Discovering your higher self

This article appeared in www.indiatimes.com on 3/10/2003.

What stands between your Higher Self and Ego Self are the inhibiting patterns or accumulated habits keeping us imprisoned in our limited thinking of who we think we are. To take the journey to freedom, one must be willing to break through the dysfunctional patterns and allow the higher self to emerge.

But who has the time and patience to work through the patterns and take what seems to be a long journey to the discovery of Higher Self? Life is so busy and there is too much on our plate -- Bills to pay, people to see, work to be completed etc. Self discovery in itself is such an ambiguous concept, how do we even go about undertaking this journey?

The ambiguity results from a particular pattern called ‘Being Busy’ – it is disguised as a feeling of self importance that feeds our ego. The ego is rooted in fear based thoughts that have us convinced that we would end up no where with nothing to do if we don’t get busy. So we end up running around in circles finding things to do to keep the ego alive. We spend our lives going through the motions and then realize that we haven’t accomplished anything meaningful. The pattern ‘Being Busy’ distracts us from getting in touch with our Higher Self. Therefore the obvious remedy lies in turning the focus inwards.

It is only with inner focus one learns to bring out the unlimited wisdom that remains buried deep within. If you wish to acquire the abundance of natural resources beneath the surface, you would have to dig deep and remove the layers of dirt, similarly cutting through the layers of ego with persistence, patience and focus is the way to the inner wisdom.

Ego is like dirt, the layers consist of my title, my name, my color, my creed, my nationality, my status, my wealth, my appearance and the list goes on and on…. we think we will be NO ONE without our ego. The fact is that we have limited our growth by placing these layers upon ourselves.

Isn’t it ironic that we don’t have time for ourselves – without setting time aside to understand the subtle inhibiting patterns that keep us stuck in the ego self, it will be impossible to get to the inner wealth.

In discovering the Higher Self, one gets freed up from the anxiety of losing impermanent layers of the titles, jobs, friends, or even the physical body. One does not have to renounce the world in order to discover the self. On the contrary one can enjoy the world and still remain unattached to the ever changing objects. The only difference in life after renouncing the ego self is that the worldly enjoyment is accompanied with a deep and steadfast connection to the unlimited Higher Self.

Does your self worth come from the layers of Ego Self or from your deep rooted Higher Self?
What areas of your life have you attached your sense of identity to, for instance your education, your beliefs, your fears, your title, your net worth and so on.
How do you generally introduce yourself to others?
Now imagine being stripped of each and every worldly possession including your net worth. What will remain when all objects to your physical sense vanish?
It is your very attachment to the impermanent objective world that keeps you stuck. In the physical world, change is the only constant and permanence is only a concept our Ego Self has bought into.

We each must find our own way to connect to our higher self. However, some of the disciplines used are meditation, reflection, journaling, connecting to nature, poetry, music, art and truly whatever your heart can dance to. Remember the journey may be long but there are new discoveries revealed at every turn.

It is the inhibiting patterns that prevent the ecstatic Self from emerging. To break through the layers of subtle patterns one must take the shovel of focus, the power of meditation and the strength of intent to dig and remove the layers of the Ego Self.

Neerja Bhatia is the founder of Rhythm of Success, a company dedicated to empowering women by unleashing their hidden talents and inner wisdom. She may be reached at nbhatia@rhythmofsuccess.com