The Higher Self—the part inside each of us that connects with the Source, or God—is part of spiritual traditions that go back thousands of years. Read Nanette V. Hucknall’s journey on how she discovered the Higher Self and founded Higher Self Yoga, Inc.
About forty years ago, I had lunch in a restaurant, and on my way out I saw a sign above a pile of magazines that said take any of these —they are free. I looked through the pile and saw one called Synthesis, published by the Psychosynthesis Institute in California. It looked interesting so I took it. When I browsed through the magazine, I found an exercise on how to get in touch with the Higher Self, so I tried to do the exercise. It took me up a mountain and at the top amazingly, I met my Higher Self, which was a luminous figure of a man dressed in white.
At that time I was having a problem with someone, so when I saw the Higher Self, I asked him to take me to my spiritual teacher who had passed away a couple of years before. Suddenly, I was in a meadow and I saw my teacher seating at a table doing some work. The image was totally clear, and I went over to him and asked his advise.
After I finished the exercise, I felt that getting in touch with the Higher Self was fabulous, and I wanted to know more about it and Psychosnythesis. I sent an inquiry to the magazine but it was no longer in existence. In researching Psychosnythesis I discovered it was a transpersonal therapy training developed by Dr. Roberto Assagioli, an Italian who lived from 1888 to 1974.
My research told me that one of the main centers was in Rome. I had a friend living there, and it turned out that she was familiar with Psychosnythesis and had even gone to a couple of their programs. When I went to Italy the following year I met with Maria, the head of the institute, and she gave me the names of a couple of people in New York who were doing training and were Psychosnythesis therapists.
It turned out that they were looking for office space and my organization, The Center for Peace Through Culture, was also looking for space. It was a good match and we ended up renting an office with them.
At that time the CPC was working with many volunteers, and since I was the President, I felt it would be a good idea for me to take the training to learn people skills. Working with the Higher Self was a major part of the course. I was taught how to work with it and also how to teach others the importance of using their Higher Selves in their daily lives.
Since then, my Higher Self has helped me with every thing in my life. Finding that magazine started my whole adventure of developing Higher Self Yoga. I feel that picking up Synthesis was my destiny.
Sit down in a comfortable chair.
Close your eyes and feel your whole body relaxing. First your feet are going to relax, then your legs, your thighs, your stomach, chest, shoulders and arms, your neck and head. Now your whole body is feeling relaxed.
Take some deep breaths and center yourself by linking with your heart chakra, which is located in the center of your chest. With each breath feel the cares of the day dissolving into nothing and try to let go of any thoughts and feelings.
Now imagine you are standing in a meadow and right in front of you is a mountain. You are going to climb the mountain. It will be a very easy climb, and at the very top you will meet your Higher Self.
For now you start to walk on the path, which is in front of you. Almost immediately you enter a forest. It’s a forest of tall pines and other evergreen trees. As you walk upward on the path, you can smell the pine, feel the pine needles under your feet, and hear the birds singing.
And as you slowly climb upward, rays of sunlight break through the branches and light your way. Now you are leaving the forest, and you continue climbing upward on the path. There are scattered trees and rocks and grass, and as you climb you can feel the warmth of the sun on your shoulders.
It’s a beautiful summer day, with a gentle breeze blowing. You continue to climb upward.
Suddenly, you hear the sound of a waterfall. You leave the path and go over to the side of the cliff and look up toward the top of the mountain and see a beautiful waterfall cascading down. As the water hits the rocks nearest you, feel the wet spray on your face and you hear the roar of the water as it hits the rocks beneath you.
You turn now and go back to the path and continue climbing upward. Now there are no more trees, just big boulders and scrub brush and sand. You stop for a minute and see that there are other mountain ranges on either side. You can look down and see the meadow where you started.
You turn and continue climbing upward. Now you are coming to the top of the mountain, and as you go around a bend you see at the very top a flat plateau of land and on the plateau is a bench. Sit down on the bench and take a moment to look around you. Experience the beautiful view of mountains all around you.
As you sit there feel the warmth of the sun on top of your head. Now look up at the sun, which is directly above you. As you look, a figure is going to appear and slide down on a sunbeam and stand in front of you. The figure is your Higher Self. You may also experience It as a light or a feeling of warmth and expansion in your heart chakra. When you feel you are experiencing It, imagine the sun shining down on It and notice if It changes. If It stays the same or gets brighter, then It is your Higher Self. If it disappears or gets dark, tell it to leave, and try the exercise again.
If you see It as a figure, imagine reaching out and holding the hands of your Higher Self, linking your heart to Its heart. Feel Its energy flowing to you. How does it feel? When you feel connected, ask the Higher Self questions that can be answered with a signal for a “yes” answer, a “no” answer, or a “maybe” answer.
When you feel ready to end the conversation, ask the Higher Self if It has anything else it needs to tell you. Listen to Its answer, which may take the form of actual words, thoughts, or impressions.
Then thank your Higher Self and write down everything that has happened.
Sit down in a comfortable chair.
Close your eyes and feel your whole body relaxing. First your feet are going to relax, then your legs, your thighs, your stomach, chest, shoulders and arms, your neck and head. Now your whole body is feeling relaxed.
Take some deep breaths and center yourself by linking with your heart chakra, which is located in the center of your chest. With each breath feel the cares of the day dissolving into nothing and try to let go of any thoughts and feelings.
Now imagine yourself standing in the middle of a meadow. It is a beautiful summer day, the sun is shining brightly and there is a soft breeze blowing.
Experience the meadow around you—the trees, the green grass with wildflowers growing, and the mountains in the distance. You can smell the sweetness of the air and feel the warmth of the sun and the gentleness of the breeze. You may want to take your shoes off and feel the grass under your feet.
In the distance, across the meadow, a figure appears and slowly walks toward you. You know the figure is your Higher Self. As It comes closer, try to sense what It looks like. Is It a man or a woman? Is It just a light or is It a body feeling? The Higher Self will come to a stop in front of you.
When you feel you are experiencing It, imagine the sun shining down on It and notice if It changes. If It stays the same or gets brighter, then It is your Higher Self. If it disappears or gets dark, tell it to leave, and try the exercise again.
If you see It as a figure, imagine reaching out and holding the hands of your Higher Self, linking your heart to Its heart. Feel Its energy flowing to you. How does it feel?
When you feel connected, ask the Higher Self questions that can be answered with a signal for a “yes” answer, a “no” answer, or a “maybe” answer.
When you feel ready to end the conversation, ask the Higher Self if It has anything else it needs to tell you. Listen to Its answer, which may take the form of actual words, thoughts, or impressions.
Then thank your Higher Self and write down everything that has happened.
Sit down in a comfortable chair.
Close your eyes and feel your whole body relaxing. First your feet are going to relax, then your legs, your thighs, your stomach, chest, shoulders and arms, your neck and head. Now your whole body is feeling relaxed.
Take some deep breaths and center yourself by linking with your heart chakra, which is located in the center of your chest. With each breath feel the cares of the day dissolving into nothing and try to let go of any thoughts and feelings.
Imagine you are entering a walled garden. The entrance has a trellis of climbing roses over it. As you enter you see two paths. The one on the left continues to follow beds of roses. The one on the right has a variety of flowers arranged by color. Some beds are golden, full of lilies and smaller orange and yellow flowers. There are also beds of blue and purple hyacinth and iris. Imagine your favorite flowers in the beds. This path continues down to a small paved circle of stone with a bench on it. You sit down on the bench.
Your Higher Self is coming down the opposite path and sits down next to you on the bench.
When you feel you are experiencing It, imagine the sun shining down on It and notice if It changes. If It stays the same or gets brighter, then It is your Higher Self. If it disappears or gets dark, tell it to leave, and try the exercise again.
If you choose to walk down the path of rose beds you will see all varieties and colors of roses. This path also comes to a round paved circle of stones with a bench on it, and you also see the Higher Self coming down the opposite path to sit down next to you on the bench.
When you feel connected, ask the Higher Self questions that can be answered with a signal for a “yes” answer, a “no” answer, or a “maybe” answer.
When you feel ready to end the conversation, ask the Higher Self if It has anything else it needs to tell you. Listen to Its answer, which may take the form of actual words, thoughts, or impressions.
Then thank your Higher Self and write down everything that has happened.
Sit down in a comfortable chair.
Close your eyes and feel your whole body relaxing. First your feet are going to relax, then your legs, your thighs, your stomach, chest, shoulders and arms, your neck and head. Now your whole body is feeling relaxed.
Take some deep breaths and center yourself by linking with your heart chakra, which is located in the center of your chest. With each breath feel the cares of the day dissolving into nothing and try to let go of any thoughts and feelings.
Pretend you are in a boat on a beautiful lake. You are rowing or paddling toward an island. You pull up to the island and dock your boat.
You get out of the boat and walk down a path that takes you to a pavilion that overlooks the lake. There is a bench where you wait for the Higher Self. You see It is in a boat on the lake, and It comes to a dock in front of you and gets out and meets you on the pavilion.
When you feel you are experiencing It, imagine the sun shining down on It and notice if It changes. If It stays the same or gets brighter, then It is your Higher Self. If it disappears or gets dark, tell it to leave, and try the exercise again.
When you feel connected, ask the Higher Self questions that can be answered with a signal for a “yes” answer, a “no” answer, or a “maybe” answer.
When you feel ready to end the conversation, ask the Higher Self if It has anything else it needs to tell you. Listen to Its answer, which may take the form of actual words, thoughts, or impressions.
Then thank your Higher Self and write down everything that has happened.
Sit down in a comfortable chair.
Close your eyes and feel your whole body relaxing. First your feet are going to relax, then your legs, your thighs, your stomach, chest, shoulders and arms, your neck and head. Now your whole body is feeling relaxed.
Take some deep breaths and center yourself by linking with your heart chakra, which is located in the center of your chest. With each breath feel the cares of the day dissolving into nothing and try to let go of any thoughts and feelings.
Imagine you are sitting in your home meditating. The doorbell rings and you go to the door and open it. On the other side is your Higher Self.
It enters and sits down across from you.
When you feel you are experiencing It, imagine the sun shining down on It and notice if It changes. If It stays the same or gets brighter, then It is your Higher Self. If it disappears or gets dark, tell it to leave, and try the exercise again.
When you feel connected, ask the Higher Self questions that can be answered with a signal for a “yes” answer, a “no” answer, or a “maybe” answer.
When you feel ready to end the conversation, ask the Higher Self if It has anything else it needs to tell you. Listen to Its answer, which may take the form of actual words, thoughts, or impressions.
Then thank your Higher Self and write down everything that has happened.