“Above the cloud with its shadow is the star with its light. Above all things reverence thyself”. -Pythagoras
The self is the most fundamental psychological experience we can have: crystal clear, limpid consciousness.
The self/soul can be defined as the only part of us, which remains forever the same. It is this sameness which once found and fully experienced, acts as an ever-present pivot for the rest of the personality, an inner stronghold to which we can always refer in order to regain a sense of poise and self-consistency. Then we can see that the Self remains the same in ecstasy and despair, in peace and turmoil, in pain and pleasure, in victory and defeat.
The Self is consciousness in its essential state, undiluted, chemically pure.
Remember that the Self/Soul is not something we have to struggle for or look for outside ourselves. We are the Self at all times. We just have to remember and become aware.
The Self is reflected in the personal self, which is more accessible to direct experience. There are not really two selves, two independent and separate identities. The Self is one; it manifests in different degrees of awareness. The personal self is a reflection and only appears to be self-existent
When we persistently identify with a part of ourselves:
• A body state tends to become a tension
• A feeling tends to become a hang-up
• A desire tends to become a compulsive craving
• An opinion tends to become a prejudice
• A role tends to become a mask
Conversely, by turning back to the self, we allow our hang-ups to become feelings again, our prejudices to become opinions, and so forth
