Mastering your lower self is not about destroying your ego but rather about letting your Higher Self gain the upper hand and be the one who is in control of your Self.
The master is like the boss.
It is the one who is not just in charge but it is the one who dictates what everyone else has to do.
When your lower self is the master of your life it leads to all the common problems and predicaments that most people struggle with on a daily basis.
The ego or the lower self is a great servant but a terrible master
What Is The Lower Self?
The term lower self can be confusing. Logic dictates that the Higher Self is ‘superior’ to the lower self and that the lower self is somehow secondary, unimportant or even no good.
That’s not true at all.
In reality, your lower self is nothing more than your ego.
It is that part of your being that refers to your body, your mind, and your personality. It forms the essence of who you are in this world.
It is how most people would describe themselves. It includes the way you look, the job you do, the things you love, and even how you would define yourself by personality traits or family roles.
In contrast, your Higher Self is beyond all that and although it is less obvious, it is who you really are.
It is beyond or higher than the merely physical, emotional, or personality traits that define you.
Your lower self is an essential part of who you are. It allows you to function in this world and it allows you to be an effective human being.
Trouble ensues however when you live only from your lower self.
When you allow your ego to dominate and rule proceedings then you fall into the trap of believing that you are your body and your mind and that your Spirit is somehow attached to this.
When you live from your Higher Self the reverse happens. You understand and you know that you are in essence a Spiritual being with a body, a mind, and a personality.
This may seem like a subtle difference or even a case of semantics but it is far from that
It boils down to whom you allow to be in charge of YOU.
What It Means To Be Your Higher Self?
If you wonder what it means to be your Higher Self then it simply means you understand the most fundamental concept of your consciousness.
It is the great Spiritual truth that you are not a body with a Soul.
You are a Soul with a body.
When spiritual literature refers to this idea to ‘be your Higher Self’ it means that you live from your Higher Self and that you suppress the ego enough to allow the Divine side of your being to be present.
To be your Higher Self does not mean you shed your ego completely.
It is not only impossible but would be incredibly unwise.
We all need a body, a mind, and a personality to function in this world. Having these aspects of yourself under the control of the Higher Self results in a beautiful, harmonious, purposeful and joyous life.
Being run by your ego leaves you feeling stressed, depressed, anxious, and always chasing something elusive.
Why Master Your Lower Self?
So why then master your lower self? Can you even master it? The idea of mastering something does not mean you conquer it.
It means you develop some level of predictable control over it.
When you master a skill for example it does not mean you ‘own it’ but you developed a conditioned response to the point where you have a high degree of control.
When you master your lower self you do not erase it from your being.
You simply have a shift in consciousness where you know how to turn away from the go when it is needed.
You intuitively know ‘where’ to seek advice, where to shift your energy, and where to lean to when life presents you with challenges, questions or even everyday events.
5 Ways To Master Your Lower Self
1. Awareness
The first and probably the most important step to mastering your lower self is awareness.
Being aware of the fact that you HAVE an ego and that you ARE your Spirit (or your Higher Self ) creates a definite shift in your life.
It allows you to identify when the ego is trying to exert its dominance.
It allows you to go deep within and to find answers and guidance straight from your Source.
When you are aware of the ego and its incessant demands then you will know when it kicks in and you will also be able to stop yourself before you get carried away.
There’s a great little trick that I learned from Rhonda Byrne (author of The Secret). She suggested that a few times a day, you just close your eyes and ask yourself: ‘Am I aware? Am I conscious’?
This instantaneously connects you with your Higher Self.
2. Silence Please
When I wrote about the differences between the ego vs the Higher Self I mentioned that the ego hates silence.
It is in the silence that your Higher Self finds its voice.
Ego-driven individuals always have some sort of conversation going on. They are afraid of being quiet by themselves.
This ‘fear’ comes from the ego because it does not want to be squelched by the Higher Self whose superior voice will become apparent when you find quiet time by yourself.
3. Give, Share & Contribute
The ego is obsessed with itself. It is all about ME from the perspective of the ego.
Being in service to others is the fastest and most powerful way to dull down the ego’s voice inside you.
It is no coincidence that the most ‘successful’ people in the world are those who find a way to serve the most amount of people in the most impactful way.
It is also no coincidence that there is a direct correlation between the absence of depression and those people who are engaged in jobs, charities or general service to others on a regular basis.
When everything is about you, your energy turns inwards.
Like stagnant water, it starts to fester.
Your life energy wants to expand. It wants to be given away…to be shared and contributed to.
The more you give it away, the bigger the vacuum it creates and the more it can regenerate and expand.
4. Acceptance
The first thing you need to accept is that you have an ego. It is not your enemy and it’s not there to drag you down.
I think of my ego as the 2 year old me – only interested in itself, what it wants, and has no concept of anything or anyone outside itself.
When the ego demands something, it is really that 2 year old wanting it NOW no matter how it affects or impacts anyone else.
Accept the fact that your ego is part of who you are and there is nothing wrong with it – as long as you make sure the Adult (your Higher Self) is in charge.
To love and accept yourself with all your apparent flaws is also really important.
It is the lower self that cares deeply about your apparent flaws and it will constantly remind you of them and make sure you feel inadequate because of it.
I love and accept myself unconditionally.
5. Learn, Grow and Expand Your Consciousness
When your consciousness expands it can never contract. Growing spiritually allows your Higher Self to become more prominent because once your consciousness expands it simply cannot contract again.
We often say that learning ‘opens the mind’ and this is true on many different levels.
When you learn more about your Self, your God, your existence and when you contemplate these things deeply your mind does open up to new ideas.
Being rigid, critical and argumentative is often the result of a lack of knowledge.
No one knows enough to be a pessimist.
We have such a small and superficial understanding of life and the world we live in that there is simply no room to argue for your ignorance.
Tilopā was a Buddhist yogi from the 10th century and he said that we should have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing.
Mastering your lower self requires you to let go of your attachments. Let go of everything you think you know.
Be open to different opinions without judgment.
Listen to others.
Learn from everyone.
Allow your consciousness to expand and let your Higher Self guide you to YOUR truth.
