UNWRAPPING THE GIFT OF THE REAL YOU

By

CHARLOTTE MELANSON

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF METAPHYSICAL SCIENCE, M.Msc.

On behalf of the Department of Graduate Studies of

the University of Metaphysics

This thesis has been accepted by

___________________________________ Thesis Advisor

___________________________________ IMM President

January 8, 2018

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Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Review of Literature ....................................................................................................................... 4

Unlearning Who You Are to Intuitively Know Who You Are ................................................... 4 Exploring the Origin of the Loss of Self ..................................................................................... 6 Cleansing the Mental Processes to Restore the Beauty of Self ................................................... 8 Reconnecting with your True Self in Sangha............................................................................ 13 Discovering Self in Pure Awareness ......................................................................................... 14 Passing through the Dark Night of the Soul – The Spiritual Crisis of Self............................... 17 Experiencing Your True Self – The Manifestation of the "I Am" ............................................ 21

Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 24 The Unfolding of Self ............................................................................................................... 24

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 34 Works Cited .................................................................................................................................. 36

Introduction

What is being real, and how is it a gift – an ever-giving gift to yourself and others? Can

you be real in the midst of a conditioned society that pressures you to be a carbon copy of what

they rule as being favorable? Or by being courageously real, will the sting of rejection and

abandonment by others possibly evoke within you shame and suffering, because you have yet to

grasp how to tap into the endless source of confidence and empowerment that God freely

provides you through your Higher-Self?

In an unconscious and fearful world that clings to immediate comfort and security by

temporal means, real is not what the collective mind is accustomed to. "Real… what is that?"

says the unconscious mind. And yet, the Real You – who longs to be your loyal best friend and

mentor in God – could not be more natural and life-giving to yourself and others. A gift is a

mystery. Your Real Self is shrouded in mystery. The Real You, says Dr. Masters, is the

Everlasting or Eternal You (Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 4:12).

When you begin the process of unwrapping and receiving the perpetual gift of who you

are in this Divine and Infinite Source, the Giver of Life, you are graced with peace, happiness,

humility, and love. This thesis will demonstrate how reclaiming the Real You will set you free

from negative subconscious thoughts that have been formed by the ego, and will bring you to

savor every sacred moment of life as it unfolds in front of you. It will also show you – through

the principle of Metaphysics – how you were not designed by the Creator to be a victim of life's

happenings, but an inestimable and unique gift to be loved and to love.

In the next pages, we will learn who we are by first unlearning who we are. In his book,

New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton writes that every person is veiled by an illusory

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self or false self. But oftentimes, we don't recognize this false self within ourselves, because it

becomes second nature. Our true identity – which is beyond the concept of our limited mind –

is revealed in the Love and Mercy of God. This is where we find our true source of peace and

happiness (34-36).

We will then explore the origin of the loss of self – how it all began. We will briefly

touch on how the false self has been formed in various stages through the ego's role of defending

and protecting. Then we will explain what the subconscious mental processes are, and how we

can cleanse them through several metaphysical tools to restore the beauty of our True Self.

Applying these metaphysical principles will further prove who we truly are and the countless

benefits we can obtain by being ourselves.

We will also demonstrate how our True Self, or True Nature, is interconnected with

others, and then move onto finding our True Self in Pure Awareness. In practicing awareness to

find the True Self, some may pass through a transitional stage that is sometimes called, the Dark

Night of the Soul. A chapter is therefore dedicated to what this transition is and how we need to

conduct ourselves if we are passing through it. And finally, we will see what it is like to

experience our True Self in our day to day experiences.

In the quest for inner truth and finding True Self, Kahlil Gibran expressed that we are

moved by God to hope fervently until that for which we are hoping for removes the blinders

from our eyes. Then we will see who we truly are. And when we will see our True Self, we will

likewise see the truth of real life for ourselves, as well as for all humanity (SH-T-140). May this

thesis contribute in some way as a guided tool to discover our Real Self.

We are made to shine our Light, our True Self in God upon others. The flowering of our

True Self is a gift that the Universe has offered to himself: if we prevent the flowering of our

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true identity to open, it is the Wholeness of the Universe that is deprived of its sweet perfume

(Dion, Supplément RIC 17). Thus, our Authentic Self has value in the eyes of God and the

Universe.

Your Authentic Self, your Higher Self housed in the center of your consciousness, awaits

you – this one-of-a-kind "YOU" that is enwrapped in Divinity and meticulously ribboned with

the immeasurable self-worth and value in God. May you continue to unwrap and discover the

precious gift of your True Self.

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Review of Literature

Unlearning Who You Are to Intuitively Know Who You Are

Mystics and Metaphysicians throughout history have revealed through experience and

conscious awareness that you must first unlearn who you are, in order to know in an intuitive

way who you truly are. When referring to who you are, according to Eckhart Tolle, the word "I"

can either embody the greatest error by misperceiving who you are through the false personal

self – the ego self – or, it can mirror the deepest truth, your True Self (A New Earth 27).

In The Book of Awakening, Mark Nepo expresses that to know your interior Center of

Love – this unencumbered Center where you were first touched by God since birth – is to know

who you are. In this peaceful Infinite Center, your True Self lives free from expectations,

regrets, ambitions, and fear, as it is not preoccupied with having an identification such as where

you work, what you wear, or what others think of you. To be liberated from your illusory self, or

false identification, you need to begin the process of unlearning who you are by allowing life's

lessons to erode what is essentially not you, and by returning to the awareness of your Original

Center, which will ultimately illuminate your pathway back to God (4).

In the same vein, Dr. Masters also explains that the Real You is niched in the center of

your consciousness where flows your true feelings, and where your heart continually speaks.

While the false you, on the contrary, stems from society's influence that promotes this illusory

identity. This false identity – which persistently needs to defend itself against rejection or seeks

acceptance – muffles the still voice of the Real You. Dr. Masters also adds that you may discern

whether it is the false you or the Real You by bringing to awareness if your thoughts or verbal

communications are premeditated or spontaneous (Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 4:12-14).

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This said, it is clear that a notion of who you think you are is premeditated – it is

fabricated by you, says A Course in Miracles in the Final Vision. And this self-fabrication bears

no resemblance to who you really are. It is an illusion. Therefore, with the guidance of your

God-Mind, the idea of self must be unlearned to restore peace. But this unlearning can only take

place by replacing the "idea of who you are" with lessons that center on teaching who you truly

are. Otherwise, if you were to lose your false identity – which you have mistaken to be yourself –

without first exchanging it for your True Self, you would dread having lost the self (Schucman

and Thetfod Ch. 31 8:1-5 657).

Then who are you? When you do not value your Higher Self, or God-Self, as it deserves

in God's Image, then you cannot begin to understand the secrets that your True Self contains

(Avila 146). It is important to know that you are, above all, created in the perfect love of God,

changeless and eternal; thus you are not your body, nor your mind since your body and mind can

change (Dyer 253).

Dr. Masters inspires you to see yourself as you truly are, an unbound and non-hindered

soul whose true identity shines from the Light of Truth. By grace and the tools of your intuitive

faculties where God communicates to you – such as perception, sense, feel, thought, and love –

you may begin to believe about yourself as you truly are in the Everlasting Truth. Thus, you

should not believe that you are what ignorant or opinionated people perceive you to be, but rather

believe above all according to the God within you (Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 3:64).

Swami Vivekananda likewise shares that the knowledge of who you are is already within you

(qtd. in Föllmi Apr. 26). Moreover, you are deliberately created out of Love, thus drawn towards

this unconditional Love. This gives light to Francis of Assisi's inspiring words, "You are that

which you are seeking" (qtd. in Nepo 370).

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A. H. Almaas (aka A. Hameed Ali), the Spiritual Teacher of the Diamond Approach and

Head of the Ridhwan School, gives reassurance that being yourself is delightful. Being yourself

possesses the precious qualities and advantage of being intimate with your True Self, and of

having the freedom to be genuine. The satisfaction that you receive in being truly yourself is

ineffable. You become open and gentle towards yourself. Being yourself also opens your heart,

clears your mind and gives tranquility to your soul. You no longer become agitated or struggle

within. Instead, you witness an inner unity which makes you feel at peace and content (Ch. 5).

"I am who I am – 'just me.' Warts and all, enough to be human, no window dressing

necessary," lightly says Richard Rohr in his book, Learning to See as the Mystics See. He then

goes on to justify that it is not necessary to appear to be anything else than who you truly are.

Because there is no need to hold on to a self-image, but rather to embrace all aspects of yourself

as you are in God. In this manner, you can savor the fruits of peace and true freedom of simply

being yourself, without duality (166).

Exploring the Origin of the Loss of Self

Now that we've seen that we must unlearn who we are to know who we are, it is helpful

to understand how the loss of self has started. To do so may yield greater empathy, compassion,

and forgiveness towards ourselves and others in the metaphysical process of healing. As we

have seen in the prior chapter, society plays an influential role in shaping the ego or false self

(Masters, Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 4:12-13). This chapter will further clarify how the

ego has been formed and what is its purpose.

From around the age of two, the ego begins to develop. In part, the role of the ego's

defense mechanisms is to protect us from fear and social sanctions, and to meet our need of

approbation. It provides us with an escape or refuge from an undesirable situation where we

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have not yet learned healthy coping strategies (Freud). Because of the lack of proper coping

skills and inner understanding of our God-Self or Higher Power in the first part of our life, our

personal ego on its own was at that time the only known means of defense to protect ourselves

against injury and pain. We had not yet experienced our true worth in God or possess the needed

courage to become our True Self (Drisdelle 2016).

Through social sanction and fear, our personal ego gradually developed into many stages,

ultimately immersing ourselves deeper and deeper into the false self. A research article –

reflecting on the Universal Principles of Life through Science, Humanistic Philosophy,

Psychology, and Spirituality – elucidates the many phases of the development of the defensive

ego or false self as follows:

When we are criticized, belittled, and that our weaknesses are exposed by others, we feel

that our self-love has been injured. We begin to feel shame which then progresses to the

sentiment of guilt. Thus, we begin to build our defensive fortress, the false self, to protect

ourselves from other's negative image of us. With repeated injuries, the wall of our ego fortress

gets thicker which isolates us even further from our True Self. And when this attempt to protect

the self proves futile, the ego-self – feeling out of control – resorts to anger, hate and other

means. In the last stages, the negative mental structure system is reinforced through the process

of memory, imagination, reasoning, and judgment. We may even refuse help from others that

may truly want our good. Because we may falsely believe that if we expose our weaknesses –

even to the people who are trustworthy – we will be judged, abandoned or rejected. Lastly, with

the accumulation of pain, failure, and despair, our ego-self imprisons our True Self and

influences how we interact with others. All doors are shut to true happiness, humility, and peace

(B.).

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In summary, we can see that when it comes to our poor coping mechanism, "we come to

identify only with our compensatory selves and our reactive minds. We build up ourselves out

of our defenses but then come to be imprisoned by them" (Epstein 176).

In his book, Hiding from Love, the Psychologist, Dr. John Townsend tells us that proper

coping skills and self-protection or boundaries – by the means of our True Self in God– are

important to guard our hearts against destructive ways. But the negative emotional pain that we

rather regularly feel – such as sadness, fear, anger, shame, and guilt – mostly comes from how

we falsely perceive ourselves to be from our past influences (122).

Cleansing the Mental Processes to Restore the Beauty of Self

What are our mental processes and how can we cleanse them to restore the beauty of

True Self? Our mental processes include: interpretation, memory, imagination, reasoning, and

judgment (Dion, Connaissance de soi 13). As discussed in the last chapter, our past poor coping

skills have negatively impacted our mental processes by distorting the way we see and identify

with ourselves, others, and our experiences. We have come to see through the filters of our own

distorted mental patterns instead of seeing reality as it is. Mark Nepo expresses that a fish cannot

see reality further than through the vision of his fish tank. Our mental conditioning limits us to

see the bigger picture, our true identity outside of the bubble of our self-limited beliefs (9).

A. H. Almaas states that we can't be real if we are not being ourselves. Most of the time,

we think we are being ourselves, but upon close examination, we may notice that we are not

being real. We are acting out an image or a concept of ourselves (Ch. 2). These mental

happenings of identification are "so second nature to us that it is difficult to recognize that they

are even going on… [we] get caught in the conceptual trap of learned ignorance" (Ch. 16).

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He further explains that when we communicate with someone, the veils of the past in our

mind keeps us in an unconscious state. We sometimes recognize it as an interior agitation,

although we are not always aware of what's creating it. And although we may think that we are

just being where we are – and who we are – with that person, most of the time, it is but a mere

formation of our accumulated knowledge and memories. In other words, we may think that we

are just being ourselves, while in reality what we are thinking, saying, or doing is based rather on

historical and learned knowledge. We have a preconceived knowledge of who we think we are,

who other people are, and what reality is – all being the subliminal influence of our accumulated

knowledge from our memory. This subliminal and unconscious process in our mind is almost

continuous. That is, our thoughts are automatic, on autopilot, and we think that this is who we

are. We identify ourselves with our mental and emotional processes, such as imagining,

filtering, remembering, projecting, and so forth.

All this is the ego's doing and non-reality, which interferes with who we truly are. We

are always reacting interiorly to this unconscious process that makes us judge, resist, deny, and

manipulate our experiences. Because we superimpose these unconscious mental filters upon

ourselves, we are not truly being ourselves yet. But when we are aware of what's happening, we

begin to ignore these and make space to be who we really are: the conscious medium itself (Ch.

11).

"Me and my story" or "the voice in my head", goes Eckhart Tolle's famous sayings.

Tolle also recognizes that we constantly identify ourselves with our previous mental baggage or

experiences, which inhibits us from being our Real Self. "The egoic mind is completely

conditioned by the past" (A New Earth 34).

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Tolle also perceives that when we refer to who we are, the "I" is often "identified with a

gender, possessions, the sense-perceived body, a nationality, race, religion, profession... mother,

father, husband, wife, and so on." We also identify ourselves with our "accumulated knowledge

and opinions", our "likes and dislikes", and the stories of our past. Identifying with any of these

gives us a false sense of self (A New Earth 29). There is a saying that "The map is not the

territory" (Korzybski). This means that the word is not the actual thing. Likewise, the image or

concept of who we think we are is not reality itself.

With the above explanation of our mental processes and how they influence our thoughts

and who we think we are, we can now cover the first steps on how to cleanse and reprogram

these cognitive processes to restore the beauty of our True Self. This is vital, as our self-belief or

opinion of ourselves affect us in all aspects of who we are – physically, mentally, emotionally

and spiritually. (Masters, Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 3:60).

The Indian Philosopher, Jiddu Krishnamurti invites us to begin this process by going on a

journey in the most secret recesses of our conscience. To do so, we must travel light. We cannot

be tied down by bringing our baggage of opinions, prejudice, and conclusions that we have

collected for two thousand years or more. We must forget all that we know of our own subject,

forget all that we think of ourselves. We need to start as if we knew nothing (qtd. in Föllmi

March 5). John of the Cross, a Spanish Mystic from the Late Middle Ages, also teaches us that

we need to empty the faculties of memory, intellect and will to make space for the inflow and

enlightenment of the supernatural (Cross 215).

To let go of our self-beliefs, opinions, judgments, and so on, Dr. Masters offers us

effective Metaphysical tools to reprogram our memory bank that has contributed to creating our

false sense of identity. These Metaphysical techniques are: affirmations, self-hypnosis,

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conscious thought control, and the signal reflex method. Here is a brief description of these

methods:

Affirmations: Affirmations, which is often used in Western Metaphysics, are a great tool

to reprogram the subconscious mind. Affirmations are positive thought statements founded on

spiritual truth (Ministers/Master's Curriculum 1:22). They can be written down and read

throughout the day to rewire the subconscious mind and establish a connection with our God

Center. An example of an affirmation that we may use to redirect our energies to our Higher

Self would be: "My Real Self is forever filled with the love of God that communicates a feeling

of love, and in turn draws love to me" (Masters, Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 4:15).

Self-Hypnosis: Metaphysically-Oriented Self-Hypnosis is another mean to condition the

subconscious to think positively and reject self-destructive thoughts.

Conscious Thought Control: What Dr. Masters has termed as "Conscious Thought

Control" is beneficial to influence in a positive way the unconscious energies in our mind.

Whether we are experiencing new negative experiences or previous negative thought

accumulations which are embedded in our memory bank, Dr. Masters informs us that "our

conscious mind must be taught to take command of what positive thoughts it accepts and what

negative thoughts it rejects" (Ministers/Master's Curriculum 1:25).

The Signal Reflex Method: This method is also a powerful application that Dr. Masters

teaches us to do when experiencing negativity. He suggests that we use all our negative

experiences as a "conditioned reflex signal to react positively" (Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum

3:46). "To establish a positive conditioned reflex in our mind," we can use affirmations when we

are in a meditative or hypnotic state. For example, when going through a negative experience,

we can rewire our old mental conditioning by using the following samples: "Every seeming

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negative experience is a SIGNAL to my mind to REACT positively and spiritually," or "Every

seeming negative experience is a SIGNAL to my conscious mind to open immediately to an

awareness of understanding from my Higher God-Mind" (Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 3:46-

47). Thus, when our ego-self reacts towards a seemingly negative experience, we may redirect

our unconscious response by saying positive statements such as: "When I react negatively to this

situation, it is a SIGNAL to my mind to embrace my True Self and open my consciousness to

God's Higher Presence within me."

When retraining our subconscious mind, Matthew Barnett, a Neuro-Linguistic

Programming Instructor states in his online video course that it takes about 21 days for a mental

habit to be formed. He explains that our unconscious mind needs repetition for a mental habit to

be produced. Through the science of neuroplasticity, we learn that the more we think of

something, the more hardwired that the thought pattern becomes which creates new neural

pathways in our brain and allows the old ones to become unnecessary. Neuroplasticity is the

ability for our brain "to create new neural pathways and strengthen them so that they become

permanent through repetition and use." Matthew demonstrates how this is done by comparing

our neural pathway to a wheat field. He says to imagine that the wheat in the field is a whole

bunch of neural cells. And then visualize yourself walking in this wheat field, trampling down

with your feet some of the wheat to get to the other side. When you look back where you

walked, you will notice that there will only be a slight trace where the wheat has been crushed

down. Over a short period of time, the wheat will recover and spring back up. Now imagine

instead that you walk back in the same created wheat path over and over again. Over time, the

wheat will be crushed and there will be a permanent path that will be bigger and more defined.

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In the same manner, when we repeat new positive mental habits over and over again, the neural

pathways that those thoughts create will become stronger and more defined (Barnett).

Reconnecting with your True Self in Sangha

In being interconnected with others in our True Nature, or True Self – the Vietnamese

Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh illustrates in a neuroscientist approach that we were not meant

to operate in a single self. In other words, we were not designed to function through our personal

ego or false self that gives the illusion that we are separate from others.

In the same manner that the brain is composed of billions of brain cells where each

neuron is interconnected and communicate and work together in harmony, we likewise are

designed in this manner. All the cells in our body work together as sangha – meaning in

community rather than by obligation or duty. The cells simply enjoy doing what they are called

to do where the whole body benefits.

Thich Nhat Hanh then goes on to say that the same principle applies when we observe a

beehive. All the bees work in harmony and are not bossing each other around. No bee says to

the other bee, "You Bee Number One, you have to do this for me, and you, Bee Number Two,

you have to go in that direction to get pollen for me." Rather, the bees just live by positive

example in the way they act. They are just being themselves, in harmony rather than through the

process of egoic behaviors. Because we are bound by our small personal self, we fail to behave

harmoniously like the bees, or neurons and cells in our body.

To free ourselves from our egoic habits – to be truly who we are – we need to be able to

perceive with a sangha – in interconnectedness with others – and we must live by this principle

as well (172-175).

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Discovering Self in Pure Awareness

It is only in pure awareness that you may truly discover your Authentic Self. In the

quest for true awareness of the heart – beyond human knowledge and intellect – Albert Einstein

said, "I want to know God's thoughts… the rest are details" (qtd. in Leaf 11).

Pierre Dion, a Psychology and Human Relations University Professor, states in his study

manual that awareness is a form of knowledge that does not pass through the process of

reasoning or any other mental activities. It is above and beyond that. It knows directly without

filtering or deforming reality. Awareness also transforms everything that it is in contact with.

Therefore, to discover what awareness is all about, you must by-pass the mental

processes. This is not easy, as the mind is conditioned to analyze, judge, compare, interpret,

explain and so on. To do so, similarly to mindfulness meditation, you must simply not attach

any importance to the continual ramblings which run through your mind. You can simply treat

each thought as a bird without importance that flies across the sky and that will disappear in an

instant.

Awareness reveals itself in the interior silence, away from thought. It opens up to a new

way of seeing things. It sees directly without thinking, reflecting or imagining. When you are

used to depending on your thoughts, it will take some time and practice before you can

effectively and successfully disconnect to your mental processes. To stay in contact with

awareness, you must remain open. To remain open is to note what is happening without adding

or changing anything to it. Thus, if you observe silence within, you can remain in this silence

without analyzing, interpreting and judging. Or if on the contrary, you observe thoughts, images,

past happenings and so forth, you note them without stopping to feed them or repress them. You

simply remain open, to observe what will present itself in the space of awareness. You stay

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awake without looking for anything, as awareness does not know in the same way as the mental

operations. Awareness just allows what is to be as is (Connaissance de soi 13-15).

In a famous novella called Le Petit Prince, (The Little Prince) the wise fox discloses to

the Little Prince: "Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see

rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye" (Saint-Exupery 65). These words of wisdom

express that it is only with the awareness of the heart that one can see rightly who one truly is.

What is essential is not perceived by the faculties of the mind.

A. H. Almaas notes that everyone has a "knowing" awareness. But as the mind

developed in its cognitive and abstract processes, it lost base with its pure, perceptual awareness.

Awareness is "a more immediate knowing in which you recognize that knowingness is part of

what you are." When you have gained enough confidence and assurance in this knowingness,

you succeed in letting go of your knowing (chp. 16).

Thus, you need to see yourself in pure awareness rather than through the process of

mental images or concepts. The awareness that you need to cultivate, Almaas says, "is to see

yourself without judgment, without comparison, without self-hatred, without reification, and

without conceptualization, but with compassion and courage and kindness and love and presence

and awareness and intelligence" (Afterword).

You need to start with the awareness of where you are in your state of mind at that

moment. Where you are in your mind is not what you are, especially when you first begin to

meditate. But you must not resist being where you are, because if you do, it will "prevent you

from understanding your experience for what it is, and you won't see the truth of the situation"

(ch. 2).

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Letting go is being able to "surrender and to allow what is real to exist" (Townsend,

Loving People 158).

In the Practice of Being Real, Nepo gives further clarity of not resisting where we are so

that we may better be able to understand our experience. He gives an analogy that in the same

manner that the sun naturally shines its light, we need to just allow what feels real within

ourselves. Oftentimes when we are confused or depressed, it is because we have repressed what

feels real within ourselves. To practice being real, we must begin by allowing the manifestation

of our true feelings. When we have been hurt by something or someone, we oftentimes have

been conditioned to make believe that we should not hurt and be strong. But by repressing this

energy, we begin to spiral downwards and are left in the dark. We need to allow ourselves to be

like children, brave enough to be vulnerable and "say that we are hurt when we are hurt, that we

are sad when we are sad, that we are scared when we are scared." This releases within us an

energy of realness which allows the truth, light, and warmth to transform us into becoming our

True Self (108).

It is important to realize, however, that although we need to have compassion on

ourselves – to be where we are by allowing our emotions to manifest without judging them – we

should also be careful to not let our emotions control all our actions, but be guided instead by our

intuition. Dr. Masters gives us direction on discerning the difference between an emotional

response and an intuitive response. He cautions us that an emotional response is often the

influence of our ego self. When the direction comes from our Higher Mind, there is usually a

sense of instinctive knowing and peace. But if we are overanalyzing a situation, then our

direction more than likely does not come from our Higher Mind (Ministers/Bachelor's

Curriculum 1:48).

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Eckhart Tolle recognizes that it is a challenge when you first begin to be aware, or be the

witnessing Presence, when the ego-self is acting within you by interjecting harmfully defensive

or negative thoughts, or by activating past emotional traumas. You need to be aware that this

ego who is at war within you is but a mere illusion which is fighting to survive. This illusion

that takes things personally is the false you, an imposter that you may misinterpret to be yourself.

But the more you will allow yourself to be the witnessing Presence, the more you will grow in

confidence and strength, and the ego will come to surrender. The power you will receive

exceeds the ego; it is greater than your personal mind. The key to becoming free of the ego's

doing is "to be aware of it, since awareness and ego are incompatible" (A New Earth 78).

In his book Stillness Speaks, Tolle further adds that when you walk or rest in nature, you

need to be there fully by being still, by observing and by listening. And you will observe that

every created thing, such as animals and plants, are being completely themselves. They do not

split themselves in two, creating duality within themselves as humans do through mental images

of who they think themselves to be. Thus, the animal and plants do not need to protect an image

of themselves. "The deer is itself. The daffodil is itself" (78-79).

Passing through the Dark Night of the Soul – The Spiritual Crisis of Self

In the practice of awareness – during the process of awakening – many pass through a

phase that is called the Dark Night of the Soul. The dark night does not mean depression. The

dark night happens when you experience within, Infused Light and Pure Spiritual Knowledge in

which your natural apprehensions – still intermingled with the ego – has not yet adapted to this

way of being. During this phase, the old ego-self is in transition to becoming True Self. So

although you are passing through a type of crisis – in limbo between two worlds - it is a positive

night of transition that brings about Your Higher Self to move within you in a habitual way.

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The Christian Medieval Mystic, John of the Cross who wrote the book called, The Dark

Night of the Soul, defines this dark night as an inflow of God's Divine Light within the soul that

transforms. God enlightens the soul beyond the constructs of your mind, thus in a way that is

incomprehensible to it. This said, the intense light or divine wisdom that God imparts upon the

spirit is seen as "dark" to your cognitive processes that are not yet accustomed to understanding

beyond your senses – i.e. not yet seeing with Pure Spirit or with the Third Eye.

John of the Cross affixes his theory with that of Aristotle's metaphysical and

philosophical principles that "the clearer and more obvious divine things are in themselves, the

darker and more hidden they are to the soul naturally." For example, the more you were to look

directly at the intense bright sun, the more you would be blinded. In the same way, when God

communicates with his Divine Light, your natural understanding is darkened when your soul has

not yet been entirely illuminated yet or fully awakened (335). The Philosopher, Pseudo-

Dionysius Areopagita, calls this, "a ray of darkness" (Cross 336).

So although you may be passing through this spiritual dark night, it does so to enlighten

you, says John of the Cross. This supernatural Light gives you greater awareness within you of

your false-self and the ego's doing in which you were not aware of before. Once the ego's

activities are expelled through the workings of the God-Mind within you, your soul will receive

immense goods and benefits. This is why it is also called a Happy Night, although the process

may be quite painful at first when the ego-self is still very much attached to its identification.

In this process of the dark night, God makes the ego-self die to all that it is not. So that

when the old skin of the false self is shed, He may clothe you with your True Self. You will no

longer be driven by the old conditionings of your mind and identifying yourself with these.

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Your True Self will surface and shine through. You will be "heavenly and more divine than

human." (360-361).

In his online newsletter, Eckhart Tolle describes it in a similar way by saying that when

you pass through this night, you awaken into something that is more profound and meaningful

that is no longer rooted from the concepts that your mind has fabricated through the ego. It is a

re-birth. He then says that the "dark night of the soul is a kind of death that you die. What dies

is the egoic sense of self. Of course, death is always painful, but nothing really has actually died

there – only an illusory identity" (Tolle).

Rumi Jalaluddin, a Sufi mystic and poet, wrote eloquently of the dark night of the soul in

his work entitled, The Vigil:

Don’t go to sleep one night. What you most want will come to you then. Warmed by a sun inside, you'll see wonders. Tonight, don't put your head down. Be tough, and strength will come. That which adoration adores appears at night. Those asleep may miss it… Some people sleep at night. But not lovers. They sit in the dark and talk to God… (The Essential Rumi 85) In this above-mentioned poetry, Rumi illustrates how you need to allow your soul to

remain awake in the dark night of your natural senses – away from the ego's activities, so that

you can allow to embrace what is, and collect the treasures that God imparts within you. As a

result, your true identity will be revealed in the Light of Truth within you.

Lao-Tzu, an ancient Chinese Philosopher and Founder of Taoism, also understood the

dark night of the soul when he voiced that "Seeing into darkness is clarity…this is called

practicing eternity" (qtd. in Nepo 14).

Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith describes the dark night of the soul as losing the ego-

identity of who you thought you were, but not yet knowing who you are in your true identity.

You are left in the dark. And sometimes going through this stage can be excruciating. It can be

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frightening and you can feel disconnected. Dr. Beckwith suggests not to resist the dark night,

but to enquire within you what are the qualities – such as peace and strength, for example – you

would need to give yourself to have peace of mind. And when your attention starts to focus on

the qualities rather than struggling against the dark night, then this stage is speeded up

(Beckwith).

Deepak Chopra also gives practical advice on how to conduct yourself when you are

going through this spiritual dark night: First, remain in stillness and do not try to analyze or

think about how you're going to solve your problem. Secondly, try not to label, judge, evaluate

or analyze your experience. Do not allow these recycling thoughts of your mental constructs to

take hold of you. They do not belong to you, but to the collective conditioning mind. Thirdly,

spend time in nature, in the silence, and connect to the Source by remaining in-tuned with the

Source of the Universe in nature. Also, practice the principles of giving. The more you give of

yourself to others, the more you engage in a cause that is higher than yourself. Thus, it will

disassociate you from your separate self, i.e. from your ego self. Forth, is understanding karma.

Become aware of your subconscious mental conditioning and question every thought or belief

that you have by asking yourself whether these beliefs are true or not. Fifth, do not resist "what

is" or the flow of the Universe. Try to be present in the moment without anticipation, regret or

resistance. This will allow your experience to flow with effortless spontaneity and creativity.

Your sensory experiences will be richer. There will be a lack of your ego-self. And you will

sense timelessness and synchronicity. Sixth, remain focused on your deeper intentions

embedded within your Higher Self, which are called subtle intentions, and nurture them.

Seventh, detach yourself from the outcome and remain in the process. And lastly, find your True

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Calling which is to return to your Higher Self and being One with the Source or the Divine

within (Chopra).

Experiencing Your True Self – The Manifestation of the "I Am"

Now that all the steps to becoming yourself have been covered, this final chapter in the

Review of Literature will demonstrate what it's like to experience being yourself.

In his study manual called, Répères de croissances (Stages of Personal Growth), Pierre

Dion describes that the Real You is a direct manifestation of the Source of Life itself. It is your

Higher Self. Being yourself, he goes on to say, is not in the "having," but in the "being."

"Having," in this context, includes the need of security, the need to exist, the need to be approved

or loved by others, and so forth. In the "being", there is no limit and you cannot lose it. While in

the "having," there is a limit, and you are enslaved by the fear of losing what you are holding

onto. Nothing can stop you from being who you are, but what you hold onto is always at risk of

loss in the trials of life. And when you hold onto something, you cannot be your True Self.

Your Authentic Self is not your beliefs and personal convictions. It simply is reality.

You are already complete. The only thing that you desire in life is "being," and to become

yourself more and more in quality, not in quantity. Your Real Self values life and growth

above all. All is possible – there are no limits to the possibility of "being." You open yourself to

all possibilities and place no limitations.

You experience in a direct and immediate way, connected with the God-Mind and the

other way of being. You are directed by faith.

When you are your True Self, you know intuitively through a re-birth – not by feelings,

impressions, sensations, sentiments, emotions or desires, nor by logic, imagination or divination.

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It has got nothing to do with thoughts. Intuition passes immediately and directly into the heart of

all experiences. It knows right away, and it is open to what really is.

Your True Self lets go of all chains and does not resist the currents from the river of life.

You cut off the bridges behind you and do not return to the past. You let go of the need to

control and welcome what is given you without filtering your experiences in your mind. You

say "yes" to life and to all that it holds for you – the positive and the negative.

The Real You shines through and you feel the fullness of your being. You lack nothing

and overflow with the Living Source of Life. Your success is realized and you experience

everything with a renewed pleasure of just being who you are. You are free to just be and live

fully in the awakening. You have a clear vision of reality the way it is, and not the way you'd

like it to be, or the way it ought to be. Your energy is continuously renewed, and you realize that

life has already given you all that you truly need. (34-41).

A. H. Almaas reveals that being yourself is a continuity and flow of being. Your being is

not static, as your experiences and perceptions are always changing. It becomes evident at that

point that your consciousness is revealing itself as continual change and transformation (ch. 15).

Being yourself does not happen by mentally fixing the pieces of a puzzle to get the

complete picture. Rather, you become who you are by being aware, and letting go of all the

concocted ways you stop yourself from being who you truly are. And as who you are is made

known to you, you know it in a direct manner without relying on your mind. You know who you

are in a non-conceptual way (Ch. 16).

You are complete. You are being so much yourself that you no longer need to know.

Because you already know in who you are itself, in your True Nature in God. You know it is

you continuously. You also understand the mind has served its purpose to bring you to

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recognize your True Nature and see the Truth as it really is. You also can rest in the confidence

knowing that your identity is no longer something that you can lose or gain. You are very

relaxed, at peace and your thoughts are quieted without fear of loss. You are just being present

which is very natural to you. You feel alive and see with a fresh awareness, with brand new eyes

as if you were seeing everything for the first time. In this complete awareness, everything

around you becomes unfiltered, thus clearer, more intense, transparent, vivid, and colorful. But

your mind does not become useless. You are now able to use your mind properly without

needing to conceptualize and reify your experiences. As well, you perceive your experiences for

what it is, prior to knowing in an abstract and conceptualized manner. When knowing tries to

take hold at that stage, it just melts away and becomes pure transparent light (Ch. 16).

Thomas Merton reveals that "…God himself, bearing in himself the secret of who I am,

begins to live in me not only as my Creator but as my other and true self" (qtd. in Malits 127)

I finalize this chapter with Dr. Master's Prayer Treatment: "Divine Father-Mother-God,

who dwells at the center of my mind and in the midst of my heart, into your Presence within me,

I direct these words. You are the truth of who and what I am – my ultimate self-reality – my

Real Self…AND SO IT IS" (Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 4:16).

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Discussion

The Unfolding of Self

I open this discussion by first allowing to journey courageously within the recesses of my

soul, and by applying the principles I have learned from the Review of Literature – that is,

leaving behind my baggage of opinions, interpretations and knowledge to welcome the gift of

True Self which knows intuitively in the unfolding of each moment. Like the Philosopher

Krishnamurti, I too will adventure as if I knew nothing (qtd. in Föllmi March 5). For the

metaphysical knowledge to be found is in the Knowledge of God that is eternal and beyond

concepts. Adventuring in the unknown will allow me to draw from the Living Source to

acknowledge and experience the following words from the Holy Bible: New International

Version, "for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

direction will watch over you, understanding will guard you" (Proverbs 2:10-11).

We are all called to be ourselves, original and unique. The unfolding of self is

spontaneous and Life itself manifesting through the Source of Love. I asked Jesus once, "Who

am I?" Jesus fondly replied, "You… are loved!" Marvelled yet intrigued, I asked myself, "Why

did Jesus answer me in a form of a verb instead of a noun?" I pondered upon his endearing

words. Upon reflection, I understood by these living words that our True Self is not static. It is

Life. It is Eternal. The Living Word had spoken, and through his Divine Nature, has revealed

that we are indeed "made in God's image and likeness" (Gen 1:26-27). If Jesus would have said

"you are love," instead of "you are loved," the reflection of our True Self would have been lost in

a dead noun, a form or a position. But as demonstrated in the Review of Literature, we are not

our physical or spiritual identification. We are beyond that. We are alive. Our True Self is alive

and embodies all the divine and mystical qualities of our True Nature within. Transcending

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identity and prejudice of religion and beliefs, Rumi Jalaluddin said, "[I am] not Christian, or Jew

or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi or Zen… I belong to the beloved…" (All Poetry). God

sees us as we truly are in himself, the Eternal Loving God of all, beyond form and identity.

Identification, the false self, disturbs and causes unrest to the spirit. The false self

constantly seeks to obtain as a mean of security to feed its illusory identity. When the thoughts

are agitated interiorly, there is usually a form of identification attached to it. While your True

Self is continually renewed and free of attachments, regardless of outside circumstances. It does

not seek to obtain, but to welcome what is, transcending the natural laws. Your Authentic Self

expresses its divinized nature through God, and in doing so, creates miracles with any

circumstances or trials that is given you. God becomes the Doer in you and continuously creates

with expressions of his Love. Your Real Self, therefore, is Co-Creator, and there is no limit to

what can be created out of Love in any given situation.

You are more than who you think you are, because your thoughts cannot know who you

are. You are a manifestation of God's Love that creates within you in unfathomable ways,

fulfilling all your soul's deepest needs. You are that, and you are not that: you are that in an

eternal way, but you are not that in a conceptual way. You are free to be who you truly are and

free to love – simply because love is freedom itself. When you are "You", you do not seek to

obtain peace, harmony, and love. Because through the miracle of who You are, all is given you.

You transcend. Every moment becomes a "wow" moment. You stand in awe while you watch

God create within you Eternal Life itself. You are in sure delight, always in the element of

surprise, in the unknown, of how Love is going to manifest itself to you, in you and through you.

Because Love wishes it, and your True Self wishes it. You are One with God and the Universe.

And you feel within a constant renewal of love.

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When you are Yourself, to love is vulnerable. But when you love, being vulnerable

becomes your friend. Because you have nothing further to lose, but everything to gain. And you

are gaining Yourself in all its splendor and beauty through the Divine. Being vulnerable is an

invitation card from the Real You to come and join the festivities of God's joyful doing within

you. And nothing can stop you from having joy, peace, harmony, prosperity, and love.

When you open your heart to who you are, every moment becomes a metaphysical

treatment prayer, an ongoing transformation of YOU. You allow your heart to manifest itself in

ways that it wishes with Unlimited Love. And you cannot just be You for a few moments only,

because you were made to be You constantly, so that you may likewise receive love in a constant

manner. For this, you were created to be and to become. It is not enough to just say it, because

this would be the false you storing within your imagination an idea of who you should be. You

need to become you, by surrendering and trusting God.

And if your mind enquires, "who am I? How can I become my True Self if I don't know

who I am?" Allow your God-Mind to console your troubled mind, or ego-self, by telling him

that he cannot know who you are and that he no longer needs to know or hold onto an identity.

With the gentle guidance of metaphysical affirmations, you can reassure your mind that he no

longer needs to be afraid, that he is not alone. He is accompanied by Love, and that when he lets

go, Love will take care of him. Because this is the nature of Love, and Love cannot do

otherwise. It is the miracle. The false self will surrender itself voluntarily, and the True Self will

surface. The Light will radiate through you and renew your knowledge and understanding. But

this knowledge and understanding must not be stored in the memory, in order for you to always

remain your True Self which is beyond the boundaries of your conceptualized mind. Doing so

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will allow God to communicate to you in a continuous manner, and reveal to you indeed that

"you are loved." Your mind will no longer need to know it, for it will become it.

There are no limits to how much love that your True Self can receive – so much so, that

your mind could not perceive it. This is why "Love" was never meant to be stored in your finite

mind. Because God wants to give you more. He wants to surprise you, to gift you with genuine

and Unlimited Love. And only your infinite True Self can receive fully this gift. The mind,

where contains the false self, always has a price tag to love. It is conditional. But the heart,

where resides your True Self, has no price tag to love. It is Agape, the Ancient Greek word for

the highest form of love. It is always in the spirit of giving. And the more it gives, the more it

receives. And the more it receives the more it gives. It is a continuous cycle and flow of love

that gives freely. And you are not the giver, nor are you the receiver, less there be a price tag.

You are simply you, being you. You accumulate nothing and receive everything.

Already, you see how your True Self is in a continuous transformation through the action

of Love in a supernatural manner. It is intangible to the mind, but it is fully lived and treasured.

Your True Self is beautiful, even more so since nothing on this earth could ever describe its true

beauty. The mind would fail terribly and unjustly if it were to describe the splendor of your True

Self. Your beauty is Eternal Love loving through you. The Real You always remains a mystery

– i.e., it can never make an identification of itself in your mind. So the Real You will never lose

its luster or be boring after a while.

The life of the Real You is like a Love Story that keeps on renewing. It is a true story

where the curtains in your soul are being drawn open and your Beloved bestows upon you

infinite graces. It is far in comparison to the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet, where love

becomes a form of attachment, identity and suffering. On the contrary, it is the reel of reality

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playing itself in your soul and God showering you with his Love that is not binding, nor

suffering. You are totally free, and you do not need to hold onto Love to obtain Love.

Your True Self is also simple and light. There are no complications. Complications

come from forms of identification in your mind. Thus, if you feel trapped in an identification –

for example, if you are sad or you are yearning for something – embrace wholeheartedly your

suffering without trying to push it away. When you try to push it away – which is actually the

doing of your false self – you stop the flow of having compassion for yourself. The false self, or

ego self, pushes away, while the True Self receives freely. By welcoming your pain, you do not

become identified with it. It does not become personal. You transcend your fear of loss, and

then love naturally flows and dissolves your pain and suffering. In any situation, no matter how

insurmountable a problem can appear to be, your True Self can rise victoriously. Because you

have full integrity in your True Identity. Love for yourself can never really be taken away from

you unless you allow it. Your True Self is bigger than your problems and loss. When you are

your True Self, you're in constant gain, no matter what you have lost outwardly or inwardly. It

appears that the more you lose, the more you gain. Because the more that you remove what is

not yours, the more you make place for what is inherently yours. You are heirs of God and his

Kingdom within you – his Kingdom where your True Self dwells. Jesus says, "Whoever finds

their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39).

There is a paradox between the false self which fears loss continually, and the Real Self

that welcomes loss, if this need be. Fear of loss will always cause sadness and disappointments.

The mind will continually seek a way to secure the object of loss. The ego-self gives the illusion

that you can only truly be happy unless you obtain that which you lack. While the True Self

knows and trusts God, that by losing what needs be, it will be able to receive for itself self-

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compassion, thus true happiness that nothing or no one can take away. This is why the True Self

is always thankful in all negative and positive situations. All is an opportunity to receive love

and compassion for itself, without having to depend, in an attached or needy way, on others or

life circumstances. The True Self is not troubled when there is an involuntary fear of loss that

arises in the mind through the subconscious mental conditioning. It takes that opportunity to

accept what is, to gain greater compassion for itself. For the grievance of loss is not negative,

but a positive transition and awakening of love within. The True Self recognizes this transition

and therefore remains at peace when there is temporary grievance due to loss. It knows that it is

always transitioning towards a greater love for itself and others.

When you first begin to transition to your True Self, the pain that you may feel within can

be very intense and despairing. The pain itself is actually not the cause of your anxiety – it is

rather the unregulated reaction of your stored memory through the emotional limbic system. But

the more you allow the pain without trying to fight against it, the quicker your emotional

memory bank will be restored. When you fight against your interior reactions of sadness or

pain, you store it in your emotional memory bank, thus registering to your brain that sadness and

pain are "negative," instead of a positive temporary transition to draw you towards greater love.

As shown in the Review of Literature, Dr. Master's "Signal Reflex Method" can be an effective

tool to reprogram these type of emotional responses (Ministers/Bachelor's Curriculum 3:46).

Eventually with repetition, your confidence in God increases, and the emotional bar that was

raised in the amygdala – which is part of the limbic system – will normalize and go down again.

You will not experience strong or overwhelming emotional reactions as when you first started

your transition towards True Self.

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There are some experiences in life that can be traumatic, and the ego will fight hard to

protect itself, to be in self-preservation. That is its function. The ego in itself is not our nemesis.

But it is, however, its own enemy when it is not synchronized with the Higher Mind or God Self.

This causes many more layers of masks or the false self to develop. But when you allow the ego

to protect you instead in healthy and constructive ways such as with metaphysical tools –

affirmations, conscious thought control, mind treatments, prayer, meditation – and with the

loving guidance of your Higher Self or God-Mind, then your Real Self will thrive and flourish.

Thus, when you are passing through a difficult situation, it is important to first fully allow

to feel what you feel without resisting what is. If your mind begins to interfere by judging,

imagining, analyzing, and so forth, recognize that you have not yet fully allowed to feel what

you are feeling. There is resistance. When you fully welcome your emotional reactions as a

positive step – such as fear, sadness, depression, despair, anger, anxiety, guilt, shame – your

mental processes will no longer feel the need to interfere. This allows an opening, a space for

the Healing Source or God to work through you. It also permits the shift to happen from your

human understanding to God's Divine Understanding within you. Empathy for yourself and

others is increased. You are yourself – without hiding or refuging to your false self – which

exposes you to the Truth, being one with God who communicates to your soul and guides you.

God says, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you

have not known" (Jeremiah 33:3).

Sometimes the false self, without yet possessing the confidence in God, will want to

resist and not accept its unpleasant emotional state or the life situation that it's in. When you go

deeper into awareness, you will notice that this resistance is always attached to something – i.e.

wanting to obtain something such as peace, acceptance, love, justice, etc. When you desire to

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obtain, you create expectancies, and then resistance if those needs are not met. Oftentimes, when

there is a "should, would or could" in your thoughts, there is an expectancy which is driven by

this desire to obtain, instead of accepting reality for what it is. For example: when you think

that you "should" feel something else than what you are feeling, that others "should" treat you

differently, or that life "could" be better. There is a dependency to receive the desired goal to

feel complete. Your false self is always hungry for more and lives in a state of anxiety. It

keeps you enslaved by only feeling happy if it receives what it needs to feel complete. By doing

so, it inhibits you to receive true self-compassion and continual transformation. God has given

you his power and authority to let go of these chains, and to embrace a greater Love that can

never be taken away from you. Love is already within you, and it is yours for the taking. While

your false self brings auto-depreciation, your True Self gives you your full dignity in God.

When there is resistance within you, or you are passing through the Dark Night of the

Soul, allow yourself – through your Higher Consciousness – to become the silent and

compassionate observer of your egoic thoughts and what they are doing to you. Your ego-self

will eventually surrender by saying, "it is enough. I can let go." In pure awareness and

compassion for self, the ego's resistance will lose its grip.

Thus, in any situation that you are going through or in any state that you are in, there is

nothing to fear. It is a reminder to remain in your Higher Self, your God Center where you are at

peace. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Like the trees, flowers and grass

need light, air, water and nutrients to survive, your True Self, that is not a static center, needs

likewise to be nurtured continually from the Living Source. The flowering of your True Self

continues to grow and thrive in the awakening of consciousness.

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When you are your Authentic Self, you are likewise transformed into a living expression

of gratitude and thankfulness. As Dr. Masters states in his weekly newsletter, In the Spirit of

Thanksgiving, that there is no divide between the personal ego identity and the Universal Identity

in real Mystical Awareness when giving thanks. When you give thanks in pure awareness, it is

God in himself within – in mystical union with your True Being – that is the Spirit of

Thanksgiving in his Divine Goodness, Excellence, and Creativity (Masters, 23 Nov. 2017). This

thankfulness transforms. It has life, because it is from the very Source of Life Itself. Your True

Self is nourished with this Living Source of thanksgiving, which is in fact, an endless source of

generosity. In my personal experience, I have found this to be the most powerful tool to dissolve

the action of egoic thoughts. It appears that Divine Love itself indwelling within you influences

and wins the confidence of the ego, and the ego surrenders without a struggle. The ego no longer

feels the need to hold on to its mental positions, and your spirit is at rest. Your understanding

transforms into God's Divine Understanding and Wisdom within you. He takes charge, and your

mind no longer holds onto any worries or anxieties. Your True Self is in complete trust, because

it then knows in the Knowing itself that reassures and does not seek to control like the egoic self.

Everything simply is thanksgiving, because everything is Life.

No matter what state that you're in, giving sincere thanks to God binds you to your True

Self and transforms – giving thanks to the unpleasant and the pleasant; giving thanks to what is

not in your control to change; giving thanks to what is, as is. To give thanks may first begin as a

form of meditation, but it will soon become infused meditation, where you are one with the God

of Thanksgiving. Your True Self dwells in this continual state of infused contemplation. There

is no line where you begin and God ends. You are one – in sangha – with God and the Universe.

In this mystical infusion, death transcends into life; pain transcends into deliverance; sorrow

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transcends into pure joy; illusion transcends into reality; fear transcends into courage; despair

transcends into hope; hate transcends into love; and your false self transcends into your Glorious

True Self, which is eternal gift. Life becomes fulfilling beyond the expectations that your mind

could ever have imagined. "I praise you [God], for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well" (Psalm 139:14).

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Conclusion

Although we have reached the conclusion, there is yet so much more that could be said

about our True Self. We could never come to deplete the fountain of knowledge of our Real

Self. Our True Self is without limits, and we were created for peace, joy, prosperity, and love.

As we have seen, we are beyond the range of human understanding. God defines who we

are, and in him alone can we know who we truly are. May we, therefore, taste and see the

realness of who we are in the fullness of Truth itself that indwells our hearts. Metaphysics is a

calling towards this divine Truth, to live the Truth and abide by this Truth for our better good

and all of humanity's.

Mark Nepo expresses that there is an extraordinary power within us all. He goes on to

say that Carl Jung calls this power, "the unconscious influence of one being on another." Our

Real Self is more influential than any debate, persuasion or force of will. Being true to who we

are, automatically releases power and draws others to us in a positive way. Being real emanates

Love, as we help one another to grow toward the One Light" (106).

Being her True Self, the Mystic Catherine of Siena influenced many hearts when she

zealously said, "Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire" (qtd. in

Chartres).

Although this thesis has come to an end, your perpetual True Self always begins anew

and creates a fresh new living chapter. Thus, may you open your gift of True Self and let the

amazing fireworks hidden within your heart start over and over again. This burning and non-

consumed Love within your heart will be the Living Proof of your True Identity and that you are

loved. You are blessed. You are YOU in marvelous creative ways. No one can take your place.

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Therefore, shine your glorious light upon the world, and be who God has set you to be – the

miraculous, inspired, unique, mysterious and eternal YOU!

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