Contents*

1 Occupation with self | Podcast

The right kind of self-love and self-respect can only come from doing deeper spiritual work. If we neglect to do this work—no matter how we may whitewash our actions through service—we are, in effect, escaping. We’re avoiding our duty—to our own selves. So the more we practice the right kind of self-occupation, the less selfish we will be and the more we will be able to help others.

2 Right and wrong faith| Podcast

So many of us are sincere in our desire for spiritual development. But our faith is not complete. Somewhere inside, a small doubt whispers: “Is this really true? Am I not just making all this up?” What do we do with this? Our work is not to push that aside. Such avoidance is done with the very best of intentions. We just don’t want to have these doubts. By ignoring them, we hope they will simply go away. In fact, trying to push things into our unconscious—to make them go away—is the genesis of much of the pain in our lives.

3 The importance of forming independent opinions| Podcast

Under the weight of our emotional baggage, many of us carry opinions that aren’t actually ours. These might be valid opinions. But if they aren’t our own—if we didn’t arrive at them through our own mature thought processes—it is more harmful than holding a wrong opinion that we came to in an honest way. In other words, an honest mistake is better than an opinion arrived at through weak reasoning and lack of courage.

4 Self-love| Podcast

There’s a healthy version of self-love that exists in mature souls. But if we fold in a few distorted currents, suddenly we end up with a wrong version of self-love. The crudest of the many forms is selfishness. We either want an unfair advantage, or we always want to place ourselves in a better light than others. We need to uncover these kinds of distortions and find out why they exist.

5 Self-alienation and the way back to the Real Self | Podcast

Coming out of self-alienation is a two-step process. In the first phase, we must become aware of the roots of our problems—our errors and unreality. The second phase is about change. After enough insight and understanding, another kind of change comes about. At this point, self-discipline comes into play. Don’t misunderstand—we can’t force something that’s not organically ready. It has to come from within—never to please an outer authority.

6 Laziness as a symptom of self-alienation| Podcast

As a result of our self-alienation, we end up held back from living fully, feeling tired and apathetic. We then feel angry and guilty for what appears to be laziness. This laziness, however, is yet another symptom of our self-alienation. We may think that being lazy is a garden-variety fault. But we need to look deeper than that.

7 Identification with self| Podcast

In our process of self-finding, we often unearth hidden currents in ourselves that run counter to what we thought was true. Then we begin to see how these have undermined so many chances for a happy life full of meaning. Finding these currents can never harm us. It’s not seeing them that does all the damage.

Our goal is simply to see wherever we are shifting our identification to outside ourselves. Then we can greet such awareness as a signpost on a well-marked road that can bring us to deeper understanding of ourselves.

8 Winner vs loser: Interplay between the self and creative forces| Podcast

We are, in fact, creating all the time. The question is, are we doing it deliberately and consciously? Are we calling on the universal forces to help clear our inner obstacles and then to make the thing—whatever it is—grow? Or do we let the wheels of our unconscious go unchecked? Our job is to know all the pieces that are in play.

9 Self-liking: The condition for the universal state of bliss | Podcast

What is this bliss of which we speak? It’s actually a state we are wired to experience. This isn’t theoretical. It’s a natural law. Not being in bliss is what’s not natural. What takes us from bliss is some kind of disturbance. Otherwise, that’s where we’d be…

Deep down, we know this is our birthright. And we all want it, this pleasure supreme. Whether or not we realize that we’re the ones with the misdirected strivings doesn’t alter the facts. Which all means that we could recalibrate our search and find what we’ve been looking for. Let’s look at the two main aspects of this search.

10 Intensity: An obstacle to self-realization| Podcast

In our black-and-white way of seeing the world, we often misunderstand such things. We think that the more intense we are, the more serious, responsible and focused we will be. By contrast, we think that the less intensity means becoming irresponsible, as well as frivolous and distraught. But this simply is not true. In fact, as these things tend to go, just the opposite is true.

11 Self-esteem| Podcast

We may already be aware of a voice inside saying, “I do not like and respect myself.” In duality, this creates a split. On one side is a half-truth that says: How can I like and accept myself without indulging and justifying all my destructive traits? On the opposite side is: How can I admit to my petty, destructive ways, and still maintain my self-respect? In this riddle, we pit admitting an unpleasant truth against self-acceptance. Let’s get the key for unifying this split.

12 Approach to self: Self-forgiveness without condoning the Lower Self| Podcast

Here is the dilemma. We do have to accept and forgive our negative aspects; we do need to see them in context with the rest of ourselves. But that doesn’t mean we condone them. On the unitive plane, opposites don’t just tolerate each other—they need each other. Only when two opposites fuse into a unity, can we become charitable with ourselves. Then we can face our Lower Self with mercy and love.

13 Being values and appearance values | Podcast

There are essentially two value systems governing all of us. Being values is one of them, and appearance values is the other…

Most of us are operating on the level of appearance value most of the time. It takes some serious investment in personal work before we start functioning for the sake of what is, and not for the sake of what it looks like in the eyes of others.

14 Outer events reflect self-creation| Podcast

This inner reality is a vast inner universe of potential. And we are standing at the edge of it. We’re right there on the cusp between an infinite inner space of creation and the outer void. Our body is the boundary—the border state. But there’s a complication to consider. Living in this border state, we usually forget that the inner reality is the real world. Often, we forget that there even is an inner world.

©2015 Jill Loree. All rights reserved.

Read the following Q&As about finding the self on The Guide Speaks, Volume 8:

Self-Development | General • Self-Acceptance • Self-Assertion • Self-Authority • Self-Care • Self-Confidence • Self-Criticism • Self-Destructiveness • Self-Discipline • Self-Dislike / Rejection • Self-Distraction • Self-Doubt • Self-Esteem • Self-Hate • Self-Healing • Self-Responsibility • Self-Righteousness • Self-Sacrifice • Self-Sufficiency