False Self

One thing is certain: whether in our waking life, or in the dreams that visit our evening's rest, thoughts and feelings fill our every present moment. But just because you can feel or sense all of their diverse characteristics -- such as worry, fear, impatience, courage, or compulsiveness -- doesn't make the "you" that experiences these movements real -- any more than standing under the ca...

Imagine a man lost in a series of deep and dark caverns. He anxiously shouts out "Hello!" and then strains to listen for a response. A heartbeat passes and in the distance he hears "Hello, hello." His spirits surge and off he races in the direction of the caller. He doesn't understand it is only an echo. He doesn't know he is following the sound of his own voice -- a voice that is taking him d...

Have you ever wondered why you're so easily upset by the unexpected? It's not really you who feels shaky when situations shift without warning. It's who you think you are that feels threatened -- but you don't have to go on feeling afraid. Beginning right now, with some patient self-investigation and the aid of a few higher facts, you will discover that you are not who you think you are. T...

Before speaking to someone who intimidates me, I sometimes feel my throat start to close up and my voice choke up with so much tension that I find it hard to speak. I've got to get behind this fear, but I don't know how! One way in which it's possible for us to outgrow the problems that we face is to not let those problems dictate our behavior to us. In this instance...

In the competitive and complex worlds of business and science, imagination is critical to the processes of creativity. It serves a valuable and practical purpose. New developments are created by imagining better ways to improve old technologies. Important developments come in increments. Progress moves ahead one step at a time. But in our inner life, we don't want a continuation of *what has...

The true answer to any problem we find ourselves in is not found in our thoughts about it, but rather in our willingness to allow new light to reveal its purpose.

Almost every kind of unhappy feeling is the result of mistaking the partial for the whole. What this means is that when we don't see the whole picture, we are likely to act in a way that is self-defeating. One example of this would be that terrible sinking feeling that comes with learning too late, after you've become upset, that things weren't the way you were so sure they had been. That, in...

Most people want very much to be strong, but they do not seem to be able to find the real strength they yearn for. Instead, they find qualities that pass themselves off as strength, but secretly leave them feeling weak. Here are some examples of false strength: * lashing out in anger when frustrated * demanding that we are right * blaming someone else for causing the problem * being loud and...

If we were to see someone trying to warm himself on a winter's night by snuggling up to a color photo of a fireplace, we would easily recognize this person as being deluded. We know that the glossy paper image which he clings to for life-sustaining heat is powerless to do anything but mock his obviously oblivious mind. But this unfortunate man can't see the futility of his own misguided acti...

The more you know, the farther you can see, so take as long as you need with the following Higher Lesson and allow yourself to see something new about the true nature of discouragement. Then watch how a new and greater personal freedom dawns in your life. The only purpose discouraged feelings serve is to keep your thoughts on what you can't do. And with your attention fixed in this fash...

Discover ten powerful new ways to begin changing your view of your own life. Plus learn the one power greater than any disturbance.

The biggest problem facing us as individuals is that we have all been caught up in the race of looking for relief. Our time would be spent far more profitably looking for strength. When caught in a fierce storm, why scramble to find a cave at the foot of the mountain when the same energy can be used to climb? There is a choice. You can tremble within the cave, or live above the tempests th...