The higher self is that part of your psyche which links you with what one writer calls "the supply of infinite love, wisdom and energy in the universe." Mystics who have experienced it in its pure form describe it as a blinding white light. Mystics say the experience of illumination (also called the "peak experience" or "cosmic consciousness") causes one to see the universe and all of humanity as a single entity bound by limitless love.
This experience has occurred to people in all places and at all times. One man who experienced it, Richard Maurice Bucke, described it this way:
All at once, without warning of any kind, I found myself wrapped in a flame-colored cloud. For an instant I thought of fire, an immense conflagration somewhere close by in that great city; the next thing I knew the fire was within myself. Directly afterward there came upon me a sense of exultation, of immense joyousness accompanied or immediately followed by an intellectual illumination impossible to describe. Among other things, I did not merely come to believe, but I saw that the universe is not composed of dead matter, but is, on the contrary, a living Presence; I became conscious in myself of eternal life. It was not a conviction that I would have eternal life, but a consciousness that I possessed eternal life then. I saw that all men are immortal; that the cosmic order is such that without any peradventure all things work together for the good of each and all; that the foundation principle of the world, of all the worlds, is what we call love; and that the happiness of each and all is in the long run absolutely certain. The vision lasted a few seconds and was gone; but the memory of it and the sense of the reality of what it taught has remained during the quarter of a century that has since elapsed.
In Harmony with the Greater Reality
When we practice visualization, we seek harmony with the world. We see ourselves as benevolent, worthwhile beings who have a place in the universe and whose hopes and dreams can be accomplished there. They can be accomplished because they are right and appropriate, truer than the unhappy distractions and illusions of the moment.
In visualizing, we do not become mystics, of course, but implicitly recognize the truth of the mystical vision. We tap into the same energy mystics experience, but we use it for practical ends. These practical ends are in harmony with the greater reality of love and unity to which our higher self is attuned.
It is hardly coincidental that people who practice visualization regularly find themselves undergoing profound personal transformation. They may have begun their visualization to achieve a rather mundane end??"freedom from financial anxiety, for example??"but as they continue in the practice of communing with the higher self (which is part of the unconscious), they become better human beings. They find inner peace and self-understanding, which frees them to love others and to see how their own well being is tied into the well-being of all. By becoming loving people??"and by being seen as loving people??"they discover the world opens up to them. When it does, material and spiritual prosperity come together just as the conscious and unconscious minds come together when visualizers envision.
How Do You Do It?
Anyone can visualize. The techniques range from the simple to the complex.
But to use them effectively, you have to know how to use them, to be sure you are not wasting your time with wishful thinking and idle fantasizing. Two of the world’s leading authorities on visualization have written a fascinating and important book which could change your life.
The Llewellyn Practical Guide to Creative Visualization by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips tells you how to use your inner resources for "success power." It tells you everything you need to know to turn your life around and to find the success, happiness, health and financial security you seek. It also shows how to draw on psychological, psychic and magical forces for immediate and positive effect.
Behind all your visualizing and image-building, giving it validity and meaning, is the reality of Deity; a more real reality than any earthly thing, a Power more powerful and more loving than we can comprehend. If we can only learn to ask aright??"and a full trust and a clear perception of our real wants is what is meant here??"there is no limit to the abundance, both spiritual and material, with which we shall be blessed.
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