the recesses of your own mind.

Theseus	Who Is The Higher Self? 1/18/2003 3:45:08 AM
In response to my question above: Who is the Higher Self? ~Sarpa has said: ”It seems to me that the notion of a higher self that is coming together here is arrogant and ego-centered.” And also “Surely it must be something other than this super perfect control freak I've been imagining.” . ~Redoak has succinctly pointed out: ” I’m pretty sure of one thing, the higher self is not an idiot. Even the lower self does not want to be lured or trapped.” . I think that here is as good a place as any to introduce the mysterious number Seven: 1: Original Spirit: Freedom 2: Spirit Soul: Love 3: Spirit-Self: Wisdom Separate-self-ego-personality: 4: Personal Consciousness. 5: Astral-Psyche 6: Etheric-Energy 7: Physical Body. We can see here that these Seven Principles make up everything we can understand and be, as fully awakened human spiritual beings. ~star aspires to deep-awaken into the actuality of her authentic Individual Higher Self which is to say as a dynamic living balance of Freedom-Love-Wisdom right here in the immanence of herself as a human woman living her life in the House of her life. But I think we need to explore all of this further.

Maya	Higher Self? 1/18/2003 1:40:19 PM
When I think of my Higher Self, as to when it talks to me and when it is trying to let me know something, I feel I can reach it through my intuition. It is when I am being truly honest and open, when my heart is telling me YES, when I take full responsibility of everything I do, that is my Higher Self speaking through me, and I am just an instrument. What do I aspire now? Actually if I let my Higher Self speak to me I aspire whatever life brings me, for in some way I've asked for it. Just accepting, with my heart open, and grateful for every thing that comes my way. I have learned to accept, and to aspire the minimum, but I have to confess that sometimes my lower self takes me to new roads which I must then deal with. Every new experience is an opening to let my Higher Self tell me what to do. Thus being responsible, open, grateful and accepting, with my intuition tuned to IT, that would be my Higher Self.

redoak	Who am I ? 1/19/2003 11:42:53 AM
I think the Higher Self [The Real Self] is simply THE SELF and the lower self ISN’T, but thinks it is. Or does it think? It was created by The Self and can be destroyed by The Self. Sounds simple, but look around… it appears quite powerful and in control. "Sri Ramana, an illumined master of 20th century India, tells us to always be asking: "Who am I?" It is by asking this question at every turn: "Who am I?"; at every new event: "Who am I?"; at every disconsoling thought: "Who am I?"; at every lucky break: "Who am I?" It is in that asking that we go deeper and deeper into our souls until we remember who we really are. As we grow in spirit, we find to our amazement that we do not have to change who we are. What we must do is remember who we are, for who we are is cause for awe and wonder. The inquiry 'Who am I?' is not to be regarded as a mental effort to understand the mind's nature. Its main purpose is 'to focus the entire mind at its source'. The source of the 'pseudo-I' is the Self. What one does in Self-inquiry is to run against the mental current instead of running along with it, and finally transcend the sphere of mental modifications. When the 'pseudo-I' is tracked down to its source, it vanishes. Then the Self shines in all its splendor - which shining is called realization and release."

Makura	Who is the Higher Self? 1/19/2003 12:48:12 PM
The Higher Self IS... The Higher Self is an infinite array of being-ness. (Oh, the clumsiness of English sometimes.) Until I remember who I am, until I understand my spiritual purpose, I can only fantasize about (as Sarpa says) some sort of "super-uber-makura" but none of that (sadly) is real. My understanding of the designations "Original-Spirit, Spirit-Soul and Spirit-Self" is that the Higher Self is immersed in the impersonal, the "me" has fallen away, giving way to the WE, the One and the Many. Many, most or all of us have glimpsed those all-too-fleeting moments when we feel that we have simultaneously landed here on Earth and are also connected to the cosmos, to the world, to every form of life. I think for the Higher Self these moments encompass the eternal; every breath, every movement is a THANK YOU; the heart beating rhythmically in concert with the source of all life.

Star	thank you for your comment 1/24/2003 3:03:39 PM
I am so very happy that this article has opened the doors for such insightful and energetic comments from all of you. I can see that many of you are going further into this and have real insights that can help us all to awaken further. I too have tried to look at the higher self from the perspective of the Mysterious Seven. This is what has come through for me. Original Spirit: Omnipresent,eternal, boundless, beyond all thought or human similitude; it is the ever-unfolding present moment in time, the ever opening; it is alive and moving. It is not personal or separate but One reality. It is freedom in that it is not connected to any one thing or being. It is the be-ness that everything is experienced within. Original Spirit is always there, ever-giving, ever-unfolding, and ever-being and it is the only thing, really, that we can all return to, always in the here now in time. Soul Spirit then is the "doorway" through which we are connected to Original Spirit as beings. It is experienced as ever-compassionate love, because we feel it is always there, it is unconditional. Or it can be said that we experience Original Spirit though our own consciousness, as beings, awakened and aware, at our deepest level to the eternality of the ever be-ness of things. Spirit Self: We experience it as our attunement with eternal wisdom, the sum total of all that can be said, or known in the universe. Spirit Self knows all; it contains all knowledge. When we are aware, in this present moment in time, we connect at our deepest level with th One, Original Spirit, in which everything manifests, so we know then, innately, that all things which are known, are part of us. It seems to manifest as intuitive knowledge, without intelect. What then is the higher self? When we say "self" we imply, and experience ourselves, as beings that "come back to ourselves" in consciousness. We know that Original Spirit is not personal or separate, everything manifests within it. Higher self then must be our true self as a being which is: Spirit Soul - love; our opening to the original unconditioned source, and Spirit Self - wisdom, knowledge that is innate, intuitive and revealing itself to us, in the unfolding moment within the Original Spirit.

rabbithowl	Why clean the house? 1/25/2003 5:47:23 PM
Welcome home, Star! And thank you for your eloquent, insightful thoughts on the nature of the Higher Self. I am wondering, "What is our purpose in 'cleaning house'?" We do it in order to open ourselves to the energy and love of the great Spirit, to allow our true, higher selves to become manifest. This might be a silly question, but why? Is it for our own personal spiritual gratification, the ultimate goal being wellness, a restoration of our physical, mental ,emotional health - our own personal enlightenment? I think that the real point of "cleaning house", i.e. taking responsibility for our own thoughts, actions, reactions and behaviours, should be to benefit OTHER PEOPLE and ultimately the WORLD. For me, Spiritual Realism is not about enlightenment. It's about relationship. Instead of focusing on "fixing" or "cleaning" myself, I consider the feelings of the other people in my life: I don't want to punish my loved ones, or the strangers I meet in the street or at work, with bad vibes and poisonous energy, with old useless baggage. So I choose happiness. I choose positivity. I choose open-heartedness. Not for myself. For them. We can become our higher self by overcoming the lower self, which, as redoak aptly puts it, isn't actually a self at all. It's a non-entity. That thing in your head that worries about whether your house is "clean" enough, whether you're "good" enough for the Spirit or "spiritual" enough to get enlightened - that's just the self-obsessed lower self again. Ironically, it's the thing that is keeping you from knowing true RELATIONSHIP, because you've allowed spiritual work to become all about YOU. We can overcome the lower self with selflessness, with compassion, by considering others before ourselves, by wanting another person's enlightenment and freedom more than our own. We "clean house", purify our thoughts, quiet our minds, so that we can attune ourselves to other people, who, in being "seen" and honoured as a unique spiritual being, perhaps for the very first time, will be encouraged and inspired to go, and set others, free.

paris	Higher Self 1/26/2003 8:54:09 PM
"Rabbithowl" has made comments that strike a vibrant chord inside me. The 'lower self' as I perceive it, is self-occupied and self-obsessed. The 'higher self' is liberating and expanding. It lives beyond the set-up boundaries of our personal self and it connects to all existence. In this sense, there can be relationship. I write these words because for about a year now, I feel changes in myself and in this environment. My experience of this city is different. I feel as though I have been transported to another city. When I go out, even walking down the street, people (I have never seen before) look directly into my eyes and smile. There is mutual acknowledgement of our existence. It is truly uplifting and this happens almost everyday. Their smiles touch my heart and remind me that we are here together.

Star	Why clean house? 1/28/2003 10:01:32 PM
Rabbithowl, your comment brings home to us the importance of being aware of how we affect everyone that we meet each day. How important it is, or rather how urgent it is that we awaken here now, stop thinking about ourselves and move into We Awareness. As Blondechakra puts it "act IT and be IT". ======================================= /. Attention new reader: SUMMER 2007: There was a database crash which unfortunately eliminated all of the comments in this thread between this comment by ~star and the next one by ~venus. ADMIN: \...

venus	The House 6/4/2007 7:55:30 PM
I thought The House by Star is an excellent representation of the struggle we all go through when trying to make the transition from the “lower self” to the “higher self”, and it has inspired me to make some comments. There is, in reality, no “lower” or “higher” self. And there is no part of us that is messy, chaotic, dirty, fermenting etc. That is something we are taught, and we grow up believing it to be true. But it is not true of anyone. There is only the “true” self and an “illusory” self, and since the illusory self is merely an illusion – it doesn’t, in reality, exist. Only the true self exists. There is nothing more than that. Another thing I would like to say is that our way of thinking is back to front. We think that what we are is our “lower” self, and that our “higher” self comes and goes, and that if we could only hold onto our “higher” self and keep it there, then everything would be good and we’d be happy. But it is really the other way around. The “true” self, which is what we, in reality, are, is stable and constant. It never changes or goes anywhere. What happens is that a part of our minds wanders off the minute we start to think with our heads, and it is this part of the mind that creates the illusions we have about ourselves. Thinking with one’s head and being one’s “true” self are incompatible. Thinking “about” things with our head leads us away from the truth of what we are. Thinking with the head is “doing”, because you’re “doing” something – you’re thinking, whereas living as the “true” self is simply “being”. When just “being”, one doesn’t have to “do” anything. This doesn’t mean that when you’re just “being”, you don’t use your brain. When “being” you have access to everything you need to know for all situations. The knowledge you need is there, at hand. You don’t need to “think” it. It just comes. Everything we need comes from “being”. Finally, I want to say that while I understand what H. P. Blavatsky means when he writes: “ the bud of personality must be crushes out, the worm of sense destroyed past resurrection”, I think it sounds quite brutal. The spirit is gentle in all matters. It is not concerned with destruction, but with love. All that is required is a gentle “letting go”. Venus

Alpha Centauri	Reunification--Body, Mind, Higher Self 12/10/2007 3:49:51 PM
Our plight is well described in this article—Our dysfunctional relationship with our Higher Self. … I appreciate the well-described methods of associating unhealthy issues with their source-causes… then focusing on releasing the source-cause… It seems that all contaminated aspects of our lives originate from the same cause—Our separation from our Body, Our separation from our Mind, Our separation from our Higher Self. What event(s) cause this fragmentation? Apparently we have a body. Apparently we have a mind. In Faith we believe we have a soul… What is causing the three of them to be unable to unite? They are not interfacing properly! For goodness sake, we don’t understand our own bodies well enough to maintain proper physical health. (This includes not properly understanding the difference between our physical-brain and our consciousness-mind.) We don’t understand the true nature of the mind consciousness network and certainly have very limited means of interacting with the etheric mental grids. And as if that’s not enough, for all practical and useful purposes, we are disconnected from our higher selves (and our eternal memories). So, (1) Body, (2) Mind, & (3) Soul, as three separate entities, are dysfunctional. Therefore all of their interactions with one another are also dysfunctional. Can anybody say ‘PPPPPPP-L-E-A-S-E’! Our entire process of self-realization and progress hinges on interacting with these three different perspectives and their intra-actions. Until Body, Mind and Soul Synchronize and Unify… I don’t know how much sustainable healing is possible. So my question is, after we get our bodies fairly healthy and our etheric-mind fairly healthy, how are we able to reconnect with our souls and experience wholeness? Everybody reading this article-string comprehends the value of nutrition, exercise and etheric/energetic clearing and healing (meditation, directed prayer, Etc.) We’ve all done that for so long that if it were going to reunite our souls with our bodies and minds, it would have happened long ago. We need a new infusion, a new wisdom, a new experience—And I think it begins with memory-restoration. We need to know our past to understand our present and plot a course correction to a future worth living. Where are our memories?

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