Notes to the Meditation Manual





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Listening to God.There is a gap between one thought and another. Have you ever thought about the stillness and stability that exist in the space between two thoughts? Of course, we don't take time in our lives to think about it. That is the Self. It is divine. It is the Truth. That is Self-realization. Please use the [BACK] button on your browser to return to the main text.









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The Ego
The ego is a person's separate identity with its "characteristics": father, wife, supervisor, athlete, fat person, ill, unemployed, President, award-winner, intelligent, stupid. It is the ego which takes life very seriously and that hurts. The ego can be powerless over alcohol -- it is the seat of alcoholism or addiction. The ego can be an abused child, a rape victim, a cripple, etc.

The self, once it is known, is divine, like God or the Holy Ghost. It is a part of us that can never be hurt by the external world. It is stainless and unharmed. It has divine understanding and is the source of wise choices. It is quiet and unmoved in the midst of chaos. It is an anchor in any storm. It is far beyond the power of words to describe. It just is.
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The witness. In the deepest meditation states, awareness of the witness may be lost, so that there is no difference between the witness and the object of meditation. There is a mystical union between the object and its observer. Shree Guru Gita, as sung in Gurumay's Ashrams, SYDA Foundation, South Fallsburg, New York (1991) at verses 41, 114, 126, and 162; see Jaideva Singh, Vijńânabhairava, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (1979) at xi (merger of the light of consciousnes, or prakasha, with eternal awareness, or vimarsha).Please use the [BACK] button on your browser to return to the main text.









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Self esteem.True self-esteem comes from an awareness of our true nature as the Self or the Holy Spirit. It does not depend on accomplishments or achievements. It is a shared confidence that glories not only in our own identity but in the identity of our fellows. True self-esteem comes from seeing ourselves as loving beings in our very core. Please use the [BACK] button on your browser to return to the main text.