Principles of Self-Realization

by Don Turner -

We are more than our bodies, ego or personality. Inwardly we are eternal spiritual beings that are already, on its own level, perfect and one with God.

We are therefore multilevel beings, with each layer consisting of a conglomeration of attitudes, beliefs and feelings. The aim of Self-realization is to clear the outer layers so that one's inner or higher Self may manifest and express itself without distortion.

Everything real already exists within. This inner reality is not affected by what we do.

Some universal qualities or characteristics of one's inner Self/spirit are: love, peace, joy, light, power, will, beauty, energy, purpose, knowing, infinity, creation, movement, unity and timelessness.

Realizing one's Self requires that we stop blocking it and surrender to the promptings of the spirit and the longings of the heart that opens to and allows an experience of these impulses -- love, joy, peace, light, etc.

Realizing one's Self entails letting go: 

• of fears; 
• of assumptions of separation, 
• lack and special needs; 
• of negative judgments and preconceptions; 
• of guilt, 
• self-doubt and 
• pride.

Our minds are part of One Whole Mind that is interwoven with all creation. However, because we hold a perception of separation and fragmentation we therefore experience things this way.

As we change our minds, our world and experience will also change because what we inwardly hold to (not just on a conscious level), we will create and experience in our lives. Our experience in the world allows us to recognize what we assume to be real.

Creating our reality begins with our choice in how we perceive our experience. The aspect that we focus on and identify with is accentuated.

Everything that we seem to experience outside of ourselves in the world is really contained within the Self. (Negativity has no substantial reality but rather is a denial of spiritual reality.)

What we are unconscious of in ourselves we will experience as projections on to others and events happening to us that seem out of our control or will.

What we judge against in others, we judge against in ourselves. Conversely, what we forgive and accept in others we forgive in ourselves.

Pain and suffering come from the instinctive tendency for the ego to become attached to and identified with things that it believes we need and are.

Choosing values and beliefs which are out of accord with the truth of our Self entails pain and suffering. Integrating the Self's qualities and purposes releases the distortion causing the pain.

Every pain therefore contains some gift if it is utilized-- some awareness, Self-knowledge and realization.

Choosing integrity and authenticity means ultimately bringing our personality into alignment with our inner Self so that we may become outwardly what we already are spiritually.

Love and sexual attraction outwardly reflects the inner process of becoming whole, by integrating the ego with the inner Self. What we seek to unite with in another is our Self.

Therefore, the purpose of relationship is not to get but to share and gain awareness -- by expressing ourselves we realize who we really are and fulfill the intention of the Self.

Desire, which becomes attached to sense objects, ultimately derives from and can be redirected to the urge to reunite consciously with one's source or inner being.

Love acknowledges the essential unity of all life and the urge to realize this oneness.

Violence in the world is an expression of negativity associated with Self denial.

Fear results from identifying with the body and not understanding the nature of reality -- there is ultimately nothing to fear.

It is not the ego that becomes self-realized, rather identification with the ego is released as we live from a deeper place of wholeness and affirmation.

soullifecenter.org

5 Steps for Resolving Negativity

by Don Turner -

1. The first thing we need to do is to overcome the resistance to looking deeply at areas of pain or difficulty.

This typically comes from (false) assumptions of:

• one's inadequacy

• one's incapacity to deal with the pain involved

• one's belief that truth or reality is against us and will show us something bad. (The worst thing we will find is that we have falsely identified with false beliefs -- the truth is only good. And the sooner we look at pain the sooner we can move beyond it.)

• the eventual success of plodding forward and thereby leaving it behind without dealing with it

2. We have to become conscious of and clearly articulate the core images and assumptions that underlie negative experience and the issues or problems we might have.

To do this we have to reverse our normal thinking which would attribute our conclusions about life to our experiences, rather than the core beliefs that caused them. Repeated patterns of experience are clues to an image.

3. We have to consciously appreciate the creative freedom and power we have; how the creative process works; how we are actually continually co-creating our reality; how unconscious beliefs are more powerful than conscious beliefs and how they can sabotage conscious intentions.

4. We have to deeply reflect within ourselves and choose to release attachment to the negative images that heretofore we had accepted as "just the way things are".

We must begin to realize that attitudes, assumptions and values that are negative, separative or fear-based are ultimately false and self-denying.

5. We have to open up to and trust the positive truth within our inner self, making it conscious and articulate and begin to live it. This requires specific actions that demonstrate our new trust.

soullifecenter.org

Essentials for Inner Growth

by Don Turner -

When you have a negative experience remember that this does not reflect the nature of your real self or the nature of the universe/reality. Rather it reflects your choice -- at probably an unconscious level -- to believe in and become attached to something negative.

Since you have the capacity to change this choice, you have nothing to fear or to loose from looking at the painful experience, finding what belief or identification is causing it and deciding to change your mind. 

You can release the false image. 

(And all negative images we hold will create pain because they are negations or denials of the positive essence of one's self and thereby restrict one's self-expression.)

Therefore, every negative experience can be looked on in a positive way as an opportunity to gain awareness of one's deep-seated negative assumptions and false identifications.

This needs to happen before they can be released and replaced by the positive truth implicit within one's inner self or soul.

If this awareness can be gained, it creates a great sense of peace, relaxation, freedom and expansion.

For now there is nothing to defend against, no need to condemn oneself, or for massive efforts to achieve an imagined agenda for safety and success.

The universe is realized to be safe and supportive. The solution to life is not to be found in achieving ego ideas separate from our experience of life itself. By opening to and trusting in the wisdom within, experience becomes fulfilling.

CLARIFYING ONE'S ISSUES

With regard to a particular problem area one may be experiencing in life, resolving it is dependent on clarifying the particular negative image(s) we hold that has created our difficulty.

It is not sufficient to know that the problem is related to various issues, although this may be a first step.

We need to gain a clear awareness of the specific core image(s), with its implicit assumptions, values and beliefs about who we are and what is real and significant, that underlies our experience.

Then we must understand the causal relationship between our beliefs and our experience and understand how we may unconsciously create those things that rationally we don't want.

We also have to believe in our capacity to change our minds once we examine what's there.

Then we need to be able to be open and listen within to clarify what is the truth for us.

Repeated negative experiences of a similar nature point to the existence of negative images and assumptions within one's mind.

The mind, as the creative organ, externalizes it's structure of attachments about reality in the particular forms of our experience.

Thus we may come to know when we are out of alignment with our inner self -- through negative and painful experience.

Our core beliefs and the basic structures of our mind can seem to have a self-justifying nature if, as we so often do, we confuse cause and effect and do not clearly see how we are responsible for co-creating our particular experiences.

This is especially true when we experience things that we don't rationally want.

We therefore think the experience must justify the belief that we think is the valid conclusion from the experience.

When we do not question the arbitrary nature of many of our firmly held beliefs and cultural assumptions we must, invariably, live circumscribed lives restricted by the limits imposed by these beliefs.

To realize our potential for happiness and fulfillment, we must become aware of those assumptions we hold that are false and negative and that thereby restrict the full and free expression of our being.

We have to gain detachment and understanding about those core images we hold about what is real and important. These are not only reflected in our thoughts and values but in what we identify with, what we live and experience.

We have to be able to separate false internalized attitudes and ideas from those that are reflections of our inner self and that allow that inner self to manifest itself.

This understanding posits that as human beings we embody: 

1. An eternal spirit or essence that is an expression of the One Life encompassing everything.  

2. An inner immortal self consciousness that has certain inherent qualities.  

3. An outer personality whose ultimate purpose is to align with, embody and express the inner soul and spirit that inhabit him and that he is, in essence. 

When an individual has identified with false (not reflecting his true essence and nature), negative and separate patterns of thinking and feeling, these result ultimately in pain and suffering of some sort and thus help the individual to shift in a direction that will be more authentic and fulfilling (as realizing one's inner self and spirit is).

Related 'Working on Self' Articles from Soul Life Center

• Resolving negative experience  
• Working on self in relationship
• Clarifying one's potential and purposes 
• Realizing a soul project 
• The process of soul identification

soullifecenter.org

Suffering, Crisis and Dysfunctional Assumptions

by Don Turner - 

Everyone experiences some difficulty, pain and grief in life. A certain amount of unhappiness is a natural part of the process and learning entailed in living. Pain triggers natural defense processes that are meant to protect us.

This can easily be seen in the case of the physical pain we experience if we touch something hot. The body instinctively pulls back because it is not good for it.

With psychological pain it is often not as easy to see the cause, although the psyche has its own instinctive way of defending itself here, too.

Often, however, the defense structures established in childhood (primarily by withdrawal, aggression or submission) become restricting when, in adults, they contribute to a rigid personality based on fear and negative assumptions that limits our ability to grow.

It can lead to a crisis if we either do not listen to the message in the pain or our beliefs do not allow us to change.

Although we may dislike this, pain actually is an opportunity for expansion and renewed life. Nature is forcing us to change--for our own benefit.

If we can think about suffering in this way -- as showing us ways we need to change to claim ourselves, our capacities and intents -- we can be more open to seeing what message it contains for us. One's inner self is invulnerable and not threatened by anything we might experience.

The places where we experience pain in our lives are therefore showing us where we are out of alignment with our inner self or have not fully realized some particular awareness or capacity we have.

We need to change and grow in this area to realize our innate potential.

As adults, we create our life as a result of our beliefs about who we are and what is real and right. Dysfunctional assumptions which were acquired when we were children may be changed as we become aware that they do not reflect what we truly are.

To summarize: As adults, we create our own suffering as a result of wrong assumptions about ourselves and life which are usually established in childhood--often as a result of normal reactions and defense processes.

Pain and suffering in adults are lessons which show us where we are out of accord with our inner self. 

We need to take responsibility for ourselves and our experience and realize that we can change by releasing old ideas and patterns which are dysfunctional.

We have the innate ability to understand the lessons our experiences hold for us and to change so that we live a harmonious and fulfilling life regardless of what difficult experiences we have had. We have the potential of living a harmonious and fulfilling life.

Most erroneous ideas of who we are assume that we have to life in fear and cannot trust ourselves or life. These assume that reality is a threat and that life is a struggle for survival where we have to use our power to get the things in the world we need and lack. 

The ideas which are in accord with our inner self are those related to love and trust where we understand that the universe is actually working for us and our benefit.

We can learn to live in harmony with it and our spirit. 

When we learn to listen to our inner knowing, life will flow more smoothly and the inevitable problems which arise will be resolved more easily, without so much trauma or crisis.

Resolving Negative Elements in One's Life

Even the most successful among us have areas or times that are not so successful or happy. Gauge whether you need to work on issues by answering the following questions.

• Do you sometimes loose control or do things you know you shouldn't?
• Do you have habits you'd like to change but haven't been able to?
• Do you sometimes experience resentments, jealousy, hatred, shame, self-condemnation, pride, anxieties or other negative emotions?
• Do you feel frustrated at times or feel there are some things you are still missing?
• Do you notice a lack of interest or meaning in your life at times?
• Do you feel blocked in realizing some important goal or dream?
• Have you lost touch with your passion and joy or your idealism?
• Is your life motivated by fears and defensive reactions -- security, possessions, power, etc.?
• Are you less than totally happy and fulfilled?
• Are many of your relationships not loving ones?
• Do you sometimes feel victimized by people or circumstances or blame others a lot?
• Do you look to other people to tell you what is right or true?
• Are you little involved in your community?

If you have said yes to some of these questions -- congratulations, you're honest. Since as adults we are responsible for creating our experience, negativity of any sort means we have core beliefs, assumptions and issues to become conscious of, clarify and resolve.

To the extent that we overlook this naturally unpleasant and painful side of life, we shall thus continue to be affected by it no matter how much attention we place on our positive and happy interests in life.

Self Help Articles and Worksheets

• Essential awareness for growth
• Daily practice of working on oneself
• Overview of some general principles
• How negative core images are created
• Core negative qualities contrasted with soul qualities
• Typical negative beliefs contrasted with positive self beliefs
• The relation of common problems to false beliefs
• Steps to resolving negativity
• Finding negative core images: WORKSHEET
• Resolving negative core images and beliefs: WORKSHEET
• Working on blocks: WORKSHEET
• Working on self-image: WORKSHEET
• The compulsive personal agenda: WORKSHEET
• Working on "shoulds": WORKSHEET
• Meditation on an issue: WORKSHEET

soullifecenter.org