This quote on the left can help you fathom what it means to experience your own Self. You hear about the Self often in these newsletters. It’s referred to in many ways: your Divine Essence, Beingness, Consciousness, Shiva, God, the Divine Reality being you – you name it, it’s all one and the same. But how do you find it?

Most people are oblivious of their own Self. That’s because they identify with more superficial aspects of their being, such as their mind or their body, or their ego, their job, etc.

Consider your mind. Your mind is an important tool. It helps you navigate in the world, plan for the future, solve problems, avoid problems, and so forth. But if you let your mind run when it’s not needed, you can end up in dire straits. Incessant worrying, for example, can leave you with ulcers, or leave those around you with ulcers. Does that mean you should get rid of your mind? Swami Nirmalananda answers: “No!” She explains:  “Stupidity is not the path to Enlightenment.”

You need your mind. You don’t need to live constantly under its spell

and command. Instead of getting rid of your mind, give it a rest. That’s one of the goals of yoga and meditation.
Realize that you are more than your mind. Your mind is like the surface of the ocean. That’s where all the waves and turbulence exist.

By means of yoga and meditation, you go deeper within to experience the vastness of your own Being. There and then, like in the depths of the ocean, you find a whole other world. You find a whole You! You find your Self. You experience profound calm, wholeness, ease and even bliss.

At the surface there might be a hurricane and 50-foot waves, with boats being thrashed about. But underneath in the depths of your being, there’s that bliss, calm, and peace. There you find a greater sense of Self based on your own greatness. You find your Divine Essence.