This article helps to understand how the art of awareness can be used for our own benefit throughout the day, it’s not just for church and mediums! We are spirit at the same time as being material, so we live in both the spirit world and the material one every day, and we need to understand that our spiritual self is far closer than we realise to that other existence, and we can just let ourselves experience it.

To help simplify matters, let's define the higher self, the inspirational spiritual self. In short it is the holistic overview of our own life and existence.

Connecting with the higher self in spirit world takes a bit of doing, some practice, refinement, dedication, and discipline. This requires that we as individuals open up our own senses enough so that we can interact with our etheric/spirit body [and other beings, as the mediums do, if we so wish.] The effort you put in is directly related to the results you will receive!

Sometimes experiencing another plane, dimension, or being, can appear as though they are separate from us, or that we have moved completely from this earthly three dimensional plane, and arrived at a totally different place. But don’t forget we are all integrated in the whole of existence, and that all planes on earth or in the etheric are in the greater holistic manifestation we call ‘life’, the universal whole. The laws of physics are just the same there in the spirit world as they are here – we just don’t understand them all yet.

A single drop of water is a good example of the self in our separated singularity or individuality. Many drops can co-exist in addition to the single drop. It is possible to create an infinite multitude of seemingly separate drops. There are a multitude of individuals existing in their own individual forms. These individuals are seemingly separated from our own self.

However, when you take the drop and add it to a pond, the drop will join and integrate into the pond. There are no parts of the pond that are not an aspect of us. Therefore, there are no planes, dimensions, or beings with which we are not intimately integrated. We just can't yet know all the laws of physics that this upholds.

In trying to understand a perspective of the higher self in comparison to our ego, [the human, animal, material self,] the higher self would be like being at a conference in a large hotel auditorium that was partitioned into several smaller rooms, the individual so-called ‘self contained’ ego in one room.  Whereas our higher self in the spirit world, would be able to see the entire floor as well as all the partitioned rooms, in other words, seeing the woods well above the trees.

How do we do this, how do we find this ability within ourselves?

a)       Live within our inspirational self

b)    Do what our heart tells us - despite fearing a lack of support

c)    Trust our instincts

THEN we manifest the support we need – no matter where it is coming from - and balancing these two ways, material and spiritual, gives us an inbuilt natural ability to know when to apply either or both to manage the situations we face on a day-to-day basis.

We are all quite able to learn how to live closer to our hearts and our dreams, which is to say our inspirational self / our higher self. We’ve been taught in our society to plan our lives and live within our visible means of support, this gives us an inhibition which does not apply  to the spiritual world, where there are no such restrictions. It is important to understand that there is this other way of living that can to be learned as well.

Simply put, there can be an ongoing process of refinement and discernment in three distinct areas;

a)      Develop the ability to sense and receive the subtle communication [listen to that inner voice]

b)      Maintain the clarity of the message [concentrate]

c)      Remain in the receptive state [enjoy that feeling]

These efforts enables us to more clearly sense or ‘tune into’ the higher self, to more accurately receive the messages, and reside more consistently within the receptive state during the course of our day.

This is not being ‘airy-fairy’, it is an openness that is controlled automatically when we let go to our higher self and trust our own instincts. This is NOT abdicating our personal responsibility; it is relying on the inner spiritual self.

The Mind

When we afford ourselves a moment to stop the mind's constant mental chatter, it reverts to a state of quiet calmness or inactivity. This calmness or inactivity has a benefit that promotes receptivity. When we recognize the moment we attain this mentally quiet state and how we ventured into it, it can be refined into a heightened state of receptivity that becomes more familiar and easier to access.

Breaking the merry-go-round of mental activity and juggling our daily priorities with the emotional stresses they bear upon us is similar to listening to the radio, a stimulating talk or bouncy jolly music will cause the emotions to be caught up and flow along with the moment, it is self perpetuating, a good example here is when the factories during the last World War began to play such music the daily output of the workers went up….

But … changing your inner radio station to a calm sound of perhaps gently music with soft waves braking on the beach will in turn relax the mind and body and take it into an altered state of brain waves that are measurable on scientific instruments!

How to stop the mental chitter-chatter.

Any relaxation exercises, when practiced regularly, will help the individual recognize the internal process for quieting the mind, guided visualisation uses the practice of leading the physical body into a relaxed state so the mind can get on with its work. It is breaking the stream of endless ‘have-to-dos’ and the constant mental chatter and allows an opportunity for the higher self and ourselves to establish communication with each other. This is similar to when the wind drops and we can see through the clear water all that is within.

This action gives us the gifts of rejuvenation, inspiration, vision, clarity, and healing, which come from giving ourselves a break, and takes us into the calm of spirit. When we take time to accomplish this state, the mind and emotions become fully recharged. When we are fully recharged, we can tackle the various tasks in our day-to-day world and proceed with renewed vigour, clarity and creative imagination. 

Imagine for a moment that you are standing by a very still and clear pond. This pond so still and clear that you can see the reflection of the surrounding hills and trees. As you look at the reflection you are stunned by the high level of clarity. This begins to captivate you, so you concentrate on the sharpness of the details. As time goes on you find you have become so mesmerized by the sharpness of details in the reflection that you barely recognize that you are beginning to orient yourself according to the reflected reality. This reflected reality and your orientation within it becomes more believable and solid concrete as you focus and concentrate more and more.

This is exactly what the earthly human mind / ego does. It tries to make the spiritual / ephemeral solid concrete, drawing it to a rational understanding that is natural to that world. However, when we turn on our heart’s vibrations, our loving thoughts, it is like a passing rain cloud that sheds a drop of water into that perfectly still reflection. A ripple is caused that snaps the grip our mind has on the reflected reality.

Mediumship is a continuation, as we move on to develop and heighten our awareness and ability to sense the subtle nuances in the finer vibrations, so that we will become conscious of the presence of a variety of beings that exist on other planes. We will then have a clearer insight and understanding about the beings with which we are communicating. Did you realise that the unified / universal energy / field that comprises the many planes or dimensions is so populated with beings that literally every inch on every plane is alive and conscious?

Like water, the unified field is viscous inside our living consciousness, creating a liquid light essence similar to the texture or fabric of the water and the pond. This is part of the reason that love is the most intelligent force in creation. It is the pool that contains all of us within it. Love is the only frequency humble and forgiving enough to allow us to come together from all planes at once harmoniously. Like adding more water to water, there is no resistance. We live fully submerged in that love, that harmony of creation we call existence.

The Emotions

Our emotional state is similar to a water glass where a cloudiness of distraction is our unresolved feelings rather than the mind’s thoughts and beliefs. As the mind has wandering thoughts roaming about so too does the emotional part of us have these energies that, if allowed to roam freely, will get in the way of freedom and the higher self.

Having a good overview of all of these elements we have been talking about is essential to evolving our relationship with the higher self. As you learn these steps, your higher self will begin to reveal more of your own unique journey. More than anything else, the journey is never complete and requires patience, dedication, and an open heart. Remember, our helpers in the spirit world are also still on their journey, and we are giving them an opportunity to progress by accepting their help. Like attracts like and the higher self and all the spirit entities are just waiting to be of service to us all.

Try this: Ask a question as you go to sleep, the higher self will mull it over while your body rests, then in the waking state the next day an answer - if there is one - will come, try it and see!

When you are sincere about connecting with the higher self, be alert!

Your higher self will often use other people as messengers or to help set your lessons in motion, both good and inconvenient. So don't  to shoot the messenger! 

Walking with spirit --the journey of living life closer to the heart and higher self--is not all roses. You might think that you have been wanting in your attention, or lacking in you abilities, but be assured my friend that another opportunity will come along, and you will be there to take advantage of it once again!

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....Don't cry because it's over ... laugh because it happened...!