Our True Self

Recently, I have been working on a book of meditations called We Are Already Whole: A Daybook of Rediscovery. I am hoping it will be ready to be shared with the world in 2021! The book is about what has been called our True Self/our original self/ our Essence/ the part of us ‘made in God’s image and likeness’. James Hollis, a prominent Jungian psychoanalyst, says of the Self that it is ‘the architect of wholeness’ - a ‘larger presence’ which ‘moves and directs the total organism toward survival, growth, development and meaning’ (pages 11-12 in Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life). When I was out on a walk recently, I threw a pebble into a nearby river. I saw the ripples the pebble made disappear as the pebble sank to the bottom of the river. I realized that our Self could be seen as the pebble. No matter what is going on at the surface of our lives, our Essence or True Self sits deep within the core of our lives, quietly directing our lives, if we will allow it.

I wrote a little meditation about my experience and I have been practising it on days when I am feeling discombobulated by external events and having trouble getting myself settled. I would like to offer it to you today, in the hope it may be helpful for you too:

Sit in a comfortable chair, with a cup of tea or coffee in hand. Close your eyes and inhale the delicious fragrance of your drink of choice. Begin to take a few deep breaths, slowly, in and out of your nose. Imagine a favourite body of water near your home. Walk towards it, and when you arrive, select a pebble from the shore and throw it in. See the ripples the pebble makes, but also see the pebble sinking to the bottom of the body of water. While still breathing slowly, imagine being the pebble. From your vantage point at the bottom of the water, look up and see life above and all around you. Notice the fish swimming by and any disturbances at the surface, but focus on how it feels to be the pebble nestled comfortably on the bottom of the body of water. Notice that no matter what goes on above or around you, you remain calm and quiet. You can see what’s going on, but you aren’t affected by it. Events come and go, and you are still there, feeling centered, feeling grounded, feeling good inside. All is well with your soul.

Slowly return your focus to the cup in your hand, and again enjoy the fragrance of your drink. Open your eyes when you are ready and reconnect with the world. If you feel so moved, journal about your experience of feeling deeply connected with your True Self/ your Essence. To further unfold your experience, draw the pebble that represents your True Self. What size and shape are you? What texture? What colour or colours? Enjoy!!