How to Find Your Higher Self

Most people are unaware that their assumed selves are false... but you don't want to be like most people, right?

When I park myself in a distant land, for some reason I find myself reading much more than when I’m at home in the U.S.

That’s why I brought a few books with me to India.

I’ve read each of these books before – many times in fact.

And every time I re-read one, I learn more about myself and the nature of reality (and its opposite, illusion).

See, I tend to read what you might call “self-help” books.

One I’m reading again is called “Psycho-Pictography: The New Way to Use the Miracle Power of Your Mind” by Vernon Howard.

.Howard’s not as well-known as Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra, and other household names in the philosophical/self-help space, but he’s been as influential to my self-understanding as anyone I’ve ever studied.

The goal of “Psycho-Pictography” is to show, through stories and anecdotes, that we all possess a True Self and a False Self.

Howard says the True Self is the essential you. It’s your “higher self” and is entirely free of all negative emotions, like panic and despair.

It’s the guiding light of your life.

We’re all born with a True Self, which can never be lost and is always available to us. ­­­­­­

Great, right?

Unfortunately, most of us are dominated by the False Self most of the time.

This False Self is known by many names. The New Testament refers to it as the old nature. Modern psychologists call it the negatively conditioned self.

Consider someone who acts greedily or egotistically.

That greed and egoism are common features of the False Self.

Howard taught that all emotional, mental, and physical actions springing from the False Self do terrible damage.

By contrast, all action arising from the True Self enriches you.

So, the name of the game in Howard’s philosophy is to weaken the grip your False Self has on you so that your True Self can regain its rightful position in your life.

As I said, he uses imagery to get readers to understand this concept.

Here’s an example:

Back in 1904, a scientist named A.V.L. Verneuil invented synthetic rubies. They were so similar to the real thing that they nearly knocked the bottom out of the market for the natural gems.

Nobody could tell the difference. As a result, the world of commercial rubies was thrown into panic and confusion.

Finally, some gem experts went to work. They took their instruments and analyzed the synthetic stones, which revealed an interesting discovery.

Deep inside the man-made gems were some defects consisting of tiny bubbles.

As soon these gem experts broadcast their discovery, the price of natural rubies soared to their original high mark. Since it was now possible to tell the difference between the artificial and the real rubies, no one wanted the false gems.

The lesson in this little story – an example of Howard’s “Psycho-Pictography” – is that we can improve our lives by looking deeply into ourselves. Doing so can reveal the difference between our real and our artificial personalities.

Once we see it – once we really see it – we no longer value false ideas or attitudes.

We only want the valuable emotions, the enriching thoughts, the beneficial interests and peaceful desires.

The key to keep in mind here is that we need to be aware of the difference between falsity and truth.

Then we’re capable of choosing the latter.

And isn’t that what life’s all about?

So much for today,

Your inward-exploring holistic health correspondent,

Doug Fogel, Publisher, Natural Wealth, Natural Heal