Higher self

Higher self is a term associated with multiple belief systems, but its basic premise describes an eternal, omniscient, conscious, and intelligent being, who is one's real self. Blavatsky formally defined the higher self as "Atma the inseparable ray of the Universe and one self. It is the God above, more than within, us".^[1] According to Blavatsky, each and every individual has a higher self.^[2]

In Hinduism

In Hinduism, the higher self is one and the same with the Jiva or individual self. With this perspective, the Hindu faith generally teaches that the higher self, or Atman is not an object possessed by an individual, rather the self is the subject which perceives. In his book, The Higher Self, Deepak Chopra utilizes the views of the Hindi denomination to support his claims concerning the divine force that is acquired with the awareness of the self. Hinduism teaches that through the examination of self-knowledge, or "atman jnana", one can attain salvation by comprehending the true self.^[3]

In Western esotericism

Aleister Crowley referred to the Higher Self as Harpocrates, which he identified as a name for the Holy Guardian Angel.^[4] In his earlier writings, Crowley states that the Holy Guardian Angel is the "silent self", the equivalent of the Genius of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Augoeides of Iamblichus, the Ātman of Hinduism, and the Daimon of the ancient Greeks.^[5] In his late sixties, when composing his book Magick Without Tears, he states that the Holy Guardian Angel is not one's self, but rather a discrete and independent being, who may have been previously human.^[6]

New Age

Most New Age literature defines the Higher self as an extension of the self to a godlike state. This Higher Self is essentially an extension of the worldly self. With this perspective, New Age text teaches that in exercising your relationship with the higher self, you will gain the ability to manifest your desired future before you. In other words, the self creates its own reality when in union with the Higher Self.^[7]

See also

• Higher consciousness

References

Citations

Works cited

• Blavatsky, H.P. (1889). The Key to Theosophy. pp. 175. ISBN 0-8356-0427-6. http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-9.htm. 
• Crowley, Aleister (1982). Magick Without Tears. Phoenix, AZ: Falcon Press. ISBN 1-56184-018-1. 
• Crowley, Aleister (1996). The Law is for All. New Falcon Publications. ISBN 1-56184-090-4. 
• Grant, Kenneth (2010). The Magical Revival. United Kingdom: Starfire Publishing. ISBN 978-1906073039. 

Further reading

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Higher self" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

• Clarke, R. B. (2005). An Order Outside Time: A Jungian View of the Higher Self from Egypt to Christ. Hampton Roads Pub.. ISBN 978-1571744227. 
• Hanegraaff, W. J. (1996). New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. E.J. Brill. pp. 211ff. ISBN 978-9004106963. 
• Holcombe, A. D.; Holcombe, S. M. (2005). "Biblically-Derived Concept of Mankind's Higher-Self-Lower Self Nature". Journal of Religion & Psychical Research 28 (1): 20–24. 
• Prophet, Erin (2018). "Elizabeth Clare Prophet: Gender, Sexuality, and the Divine Feminine". in Giudice, Christian; Tøllefsen, Inga Bårdsen. Female Leaders in New Religious Movements. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3319615271. 
• Tumber, C. (2002). American Feminism and the Birth of New Age Spirituality: Searching for the Higher Self, 1875-1915. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0847697496. 

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