The *Soul/Higher Self resides on the Mountain Top of Spiritual Consciousness, and the personality resides down below, at the foot of the mountain, in the Valley of Spiritual Darkness. The pathway, between the two, has been called the Pathway to Enlightenment, or Nirvana. This is a representation of our lives here on Earth.

*I will be using the words ‘Soul’ and ‘Higher Self’ interchangeably throughout the reports.

This is the same pathway, as the one we began as newborn Souls/Higher Selves, and which we travel life time after life time, until the personality has reunited, rejoined, or become ‘as-one’ with our Soul/Higher Self. Now, as personalities that reside in the Valley, we are separated from our Higher Selves, most of the time, with only flashes of unity. The degree of unity, or separateness, from our Higher Selves, is relative, though, as each of us is at a different place on this Path to Enlightenment. As I say, some are in First Grade, others in Fourth, and some, in High School, for example.

Whether it is easy or difficult for each of us depends upon how easily and quickly we surrender our personal(ity’s) ego/mind/desire self to our Soul/Higher Self’s guidance and direction. This is accomplished through the development of our intuitive, or sixth sense, located in the solar plexus. This is dependent on how far along we are in being able to shift our faith and trust to an invisible Higher Self/God/Higher Power and Spirit Guide from an Human Authority, such as the doctor, lawyer, teacher, minister, priest, parent, on up the Hierarchy, to President, King, Pope, etc. just to name a few Human Authorities…This must be ‘in the works’ first before the second phase can begin of shifting from an Outer/External Visible Human (form) Authority to an Inner/Internal Invisible Spirit (energy-formed) Authority.

Two steps are required to begin this shift in Inner Authority, from the ego/mind to the Soul/Higher Self/God/Higher Power. They can be practiced and developed together or separately. They are: meditation, to quiet the ego/mind, and making decisions based on your feelings generated in the solar plexus, called by author, Gary Sukov, The Seat of The Soul. It is also the title of his book.

There are numerous sources available to learn now to meditate and any system works. It’s just a matter of choosing one that works for you, often by trial and error, as one style may work beautifully for a friend and not at all for you.

To learn how to let your feelings make your decisions, follow these instructions, practicing with insignificant decisions, at first:

• Place your hand over your solar plexus, which is located at the base of your breastbone, in your mid-section, about five inches above your navel or belly button, while you are learning to draw your conscious mind to this spot in your body. It requires practice and more practice.
• Think of an up-coming decision you need to make, but have not yet made. It can be very, very simple, such as what you’d like to eat for your next meal, or the outfit you’re thinking of wearing the next day, or what you want to do with your spare time, or who you want to call, or see, etc.
  DO NOT USE THIS TECHNIQUE TO MAKE A MAJOR DECISION until you understand the process completely and can do so with confidence in its outcome. This is a set up for the ego to jump in and tell you it won’t work, which is what it wants to do. Your ego wants this technique to fail. It wants to retain the power it has now over you, and it must become subservient to your heart, which is governed by your feelings, if you are to surrender your personal(ity’s) will to that of your Higher Self/Soul/God/Higher Power, etc.
  As you become more confident, you can remove your hand, and will easily and automatically or naturally, make all of your decisions using this technique.
• Once you have thought of something, then visualize actually doing it, in your imagination, or mind’s eye. This is called visualization. For example, if I were to want to know what I am going to eat for my next meal, then I’d visualize some food choices available. I’d think, and see my self doing each of the following, and with my hand on my solar plexus, I’d be waiting for a “Feeling Response” or a Feeling Reply” or a “Feeling Reaction” to my thoughts as I thought of each choice in order.
• Here are the 3 answers your Solar Plexus/Feelings…vehicle for your Higher Self/Spirit Guides/God/Soul, etc. uses to reach you so it can be your new Inner Authority.
  1. “Yes, do it” is a feeling of inner peace or contentment, of calmness and tranquility.
  2. “No, don’t do it is a feeling of discomfort. The level of discomfort depends upon how serious the decision is. Most of the time this feeling is a mild feeling of tension, or knots, or even slight nausea if your Soul really wants to get your attention. The stronger the feeling, the more emphatic your Higher Self is responding.
  3. “Nothing. Numbness. No Feeling At All means Wait for more information and DO NOTHING until you receive it. This is can also be a lesson in patience, a true virtue, and perhaps the most difficult feeling of all. But, it must be honored, and trusted. It is often a test from your Higher Self/ Soul to see if you are truly committed to changing your allegiance from your ego/mind to your Higher Self/Soul/God/Higher Power and to trying to listen to the advice being constantly offered by your Spirit Guides. When you do receive more information, ask again. Once again, take no action, however, until you receive, feel, a definite ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

In operation, the Process looks like this. “Hum. What do I want to eat for supper tonight?”, I think. “Do I want to eat out?” I visualize eating out at one or two of my favorite restaurants. My hand is on my solar plexus. Either one. Experiment. One may be more natural than the other.

What am I feeling in my solar plexus? “Nothing specific. No real feeling at all…Almost like nothingness…Can’t make a decision…I don’t know”… (#3. Wait for more definitive information. )

Then I get some definite energy about having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So, this is the ‘more information’ I’ve been waiting for. I check with my solar plexus again.

This time I visualize making a pb and j sandwich, and even begin tasting it. How does this feel in my solar plexus? “No! Definitely no.” I feel slightly nauseous at the thoughts of pb. and j! O.K. Good. I have received a definite answer. No peanut butter and jelly. (#2. No, don’t do it.) But my ego is saying..”AW….too bad. I love pb and j! I was really looking forward to that yummy sweet tasting sugary treat!” So, it’ might try, or probably will try very hard, to convince me to have it anyway, or try to tell me I hadn’t “felt “ the right response. My ego, that little voice in my head says, “Of course, it’s O.k. It tastes great! Think of how I’d feel..all those carbs! Yum!”

So I ask again, just to be sure. And ”Yup.” Same feeling in my solar plexus. Nausea. Definitely a “No”. No way to disguise it. It is really and truly a “no”. I begin to feel sad again…but, what do I do? Do I give in and eat my pb and j sandwich, or do I have the willpower necessary to follow my inner guidance? This is the test. And it is probably the hardest one you will have to face. Follow your mind/ego/desire self’s advice, which is louder, stronger, sometimes clearer…or follow your heart, your longing to feel inner peace, and resist the temptation. This is the Process To Enlightenment, the pathway from Spiritual Darkness to Spiritual Consciousness.

So, I move on to my next option. “What about a piece of fish, or some tofu and veggies?” I think. I visualize myself making a supper of either one of these, in my imagination, as if I had actually already made the decision. And I keep on concentrating on each detail, one after the other, staying with it as long as I have to until I “feel” a definite answer from my solar plexus.

Finally, after practically having to get to the space where I am sitting down and eating it, having prepared the whole meal, in my imagination, my solar plexus’s response/reaction is strong enough so that I know it is a definite “Yes”. This is the right choice. This is what I want you to eat for supper, because I feel inner peace, calm and tranquil at the thoughts of eating my fish or tofu and veggies. (#1. Yes, do it.) And so , now I know what I will prepare tonight for my supper..even if I look longingly at my pb and j.

I’ve been making more and more of my decisions like this for the past 30 years. But it has only been in the past three-four years that I’ve been able to make most decisions this way. And even now, with all that I know, my ego still lets me know how afraid it is of my decision to do this. Someone said it took the Buddha 100 incarnations to achieve enlightenment. I’m beginning to see why. But, don’t let that be an excuse to quit. Your ego is the extremely powerful, and although it is trying to give you its best advice, and believes with all of its mind that it is, and is advising out of love and concern for you, and for your future, it CANNOT make good decisions. It is separate from your feelings, from your Higher Self. It resides in the Valley of Spiritual Darkness, where you can’t see the forest because you’re in it. The ego/mind was created to follow, not lead. It is the heart, located within the body, where your inner temple is located, that can lead you out of the Forest of Doubt, Guilt, Shame and Fear, manifestations of the ego/mind, to the Mountain Top of Spiritual Consciousness and Enlightenment. The secret is to learn to enjoy the Process, developing faith and trust in your self along the way, and keep on keeping on.

Namaste