Introduction
The Way of the Higher Self is a spiritual path which brings us lasting personal evolution through self-understanding and honest self-acceptance. As it increases our connection with the higher self we each have at our core, we become wiser, more grounded, more loving and more effective.
Through regular self-observation, we come to deeply know and integrate ourselves. This self-integration connects us to our intuitive intelligence and compassion, and enables us to trust our spontaneous impulses, even in the most challenging circumstances. The self-trust we develop gives us a foundation for a relaxed and yet passionate engagement with life – for real and rewarding relationships, uninhibited creativity, and commitment to a spiritual life task. We become people who truly respect ourselves, and enjoy going through life as who we are.
Note that The Way of the Higher Self is also intended to support those who sense/assess that we are entering a period of difficult planetary transition, as they advocate for constructive measures to mitigate the transition, or strive to meet the transition with a serene and open heart, or work to help those for whom the transition is bound to be profoundly destabilizing. You’re welcome to sift such content out if it doesn’t speak to you, but that kind of support is available here.
In this section...
Roots of The Way of the Higher Self
The Way of the Higher Self is profoundly inspired by the vast body of information conveyed in the Pathwork Lectures. The Lectures, along with an explanation of their origin, may be found on the website of the Pathwork Foundation.
The Way of the Higher Self emphasizes some of the key practices of the Pathwork, and organizes some key Lecture teachings in relation to those practices. The intention is to emphasize the "doing" aspect of the spiritual journey. Up to a point, it’s useful to think about things conceptually, but if we want actual evolution for ourselves, it’s extremely helpful to have some sort of practice-oriented discipline. In its emphasis on practice, The Way of the Higher Self is also inspired by the structured protocols taught by The Mankind Project in connection with the conduct of men’s groups.
The Way of the Higher Self is not affiliated with either the Pathwork Foundation, the Mankind Project, or any subsidiary of either organization.
Levels on Which
the Practices Work
One of the most important features of The Way of the Higher Self is that the core practices operate on multiple levels. Specifically:
The practices channel our spiritual connection – through meditation, prayer and visualization – into truly productive channels. For instance, rather than trying to "magically" manipulate outcomes in the material world, we're using our spirit connection as direct support for our spiritual evolution – which is actually its inherent purpose. (Paradoxically, the more we clean up our psychic energies, the more able we are to generate positive material outcomes – without any supernatural intervention.)
The practices change our relationship to our emotional states, so that we (1) stop blocking and suppressing feelings we find challenging, and (2) avoid getting caught up in, or carried away by, negative emotional reactions. Unfortunately, spiritual knowledge is often misused to bypass uncomfortable feelings. This approach uses spiritual knowledge constructively, to support the movement through our feelings into freer and more enlightened states.
The practices re-educate our thinking process, so that we accept the challenges in our life as spiritual learning opportunities, rather than resisting them out of a belief in victimhood.
Because it operates on all of these levels simultaneously, The Way of the Higher Self can potentially have more of a lasting impact on us than practices which are specifically focused on only one of those areas. It's not that those don't have their value – they certainly do; it's just that a more comprehensive approach has a greater capacity to transform us at the core.
The Way
of the Higher Self Compared to Other Paths
Some aspects of The Way of the Higher Self express familiar spiritual themes, such as the ideas that:
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One would do better to examine one's own imperfections than to be preoccupied with the faults of others.
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We don't need to let ourselves be "hooked" by the stories our minds tell us and our emotional reactions to those stories.
However, The Way of the Higher Self is also different in some important ways from some of the dominant spiritual paths of our times:
Rule-Based Paths
There are traditional paths which promise a divine reward for doing and/or believing "the right thing." The Way of the Higher Self encourages us to engage in certain practices regularly for the purpose of spiritual growth, but does not lay down rules of behavior or dictate what anyone must believe. It also holds that the rewards of spiritual progress are not given to us in exchange for our compliance, but are instead the organic results of healthier and more harmonious attitudes.
"Positive Thinking"
The Way of the Higher Self recognizes the power of optimism, and of positive intention to develop ourselves spiritually, but cautions that: (1) we all inevitably hold various negative attitudes, thoughts and feelings; and (2) the power of those energies to create negative outcomes in our lives is magnified to the extent that they are unconscious. Thus, it focuses particular attention on uncovering and gradually transforming – rather than trying to bypass or camouflage – our unconscious and habitual psychic energies.
Paths of Attracting Abundance
While becoming more evolved and integrated gives us more tools with which to succeed in the world in a material sense, The Way of the Higher Self values material abundance not for its own sake, but as something which helps us create more time and space for spiritual evolution. It also recognizes that we may at any given time be unconsciously keeping ourselves out of abundance, for reasons which may be self-punitive, but which may also be spiritually appropriate, or at least spiritually well-meaning. For instance, one may assess that abundance would bring distractions from spiritual work, or would feed one’s pride in an unhealthy way. All of this is material to look into, in the same spirit of self-discovery as permeates the entire approach.
Paths of Ego Renunciation
While The Way of the Higher Self promotes meditation as a tool for strengthening the non-egoic "observer self," it does not "reject" the ego, but understands it as a limited, split-off subset of the higher self, which is to be transformed, gradually enlisted in the service of spiritual evolution, and reintegrated with the higher self.
The Meaning and
Purpose of Life
The Way of the Higher Self offers a clear and explicit vision of spiritual reality which centers around a benevolent God, while credibly accounting for human suffering at the same time. However, no one is required or pressured to accept this narrative, and every practice of The Way of the Higher Self can be applied effectively regardless of one's metaphysical beliefs.
In regard to the meaning and purpose of life, The Way of the Higher Self basically combines three spiritual ideas – one Western (the fall of the angels) and two Eastern (reincarnation and karma). One could encapsulate it as:
Through inherently risky experimentation with "separateness," some divine spirits forgot their true nature and devolved after God created them, taking on false beliefs and attitudes in the process. We are those spirits, experiencing successive human incarnations to relearn spiritual truth and transform our negative energies through trial and error and karma, in order to return to the divine community of souls.
Illustrative truths we need to relearn include that:
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The entire Creation is benign.
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All created beings are equally deserving of love and respect (not to be confused with indulgence of harmful behavior).
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Union with other created beings is not to be feared.
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Nothing good comes without a spiritual price (which may simply consist of the effort it takes to attain it).
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Nothing can be changed by pretending it is other than what it is.
There is not enough space here to address all the doubts, questions and challenges that these basic ideas tend to generate. I intend to deal with these matters over time in video/podcast episodes. However, in my opinion, there is no aspect of this which isn't coherently and credibly explained in the Pathwork Lectures. If you're interested, a good place to start would be Lecture 203, Interpenetration of the Divine Light Spark into the Outer Regions, and Lecture 34, Preparation for Reincarnation. There is also some discussion of these and related ideas on the What About God page of this website.
Again, I remind you that the practices can be applied effectively without this metaphysical context, if it doesn't resonate for you. On the other hand, if you crave a spiritual cosmology, and a context for your existence, which are wholesome and make sense, in my opinion, you need look no further.
Social and Planetary Aspects
The Way of the Higher Self is ultimately a personal spiritual path, as opposed to a social or political movement, but it does have an impact beyond our strictly private spheres.
To begin with, engaging in the practices can help us discover and free up our deepest passions and talents, making us more effective in any outward endeavor, including any form of social activism or similar work. Moreover, by refining and harmonizing our personal energies, it makes us more attractive and effective advocates for the ideas we believe in.
But beyond all that, practicing The Way of the Higher Self is a way of creating peace and stability, not only within ourselves, but for humanity as a whole. In one of the Pathwork Lectures, it is said that our unrecognized hatred, unrecognized selfishness, unrecognized lack of love, and so on:
"… creates wars on this earth … . Once you control this – it does not mean you have to be completely purified, but you control it, you are aware of it. Even if only less than one-tenth of the entire human population will reach that stage, I assure you, war will be impossible."
~ Pathwork Lecture 23, Questions and Answers ~
So, know that if you choose to devote yourself to this work, you do it for yourself, but you also do it for everyone else. On a subtle level which has a far greater impact than we tend to think, you'll be creating a deeply needed vibration of peace and stability to anchor and ground humanity, and to help it move through a difficult period with intentionality and presence, rather than spinning off its psychic axis into self-destruction. No, we’re not going to change everything overnight, or prevent upcoming transitions from being stressful and difficult, but it is very important for us to contribute in this way if we can.