12 Steps To Realize Your Higher Self

When you notice you are operating as your Higher Self, as opposed to your usual mode of operation as your ego, you’d feel so different that you won’t miss it. It’s like a layer of a veil is lifted. Things become so clear and brilliant.

In this article, we’ll discuss the method that hopefully lead you to this experience. But first, please know methods are just methods. You may not need a method to experience something. And trying a handful of different methods may not get you to the experience.

The standard approach is meditation. I do believe meditation is the best way to this experience. The trouble is, sometimes you feel so troubled that meditation is the last thing you feel like doing. So what do you do? Just wait until you feel like meditating? Force yourself to meditate?

My new twelve-step program is something that bridges this gap.

The original 12 steps

Let me honor the original twelve-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous before we delve into my new version. Here it is:

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over (alcohol), that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7: Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

Notice there is no step that says, “Made a resolution not to drink again.” This is not a program about quitting drinking or correcting an addictive habit; it’s about leaving the ego-centered way of living and realigning to “God” way.

I heard that, in the beginning, there were only two criteria that were asked to those who wished to join the group and start their recovery:

1. Can you not drink for one day?
2. Do you believe in a power greater than yourself?

In other words, the focus was to stay in the present and to align with a power greater than oneself. Oneself — the ego self, that is. All the steps are designed to promote these two points, to help a person leave the past regrets and grievances so that he can start afresh each day and to be more God-centered than ego-centered.

This seemingly roundabout approach has been surprisingly successful. Today, there are many types of twelve-step support groups such as Al-Anon (for families of addicts), Narcotics Anonymous, Nicotine Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous. (Depending on their addiction, they change the words in the bracket in Step 1.) The program works because all addictions are about the ego.

The nature of ego

The ego is addictive by nature. If nothing else, it is addicted to compulsive thinking, which distracts your attention from the present. The ego does this because the present, the Now, is when the realization of your Higher Self happens.

When you want to realize your Higher Self, then, you want to keep your attention to the Now. My new twelve steps are intended to release you from the compulsive thinking of the ego and to stay put in the Now.

The new 12 steps

Step 1: I admit that the “I” as I think I am, my ego, is unreasonable and has turned my life full of suffering.
Step 2: I believe that a power greater than my ego can restore me to sanity. This power is beyond me and yet within me, my Higher Self, which is one with the loving God.
Step 3: I have made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understand it.
Step 4: I observe my thoughts and feelings, knowing most of them are about my ego and therefore disbelieving them.
Step 5: I admit I acted in ways that caused pain to myself and to the world. I didn’t intend to cause pain, I was only seeking love and comfort. Nonetheless, my actions were conditioned and reactive.
Step 6: I am entirely ready to live as my Higher Self, forgiving all I have done.
Step 7: I humbly ask for divine grace so I may stay aware.
Step 8: I acknowledge I am withholding love from myself and others because of my judgments.
Step 9: I accept the limitations of myself and others, and also the divinity in us all.
Step 10: I choose to live in the Now, and when my ego rises to wander, promptly arrest it.
Step 11: Through yoga and meditation, I tune up the connection of my body, mind and spirit, so I may act as my Higher Self, guided by its brilliance.
Step 12: Having had a spiritual remembering as the result of these steps, I live in childlike ease and joy, and I carry this message to others when appropriate.

Now let’s study each step in details.

Step 1: Most of us live as the ego. In fact, the first “I” that is admitting the ego is unreasonable is still just one aspect of the ego. But we must start somewhere, and acknowledging the ego’s unreasonable, crazy nature is the first step. Our strategy is to give the ego something specific to work on rather than let it work on random problems as it usually does.

If you don’t think the ego is unreasonable, perhaps you haven’t suffered enough. Most of us live in denial. That’s okay — take your time. Watch how your ego creates a problem by thinking and judging and then how it turns around to solve that problem. If you set a fire and then go around screaming “Fire!”, isn’t that crazy and unreasonable?

When you are ready, you might want to make a list of all the craziness in your life. This is admittedly a very painful step. In AA meetings, many big well-established men and women break into tears when they do the first step. This is actually good — the denial is finally giving way to your desire for recovery — in this case, your desire to live as your Higher Self.

Step 2: Again, it’s still an aspect of ego talking, and “believing” is a far cry from really “knowing,” but we need to start somewhere. If you have done Step 1, the first sentence of Step 2 comes easily. The second sentence — well, for now, please just take it as it is written.

Step 3: This is basically the same as the original step. It’s about surrendering. And it’s a very scary step because at this point, you are probably still operating as your ego, and the last thing ego wants to do is to give up any of its power (even though that is only a fake power).

If the resistance is too strong and you cannot do Step 3, please go back to Step 1. You might also want to review your concept of God. Do you really see God as the source of all life, love and intelligence? (If you are allergic to the word “God,” please replace it with the word of your choice, such as Source or Universe.)

Step 4: You want to make it a habit to observe your thoughts in the same way you observe passing thoughts in meditation. No push, no pull, no reacting, just observing. Feel the existence of the “you” who is observing your thoughts. That is not your thinking ego.

In the beginning, you probably slip often and react to your thoughts and feelings. This is why Step 4 is an ongoing step.

Step 5: This step pairs with Step 4. As you observe so many thoughts and notice how you tend to react to them, you might feel bad about yourself. You’ve already done Step 1, and know how crazy things can get when you act on your ego’s cues.

It’s critical at this point to understand that you, like everyone, acted and reacted not because you wanted to cause pain but because you didn’t know better. Yes, your ego drove you crazy and you did some really stupid things. But at the time of acting it, you thought your action would bring some comfort, or at least some relief. No one does anything with the pure intention to cause pain. Even murderers have a reason — at least at the very moment of their action, they thought the action would bring some comfort or relief. Perhaps a stupid reason, but still a reason.

The real problem is we, as egos, are conditioned to think and act in certain ways and we react to our thoughts and feelings. In order words, the real problem is the lack of awareness. (By the way, this step is not about defending murderers but does mean having compassion to all beings.)

Step 6: So we get to the point of really wanting to have this awareness, or to live as our Higher Selves. In order to get there, we need to release the baggage from the past by forgiving ourselves. This is another painful step. Your ego will resist the idea of forgiving yourself — your ego would insist on punishing yourself for all the wrongs you’ve made. And as long as you listen to your ego’s resistance, you are not quite ready yet.

Step 7: The awareness comes by divine grace. It’s not something you can work on or create. That’s just your ego talking, again — the ego loves doing something. And the ego judges if you deserve it or not.

No, at this point, you simply ask or pray so that you can have this awareness. If you really have done Step 6, Step 7 comes naturally.

Step 8: The nature of your Higher Self is the same quality love of God. While the ego makes judgements about people, things, and events, your Higher Self is waiting to just love. Let’s notice that.

For me, this is an ever fresh step. There is more, more, and more love, and even after doing the steps many times, I still notice I am withholding some love, so I do the nest step to open up further.

Step 9: This is another way to say love. As humans, we have limitations. We also have innate divinity. Accepting both aspects means living as your Higher Self in this physical world.

Both aspects. If you find yourself focusing on either one of the aspect, you haven’t got it yet. Step 5 prepares you to accept the limitations in us. Step 2 and 7 prepare you to accept the divinity in us.

The “I” is now shifting to your Higher Self. The “I” who can accept the egos and the Higher Selves in oneself and others is not your ego, it’s your Higher Self. You might take Step 8 and 9 awareness back and forth to really get it.

Step 10: As I explained earlier, the ego doesn’t like the Now and wants to distract you to the past or the future. When this happens, simply notice and get back to the present.

Step 11: What’s good with yoga (or other body-mind-spirit work of your choice) is you intend to move your body in a certain way using your mind, and then you observe your body movement as you observe your thoughts and feelings in Step 4. So it links the body, mind and your Higher Self awareness.

Body awareness is the key. I wrote yoga because I like it, but as long as you use your body, mind, and awareness, you can do the movement of your choice such as tai chi or martial arts. (I’m not interested in the kind of yoga that just does the poses — that is more like aerobics with yoga poses.)

Meditation is also helpful. Hopefully, by the time you get to this step, you are ready to meditate. This is another ongoing maintenance step so you stay in your Higher Self awareness.

Step 12: We are our Higher Selves. This is about remembering this original state, not achieving something new. As your ego created problems decrease, you get to live in childlike ease and joy. (By joy, I don’t mean the temporary jolted feeling you have when you get what you wanted.) This doesn’t mean you are now always your Higher Self. The ego is canny and it will be back. (When it does, it seems to attack with vengeance.)

At this point, you are probably just living your life with the simplicity and audacity of a child, and the people around you may notice. I am not big on marketing, but when someone asks, it may be appropriate to talk about it.

How to work the steps

If you want to practice the 12 steps, this is how:

1. Read the 12 steps aloud a couple of times a day, like morning and evening. Soon, you will memorize them. Posting the printout may be helpful, too.
2. Do the steps one by one.
3. When you feel troubled, emotionally disturbed, stressed, or whenever you can, recite the 12 steps and see where you are. For example: Have I realized how unreasonable my ego is? If not, is what I am going through enough to take Step 1? Or: Am I observing my thoughts and feelings? Oh, I guess I am reacting to them. Let’s do Step 4.
4. When you are down to Step 12, start over from Step 1 again. Often, it takes multiple rounds to really get it.

While I heard some stories of immediate and once-for-all enlightenment, my experience is this is a process.

So try it out and let me know how it works for you!
(Photo credit)

Who Am I? The Ego Or The Higher Self?

(Photo credit)
“Who am I?” is one of the most popular article on this blog. That article has a lot to do with soul shifting, and in this new article, I’d like to discuss this fundamental issue of our existence by focusing on the ego and the Higher Self.

We exist on two completely different levels, or as two beings, the ego and the Higher Self. This split and identifying with the ego rather than the Higher Self is the cause of troubles and pains in life.

Definition of the ego

Ego is your form identity. By definition, forms appear to be separate from one another, so your ego thinks you are a separate being in this world. Therefore, your ego is invested in your survival. It does everything it can possibly conceive to make sure you survive in this seemingly wide cruel world.

The main tool the ego uses for this objective is thinking. In fact, the ego is so much about thinking that 99% of the time you are thinking, I can safely assume it’s your ego thinking. (The remaining 1% or so is when you are actively solving specific problems, such as when you are working on a math test.)

Thinking isn’t bad by itself, but when the ego uses it in its signature obsessive manner, it is no good. When it’s extremely obsessive, we call it “worrying” “obsessing” or “paranoid”, but really, most of us are addicted to compulsive thinking.

Think of your ego as a little creature who is scared of just about everything. So the ego is always on the defense and thinks, thinks, and thinks . . .

Oh, and the ego also likes temporary pleasures. Of course — who can just go on and on worrying without the occasional relief of a pleasure? The ego is greedy for a reason.

The ego also likes competition and argument. Or, more accurately, the ego sees everyone else as competitor and every conversation as argument.

Your Higher Self

Whether you have ever thought of it or not (here is the word “thought” again — that’s the ego talking), you also exist as your Higher Self.

In this context, I am using the word “Higher Self” as pretty much the same as spirit or soul. Your Higher Self is the formless part of you (but not your mind — mind is formless by itself but is attached to the form), and therefore is interconnected with all other existences and one with God, or the Source.

Your Higher Self is not concerned about your survival. Your Higher Self survives the death of your current body and has already seen many such transformations. So your Higher Self has a completely different purpose.

Your Higher Self is a wise and powerful creator. Your Higher Self knows so much better than all the knowledge and reasonings your ego can gather.

Two worlds

Where is this formless world where our Higher Selves live? Behind the world of forms we are used to see. It’s not somewhere in the sky, really, it’s a dimension that is connected to this world.

I want to make a point that the world of forms is not inferior to the formless world. Look out the window and notice how beautiful this physical world is. We incarnated to experience this world of forms. It is a wonderful place to pass by.

The ancient Indians taught that the four elements (earth, water, fire, air) that make up everything in this universe all come from one ultimate element, Akasha, and eventually return to Akasha. Akasha is the primordial element that is formless and cannot be detected by our senses. In other words, this physical world rises from the formless and returns to the formless. Yet, the manifestation is a joy and is meaningful.

Likewise, let’s not make the ego our enemy. That’s what many people do, as I wrote in this article about releasing negativity. No need — rather, we just dis-identify with the ego and live as the Higher Self more.

How to tell the ego from Higher Self

So the golden questions are:

• How do you tell your ego from your Higher Self?
• When you want something, how can you tell if it’s your ego’s desire or your Higher Self’s wish?
• How do you release your lifelong identification with the ego?

If you know the answers to these questions, the Garden of Eden is your playground. You shall live in child-like bliss there. The Law of Attraction works for you without fail.

The trouble is, as soon as we start thinking about these questions, it’s very likely your ego kicks in, and from there, it’s all about ego’ s playing with words and logics. Your Higher Self knows your ego (it knows everything) but your ego doesn’t know your Higher Self, so this thinking by the ego about itself and the Higher Self (which it has no idea, really) is futile.

The answers to these questions can only be received intuitively. Meditation is helpful.

However, my spirit guides and I have been working on a step-by-step approach for those of you who are more left-brained or for those times when your intuition seems to be working on the low. It doesn’t replaces intuition, but it can supplement the working of intuition by giving some structure.

I’ll write about these steps in the next article.

Related post: Motivation vs Inspiration (Motivation is about the ego and inspiration is about the Higher Self)

Soul And Higher Self In The Virtual Reality Game

DUKE SENIOR:
Thou seest we are not all alone unhappy,
This wide and universal theatre
Presents more woeful pageants than the scene
Wherein we play in.

JAQUES:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
– from “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare

I don’t play computer games, but from what I hear, some games like role playing games seem to make a great analogy to explain the difference and relationship between our souls and Higher Selves.

The Earth Experiment, the virtual reality simulation game

Your Higher Self is the true you. Beyond the Higher Self level, we are not individual any more — we are one. In other words, the Higher Self is the highest form of consciousness we remain as individual.

Our Higher Selves gathered here to participate in this Earth Experiment. It’s an interesting and beautiful experiment in which we incarnate in physical bodies to experience various things.

Now when you play computer games, you cannot be in the game, right? You use your avatar to do various things in the game. When you are really into the game, you may feel you are the avatar, but technically that is not true. You are the player of the game, the avatar is the character in the game.

Likewise, our Higher Selves are not in this virtual reality game. They made their avatars to play the game. Unlike some cheap games, in this Earth Experiment, you get to make your own unique avatar. Your avatar is made after yourself.

Because your Higher Self works like a prototype of your soul, it’s also called the “oversoul.”

And now the game had started. We are so into the game that we “feel” we are in this “reality”. Just like you don’t notice anything (like your spouse calling you for dinner) when you are into playing the game. You are in the world of the game.

But that doesn’t mean the game is your true reality.

Death in the virtual reality game

This game we are playing is a huge, very complex game. Now, when you play computer games, you can stop at some point — like, to have dinner with your spouse. Likewise, we don’t need to complete the game in one shot. In fact, the game is so huge that trying to complete it in one sitting is not appropriate.

So the avatar experiences “death” from time to time. When this happens, the soul goes to the back “room” or “area”. When you want to play the game again, you use the same avatar (reincarnation), but you can choose different settings. Different settings with different faces, but the soul’s learning and growth continues.

Ascension soul shift in this analogy

Some of us have had Ascension soul shift. This is like upgrading the avatar. The new avatar is still made after yourself — your new soul is made after your own Higher Self. Yet it’s a new avatar. (Like, avatar 2.0 — with new ability to jump to higher dimensions! ha ha ^_^).

Some people get confused about Ascension soul shift. They feel as if something takes over “them”. This is simply not the case. You are your Higher Self and upgrading the avatar for more power doesn’t change the big picture.

Some people also asked, “Oh, I thought we are the same souls that live in many bodies, but are you telling the body stays and the soul changes? Like the vehicle stays while the driver changes?” Well, not really. The appearance of the avatar (the body) stays the same in this lifetime, but we can still upgrade the avatar. And whether you have the Ascension soul shift or not, you are ultimately your Higher Self.

Past and future in the virtual reality game

This analogy works well to explain the concept of time. In this virtual reality game, the game unfolds only in one way, from past to present to future. The one-way time rule is made to make the game more fun. It’s not fun if some players keep going back to the past phases to “correct their mistakes”. Plus, there are plenty of opportunities to alter the directions of your path built in at various phases of the game, so you don’t have to worry too much about your past mistakes.

When you make a decision, you are changing the way the game unfolds for you. This way, we are creating our future. At the same time, we can say all the possible futures (and there are many of them — this Earth Experiment game is very complex) are already built in the game. So the future already exist in a way — it’s there for our choosing.

And our Higher Selves, along with our spirit guides and other beings, are free from this time constraint because they are not in the game.

Seeking the purpose of life

So what is the point of this Earth Experiment game?

Some people think the purpose of life is to get what they want, be it a lot of money, wonderful partners and good family life, fame and power, etc. These are all fun things to acquire in this game. (And the effective technique to acquire them is called the Law of Attraction. It serves to learn some basic skills in this game.)

But I think it’s boring to be stuck with my acquisitions. It’s like refusing to move forward in this virtual reality game. What’s the point of sitting in the same screen with a lot of dots?

It seems those who become very wealthy and stay that way are either those who continue to grow in other areas of their lives or those who are spiritually immature. (Nothing wrong with the latter — there will be time when they get so bored that they have to move on. We cannot really resist the unfolding of this game so long. )

Then, is the purpose of life to be happy, ideally, happy for no reason? Joy is certainly a good indicator that we are proceeding in this game. But happiness for happiness’ sake seem oxymoronic.

The ultimate purpose of life

I think the ultimate purpose of life is to complete this game. The game is one thing our Higher Selves chose to do. It is not the end of itself.

Of course, I don’t mean completing it for the heck of completing it. We are playing this game for a good reason. We want to experience this physical world, to have full range of emotions, to create the various things we love.

When will we complete the game? Will it take another thousands of years and many lifetimes? Or is it just two years until 2012? Somewhere in between?

Well, like all things, I think the answer is different for each of us. Some Higher Selves complete the game early and some would take longer. It’s okay. It’s not a competition. You can even choose to play it slow, enjoying every phase of the game.

The nature of our “reality”

Hmm, this analogy of life as a virtual reality game played by our Higher Selves using the souls as avatars seem to work too well. Maybe it’s not just an analogy but is very close to truth?

Does the idea that this life, this “reality” that we perceive on a daily basis, is just a virtual reality game blow your mind? Well, quite a few of us are starting to notice it, though. Here is a post by Hunter Nuttall “Everything’s an Illusion” From the article:

In 1931, Austrian logician Kurt Gödel proved his two incompleteness theorems . . . What Gödel proved is that every formal system of sufficient complexity is either inconsistent or incomplete (or both). That is, it’s either too weak to prove everything it should, or it’s strong enough to prove something it shouldn’t. In other words, there’s a glitch in every matrix. . . If there’s a glitch in every matrix, then what is real? How do you define real?

I highly recommend reading it especially if you are inclined to technical analytical thinking.

And what did Shakespeare really mean by “this wide and universal theatre”? (Photo credit)

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