Recognising Your Spiritual Self

Have you ever had the experience of not recognising someone until the person speaks or is up close? And what is it that you recognise? It’s not always what the person wears, the style of hair or even a particular way they stand, because you can also think you recognise someone and be mistaken.

To recognise means to re-cognise or to “know again”. What is the experience of recognition? It’s a combination of perception and acceptance, rekindling your relationship with something familiar. On the physical level, recognising something you already know is usually a matter of senses working with your general knowledge. You might recognise an image of the Mona Lisa, for example, or the scent of lavender.

Recognition also is the ability to differentiate. How do you identify a child amongst thirty children of the same size in identical school uniforms? Recognising a person requires an understanding, the immediate knowledge that comes from intuition. You recognise life force and essence, who the person truly is.

And what is the feeling of recognition? When you want to go towards the person, recognition can bring comfort, warmth and peace. You make eye contact and the person recognises you. You might feel expanded and happy. Even if you want to avoid the person, recognition brings relief. You know.

How does recognition apply to your being? Perhaps you’ve had the rather shocking experience of not recognising yourself in a reflection—at first. That’s because everyone lives in an interior world. In many ways it’s easier to recognise your own patterns of thought than your physical self.

Let’s take it to a deeper level. The great sages of yoga say that recognition is the key to your spiritual self. Like the person you don’t recognise at first or the child you try to pick out of a group, the essence of divine Consciousness is already here, already available. You just have to recognise it. And in the same way that recognition means to re-cognise or to know again, when you recognise your spiritual self, it brings relief, comfort, warmth and peace. You remember that you know.

What is your spiritual self? You might call it your deepest nature, inner wisdom or the life force within. It is also known as the witness, the part of you that has been with you always. Your spiritual self is a deep knowing; it is your own consciousness.

You actually have many experiences of your spiritual self. The instant upon waking. The quiet moment when all is right with the world. Love for a child, a partner, a track of music. Beauty and colour. The joy of sport, food, good company, rain or sunshine. Even the intensity of high emotion.

The key is to recognise them. Whenever you experience heightened awareness or deeply connect to yourself, make a mental note. In time, you’ll notice that you have set a clear pathway. You’ll experience and re-cognise, or know again, (and again, and again) that your spiritual self is always here.

Meditation: On Awareness

Focus on your body and what’s happening right now: what you hear, smell, taste, touch or see. Stay in your present experience. Now focus on your awareness. Notice how it absorbs information from the senses but also is the vibration of your living essence. Investigate your awareness and allow yourself to recognise that your awareness is your spiritual self.

Inquiry: Who Am I, Really?

Recognition at the deepest level is connection with the universal sense of simply being. Make yourself comfortable and take the time to ask yourself, “Who am I at my deepest level?” Tell yourself to go deeper. Keep repeating this question and watch how it resonates. As you let go and relax, what do you recognise?

Contemplation: On Awareness

The power of your awareness creates extraordinary reality in every moment of your life.