3 Hidden Keys to Higher Self

Everything We Need is Here in Us

“When will Buddha bring the ice cream? I’d like the Instant Enlightenment Sundae, please, with no nuts. And could I have it to go?” —Murphy

Today, many pathways prepare us for a higher level. We do yoga, meditate, think positively, and take mindfulness classes at work. Yet we may not realize that beyond concepts and techniques there is a finer attention, a sacred energy coming into us. Recognizing its touch takes us from self-awareness across the threshold into awakening.

But how to become receptive enough to perceive the finer energy so we vibrate higher? Does life get in the way? Where are the keys that open the door to higher Self?

Noticing I’m “Identified” Reminds Me to Wake Up

“Is that the sun blazing gold across the horizon? I hadn’t noticed because my world has shrunk to the size of a kumquat.” –Murphy

Bad news. Heartache. Deadlines. Stress. If you say, “I can’t get identified with it,” that shows you understand how attention gets hooked so the hook takes over. It’s losing “I” while thinking about “X” or reacting to “Y.”

It’s hard to care about higher states when I’m just trying to get through a difficult day. But that’s my moment of opportunity, when I notice that, despite my intention to be present, I have drifted away or am in the grips of something. I may complain or even scold myself—but… What is animating even that commentary? The question prompts a look behind it all. Interest shifts. The moment I notice I’m lost in something, there is call to restore awareness.

Seeing Is Endlessly Freeing

“It’s all about streaming live video of yourself. Try it. Camera on. Click! Feel that camera on you? Your body being seen—posture, facial expression—as you read these words?”—Murphy

Seeing myself in a neutral way instantly mobilizes attention. The shift into Observing Mode may bring Receiving Mode. That’s the exciting part. Seeing me-like-this while me-is-like-this—observing rather than running away—allows the finer energy to appear. The goodness of it pours through me and changes everything.

What exactly takes place? Somehow mind-here-observing connects with body-here-seen and feelings-here-interested-in-seeing; all three coming together permits perception of what’s animating the whole—call it Life Force, finer Attention, the Self. So long as Observing Mode takes place in a very specific way…

Perceiving the Life Force Brings Transformation of My State

“The discovery. Focused attention yields to finer Attention. Opening into light-flecked space where there is no ‘should.’ An altogether different creature here, for the moment.” –Murphy

To observe without interfering. Yes, it takes practice. Not to change things but to see. Wordless, neutral, me, now. It’s not about manipulating my thoughts because that diverts me to a side alley in which I don’t see. And it is precisely this seeing that brings receptivity to the finer energy that transforms.

Lost in worry? Daydreaming at the sink? But noticing that’s happening? Golden opportunity! Stay exactly as you are and begin to observe your body just as it is. Inhabit it with attention. Find the consciousness that embraces all of it, limited by none of it, and bring to life an amazing new possibility…

Awakening Lights Us Up

“GO WIDE, SAYS THE OCEAN, SAYS THE SKY. My new bumper sticker from Glowaii…where the sun shines steadily on everything equally everywhere—after all, it’s the sun!”—Murphy

Freedom in a moment, freedom from fear and being anxious, free to recognize the teacher in us: a subtle energy permeating with full authority whose very nature carries the fragrance of all-loving. We can live in both “streams” simultaneously, the ordinary and the higher, in balance. From higher Self comes my best action in the world, my best action for others.

Our mindfulness practices develop in us an attention that can “join” with this liberating Attention—not “mine,” but what I am—that takes us to the next level. We become steadier in wakefulness, and we know it. Can we embody the finer energy and bring it into life on earth?