The higher self and the lower self are both creative, pro-active, centers of our consciousness. Both the higher and the lower selves are much more real and energized than is the mask. The mask is not creative, only reactive. Since its principal function is to cover over and deny the deepest fears and longings in our soul, it does not contain much v

The emotional self-betrayal of the withdrawal mask is almost complete. The feelings of the real self are trusted so little that only a small degree of engagement with life and others can be tolerated. Often the person withdraws into the intellect or into an inner spiritual life. Someone may have had genuine spiritual experiences of inner serenity,

We can try to cheat life by wanting to get more than we are willing to give. Sooner or later, however, all such refusals to grow or to give up old attitudes will backfire. Because life cannot be cheated. Wherever we refuse to grow—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—our life experience will be correspondingly shallow and unsatisfying.

The voices of perfectionism, self-doubt, and self-denigration are most often negative parental voices that we have internalized. The demand for perfectionism by the internalized judge makes even the simplest, most innocent mistakes into catastrophes for our self-esteem.

imagine for a moment that many traits familiar to you, which you have always associated with the person, as existing only through a person, are not the person per se, but are actually in themselves free-floating particles of the overall consciousness, whether these be good or evil traits? Take love or malice, perseverance or sloth. They are all fre

“Original sin” really means the imperfections inherent in our human nature as a result of the original choice to separate our consciousness from God consciousness.

Every fault acknowledged, every defense dismantled, and every pain felt and released, gives us powerful new reserves of thought and feeling for creating our lives in positive new directions. And, on the other hand, every negative attitude unconsciously perpetrated, every defense held on to, and every pain denied, ties up our life energies and limit

When the pleasure principle, or Life Force, attaches to situations of passivity and/or stagnation, we call it masochism. When the pleasure principle attaches to situations of overexertion of power, control, or forcing, we call it sadism.

The goal of every spiritual path is to touch into and gradually learn to live from this inner “nucleus” where the “eternal presence of God” dwells within us.