The 3 Aspects of Self
I was on vacation in Bali about 25 years ago and had the opportunity to go parasailing. Part of me was excited to do it and part of me was filled with fear. It took me an hour to get up enough nerve to put on the harness and allow myself to be lifted into the air. As I sailed through the air high above the water, I had two opposite feelings simultaneously. “How could that be?” I wondered. How could I feel exhilarated and at the same time so scared?
The answer to this question was recently revealed during a class I am taking called Awakening To Life taught by Craig Hamilton. He talks about who we are from three aspects: the ego self (who lives in duality), the Self with a capital S (called the non-duality realm, our divine, eternal, immortal, infinite Self) and a third self he names the evolutionary self. It is this self that the class is exploring and becoming more familiar with.
When I identify with my small self, I feel overwhelmed, exhausted, angry, unstable, confused, unhappy and frightened. That is the part of each of us that has concerns, issues, problems, fears and suffers confusion. The part of me that feels exhilarated is my evolving self. That is the part of each of us that loves, laughs, enjoys, is curious and compassionate. Usually one is dominant and the other lingers unnoticed in the background. When I was swept up into the air on my parasailing adventure, both parts emerged to the forefront simultaneously. I felt the fear of my small self and the joy of my evolving self at the same time.
The evolutionary self uses the human body to see, hear, smell, taste and feel the world of time and space. This evolving self is curious not afraid, excited not threatened, expanded not contracted, clear seeing not confused. When I identify with this aspect of who I am, I welcome change, have lots of energy, feel alive, care deeply, and am content to live in the mystery of not knowing what’s next.
In class, we did an exercise this week in which I was guided to look at my current life from the perspective of my evolving self. I was shocked at what emerged. Instead of being overwhelmed by how many things there are to do, my evolving self saw all those things as opportunities for fun, miracles, aliveness, flow and got excited about taking them all on. It knows all things are possible; it has no idea “how” things will evolve but with all the excitement of a child, it looks forward to the adventure!
I am getting better at calling forth my evolving self to be dominate and inviting my small self to linger in the background, be silent and just watch the unknown become known. It is a practice that only gets practiced when I become aware that my small self has snuck into the dominant position and my evolving self has silently faded into the background. When I hear the frustrated voice of my small self in overwhelm, I stop, shift my attention to my evolving self and ask what it sees. My bad mood vanishes and often I break out in laughter of the absurdity of the narrow view of the small self.
This year life events have besieged me raising my stress levels and throwing me out of balance. Craig’s Awakening To Life class is helping stabilize me and getting me back on track. I am very grateful to be learning and practicing seeing the world through the eyes of the evolutionary self. I look forward to sharing more insights with you as the class unfolds.
Until you return, fill your days with GIGGLES, JOY, and APPRECIATION!
Sylvia Silk, D.D. Director of the Institute For Balanced Living, Los Angeles,CA, USA
DoctorofDivinity, SpiritualCoach, ReconnectiveHealingPractitioner, Writer
The answer to this question was recently revealed during a class I am taking called Awakening To Life taught by Craig Hamilton. He talks about who we are from three aspects: the ego self (who lives in duality), the Self with a capital S (called the non-duality realm, our divine, eternal, immortal, infinite Self) and a third self he names the evolutionary self. It is this self that the class is exploring and becoming more familiar with.
When I identify with my small self, I feel overwhelmed, exhausted, angry, unstable, confused, unhappy and frightened. That is the part of each of us that has concerns, issues, problems, fears and suffers confusion. The part of me that feels exhilarated is my evolving self. That is the part of each of us that loves, laughs, enjoys, is curious and compassionate. Usually one is dominant and the other lingers unnoticed in the background. When I was swept up into the air on my parasailing adventure, both parts emerged to the forefront simultaneously. I felt the fear of my small self and the joy of my evolving self at the same time.
The evolutionary self uses the human body to see, hear, smell, taste and feel the world of time and space. This evolving self is curious not afraid, excited not threatened, expanded not contracted, clear seeing not confused. When I identify with this aspect of who I am, I welcome change, have lots of energy, feel alive, care deeply, and am content to live in the mystery of not knowing what’s next.
In class, we did an exercise this week in which I was guided to look at my current life from the perspective of my evolving self. I was shocked at what emerged. Instead of being overwhelmed by how many things there are to do, my evolving self saw all those things as opportunities for fun, miracles, aliveness, flow and got excited about taking them all on. It knows all things are possible; it has no idea “how” things will evolve but with all the excitement of a child, it looks forward to the adventure!
I am getting better at calling forth my evolving self to be dominate and inviting my small self to linger in the background, be silent and just watch the unknown become known. It is a practice that only gets practiced when I become aware that my small self has snuck into the dominant position and my evolving self has silently faded into the background. When I hear the frustrated voice of my small self in overwhelm, I stop, shift my attention to my evolving self and ask what it sees. My bad mood vanishes and often I break out in laughter of the absurdity of the narrow view of the small self.
This year life events have besieged me raising my stress levels and throwing me out of balance. Craig’s Awakening To Life class is helping stabilize me and getting me back on track. I am very grateful to be learning and practicing seeing the world through the eyes of the evolutionary self. I look forward to sharing more insights with you as the class unfolds.
Until you return, fill your days with GIGGLES, JOY, and APPRECIATION!
Sylvia Silk, D.D. Director of the Institute For Balanced Living, Los Angeles,CA, USA
DoctorofDivinity, SpiritualCoach, ReconnectiveHealingPractitioner, Writer
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