Being self-centered means the mind is preoccupied with ego, the small self. The small self, ego, is the identification of consciousness with the body and mind, and by extension, with other people, places, and things associated with the body and mind.

The identification of consciousness with the mind (and through the mind, with the body) occurs naturally. For example, when we are born we naturally begin to identify with our body and mind due to our association with them. However, it is unnatural to remain limited by our ego—in other words, it is unnatural to accept being bound by our ego (our identification with the mind, body and their various relationships and interrelationships). On the contrary, it is our true nature to be free and imageless, and if we are bound and caught up in our images it is our nature to break free.

Breaking free means breaking our images (including, especially, our self-image). When our images are broken our ego collapses—it cannot stand without the crutches of images. Hence, we need to remove our images and the only way to remove them is through the acquisition and application of Wisdom.

When the mind is energized with the light of Consciousness we become ‘light hearted’—we don’t take ourselves so seriously and don’t feel overburdened with anxiety, annoyance, and frustration.

True peace of mind can only be realized by getting out of our ego. As long as we remain in our ego we remain in bondage.

“The range of human experience is limited only by one’s imagination.”

This statement is true—but not in the way it is generally understood. So, I will reword it here: ‘Your ability to experience your Essence is limited by your images.’ If you spend your time living in your imagination, you are not experiencing reality. The reality I am referring to is the Ultimate Reality—your Essence.

People who are busy imagining things never experience what this life is really all about. Instead, they wile away their time in their images of unreality—in fact, many people live in virtual unreality (oftentimes mistakenly referred to as ‘virtual reality’).

If you think perception is reality, you are mistaken; you are living in misperception. Reality is perceived through the mechanism of the clarified mind, and the mind can only be clarified (purified) with the Wisdom of Consciousness.

Reality always remains reality irrespective of its perception by (through) the mind. The perception of Ultimate Reality is the ultimate aim of life. The perception of reality is a mental phenomenon manifested as a result of the refinement of the mind. The mind becomes more and more fine as ego is removed from it. Since ego is an element of Ignorance, it follows that ego can only be eliminated by way of the removal of Ignorance.

The elimination of ego simply means its removal from the mind. When this happens, the Universal Self is manifested in one’s life, and this manifestation is called Enlightenment. Enlightenment is the process of the removal of ego and ignorance.

As long as we are in our ego, we are lying to our Self. When ego is dropped, the mind is elevated, and this is called ‘raising consciousness.’

In order to practice negativity one has to ignore ones real nature. The nature of Consciousness is to shine. The nature of awareness is to be aware. The nature of ignorance is to ignore.

Practicing negativity means practicing ignorance–it means to ignore our real nature. When the tendency to be negative arises in the mind it must be counteracted with inspiration. Inspiration is practiced. Eventually it becomes as natural as breathing.

This doesn’t mean we will always breathe easy. Sometimes due to illness, injury or pollution breathing is a challenge. Likewise, sometimes due to traumatic experiences, past memories, and unhealthy environments the mind can become clouded with negative emotions and thoughts. These dark clouds can be dispelled with the energy of Consciousness and transformed into refreshing insights.

Every challenge is a chance to bring out the best in ourselves. Our best is the Wisdom of Consciousness projected through our good thoughts and good deeds.

When we remove the idea of separateness (EGO) created by Avidya (Ignorance), the emptiness vanishes and we experience the fullness of Consciousness. This Absolute Fulfillment is all-satisfying and there is no false feeling of loneliness, insecurity, doubt, or other hallucination remaining in the mind. Even if such false feelings arise in the mind, the conscious Self is not disturbed or moved by them. Such a human being who is firmly grounded in the Wisdom of Consciousness becomes a source of inspiration to others, and helps them create balance in their lives.

Our work in this life is to create a ‘Masterpiece.’ We are the artists of Life, and our own life is our masterpiece. We become the artists of life by mastering our own mind. When we remove our ignorance, doubt, selfishness, and egotistic habits and intentions, our mind becomes concentrated with the power of goodwill. This goodwill eradicates our ill-will, which in turn leads to our own well-being and promotes the well-being of all.

We need to shape our mind into a likeness of our True Self (Atman, Pure Consciousness). This is work, but it is not drudgery. On the contrary, it is an artistic work. The work of mental, physical, spiritual development involves the concentration (focus) and dedication (devotion) of all our energy (thought power, physical power, and spiritual power) in the expression of our Real Self.

All we need to do is to be our Self. To be our Self means to make our mind into a likeness of the Self. When the mind is filled with ego and ignorance, it presents a distorted picture of our self and the mind becomes confused. To remove the confusion the mind must be purified with the Wisdom of Consciousness. When the mind is purified with the Wisdom of Consciousness we can just be ourselves. But if we are unjust to ourselves by listening to our ego and remaining in ignorance, we cannot just be ourselves. Instead, we will be miserable.

We are miserable when we are misers and horde our good energies. On the other hand, when we utilize our energies in raising consciousness (by removing ego and ignorance), we recharge ourselves and encourage others. Eventually, our mind becomes an instrument of Light (the Wisdom of Consciousness), and when that happens we are completely fulfilled.

Wanting makes us wanton. It deprives the mind of peace. The mind deprived of peace can easily become depraved, because when the mind lacks peace it seeks solace in excitement. Seeking excitement is a degrading way to live. Just as excitement and boredom go hand in hand, in the same way, wanting and wantonness go hand in hand.

What is Bound?

The mind is bound by ignorance of our Absolute Nature. In other words, when the mind is unenlightened it is in a state of bondage. From the standpoint of this human existence, man is the mind and the mind is the man. (‘Man’ of course means ‘human being.’) The man that is a prisoner of his mind is a prisoner of himself. Another way to say this is: a person who is self-involved is NOT free. A self-involved person will suffer from ‘bad feelings’ which are vibrations produced by the mind in a darkened state. The ‘darkened’ state of mind is Ignorance, and the ‘enlightened state of mind’ is Enlightenment.

What is Free?

The mind is free when it is Enlightened. True freedom is only found in Enlightenment. If we are ignorant of our real nature, we are not free. Our real nature is that we ARE free, but this is only evident when we think and act with freedom. If our thinking is reactionary and our actions habitual, then we are creatures of habit.

It is necessary to form good habits to break bad ones, but it never helpful to form the habit of ego. Ego is a habit of false identification which originates out of association. Due to the natural association of the mind with the body and senses, our ego takes shape in the mind. Prior to this association, our ego is simply the principle of pure self-consciousness (somewhat like that of an infant child).

Little children are somewhat free but not completely free, not truly free. To be really free the mind must be inundated with the Wisdom of Consciousness so that the ego-infection can be warded off (in the case of children) or removed (in the case of adults).

Unless the mind-ego connection is broken (by dissolving our images with Wisdom), we will remain caught up in our mental reactions and physical attractions. This distracted state of the mind (caught up in its reactions and desires) is completely contrary to our true nature, which is to be free from all of this.

The first step to freedom is to go against our selfish whims and desires. In other words, it is necessary to revolt against the tyranny of our ego-mentality and assert our real nature. We have to deliberately practice doing good and thinking good. ‘Good’ is simply that which is beneficial to our well-being (which is the same as the general and genuine well-being of everyone).

It doesn’t take much intelligence to know right from wrong. Mostly it is just a matter of being honest with ourselves and not making excuses for our shortcomings and weaknesses. If we misuse our intelligence to justify our false identification (ego) we will become very unhealthy and unhappy.

We cannot be healthy if we live an unnatural life or have unnatural habits. We cannot be happy if we are in our ego. We are so much more than just a ‘person’ with memories, emotions, and desires. If our happiness is measured by the fulfillment of our images, then that happiness is imaginary. To be happy WE HAVE TO reach our full potential, and that potential is LIMITLESS HAPPINESS. The Sanskrit word for this is ANANDA, or BLISS, which is absolute freedom from unhappiness (a by-product of ego and ignorance).

Until we attain the ultimate BLISS (SatChitAnanda) we have NOT measured up to our full potential.

Experience comes with practice. If we have the ‘know-how’ but don’t put what we know into practice, we will be lacking in experience.

With experience our knowledge increases, but only if we take the time to ponder and consider our actions. Deliberation leads to ‘liberation.’ It means that when we meditate we gain the knowledge to change our course of action and free ourselves from negative thinking and ‘self-confining experiences.’

When we are a prisoner of our images we are confined to our little ego (our small self-identity). It is okay to have an ego (we all have one), but we should make our ego as big as the Universe: we should identify with the entire creation and realize in essence (physically speaking), we are just star dust. From the point of view of Consciousness, in essence (spiritually speaking), we are the eternal energy of the Cosmos. This energy is the conscious self (SOUL) devoid of all material and mental trappings.

Practicing the principles of Consciousness is the only way to free ourselves from self-delusion. Anyone who preaches but doesn’t practice is suffering from self-delusion. People who deliberately practice self-delusion (people who ‘know better’ but don’t ‘do better’) eventually become bad people who hurt not only themselves but others too.

Most people who suffer from self-delusion are just ignorant. In other words, they just don’t know better. The Wise will help you to know better so that you can do better, and together we can do our best. When everyone is doing their best, this world will become ‘heaven on earth.’ But even if others remain spiritually lazy, we should at least do our best and make our own mind heavenly.

The Wise make their mind heavenly; others make their minds heavy with self-doubt and self-delusion. Good advice, put into practice, will remove both the symptoms (self-doubt and self-delusion) and their cause: Ignorance.

Heaven and hell are created in the human mind. They are projected through our actions in the world and our interactions with one another. Hell (the negative) should always be low—we should NEVER turn the volume of negativity up. Low vibrations exist, but we have to live in high vibrations. To do that, WE HAVE TO VIBRATE! Good vibrations are created when we face difficulties with high spirits (high vibrations).

High vibrations dissolve ego. When we conquer our own ego, we are FREE. This simply means there is no more any inner conflict about ‘who we are.’ We are really who we ARE when we realize our Essence. We realize our Essence when we actualize our Real Self. In other words, when we act according to our real nature (higher nature), our life is a portrayal of who we really are in essence. Our life is the portrait of who we are. The portrait is accurate, or not, according to how closely our actions are in agreement with our higher nature. Those who betray their real nature paint a distorted picture of themselves and become confused about who they really are.

Being in our ego creates bad vibrations (Hell). Resisting the tendency to express our ego creates good vibrations—or, stated differently: being unselfish creates good vibrations (Heaven). Everyone has the tendency to be selfish, and everyone also has the tendency to be unselfish and giving. Both tendencies exist simulataneously but only one can be expressed (acted upon) at a time. Repeated good actions create powerful good vibrations which can permanently overpower our negative states of mind. This is our goal—our soul-goal. The ultimate aim of the embodied soul (human being) is to realize (actualize, manifest) the True Self through the art of living.

Each of us is a ‘work-in-progress.’ Our life is a masterpiece and we are the master of our own life. We master the art of living by conquering our own ego. This is what our life is really all about. Winning the game of life really means winning over our own mind and ego. When we do this, we create heaven in our mind and Heaven on Earth. The opposite is ‘hell,’ and it too originates in the mind. Heaven and hell are manmade. They are made-up in the mind and projected through our actions. We change our life by changing our mind (and by changing our actions which follow our thoughts). We make our life Heaven or Hell—it’s all up to us.