Higher self – How to get in touch with it?

Higher self

By Stephen Russell-Lacy Just as there is an ego so there is a higher self.  But what is it? People often think that human beings are inherently good.  And that personal development simply involves getting in touch with one’s true self.  They believe a life, filled with compassion, joy, and peace, defines the true nature of … Continue reading Higher self – How to get in touch with it?

Guilty feelings – Mistaken or helpful?

guilty feeling

Health education points out the dangers of over-indulgence in eating and drinking and sitting around. You may take the view that if you really like doing something, you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Or you may think you  should moderate your guilty pleasures when they negatively affect others. Then again you may think you ought … Continue reading Guilty feelings – Mistaken or helpful?

Suicide bomber – Why no paradise?

suicide bomber

Several factors probably help us understand why a desperate individual might choose to be a suicide bomber and blow themselves up to murder others – a history of exploitation by Western powers, Israel’s existence, government oppression, poverty, lack of education, and alienation. But what some fanatical preachers tell young people about their destiny is also … Continue reading Suicide bomber – Why no paradise?

Resentful – How can I stop this feeling?

resentful

I suppose it is natural for us to feel resentful when others demean us, frustrate us or do us harm. I feel resentful about how Sharon spoke to me. Not what she said, but how she said it – shouting and slamming the phone down. It’s not as if this were a one-off: there have … Continue reading Resentful – How can I stop this feeling?

Do I have to be religious to be spiritual?

religious

Being religious seems to be going out of fashion. However, one growth area is the new spiritual self-help industry. This is said to be a commercial filling of the gap left by the decline of Christianity. These days you can pay for any amount of books, courses, residential retreats, audio tapes, videos and conferences. All … Continue reading Do I have to be religious to be spiritual?

Self-respect — How to find it if feeling guilt?

self-respect

What you did wasn’t that bad. A hasty ill-judged remark, an over-indulgence, a minor act of selfishness. You want to forget about it but the memory lingers. What if somebody else noticed? You feel uneasy with yourself. Is this the tiny prick of conscience? A sense you have done something wrong? You want to feel better about yourself but you cannot change what happened. You want to find self-respect after doing wrong.

Resentment – How to feel less of it?

resentment

How would you feel, if, as part of your job, you had to shake hands with someone who probably ordered the murder of your cousin? A similar situation faced the Queen when she met former IRA commander Martin McGuiness. I would not be surprising is she had felt at least a little resentment. The meeting … Continue reading Resentment – How to feel less of it?

Honesty – Is it really the best policy?

honesty

A lot of us have grown careless in what we say. “It wasn’t my fault we lost the game, I didn’t hear the whistle.” or “I was pushed over and my foot hurt.” Who has never made up an excuse to stop feeling embarrassed? This covering up may seem harmless enough but over time a … Continue reading Honesty – Is it really the best policy?

Can I find forgiveness?

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Spiritual healing can be needed for guilty feelings. Not all that is going on in our mind is the working of a true conscience. Some of us find ourselves at times on a guilt trip. Even if we have a sound mind, we may sometimes feel guilty over the smallest thing – without rhyme or reason painstakingly worried about something we have done that really is unimportant.

One example is children who, having been trained by their parents to follow certain rules, like never putting one’s elbows on the table at meal times – feel guilty when they have grown into adulthood feeling guilty if they ever break this rule. Other examples of illogical guilt are saying `sorry’ a lot of the time and unfairly criticising ourselves. Trying too hard to get friends to like us, feeling easily embarrassed when asking for favours or doing anything that might displease them.

Many hopelessly sick people feel constantly guilty. This may result from the suspicion that their sickness and fate are self-inflicted and their own fault. Alternatively, they may assume, more or less, the role of the utterly dependent child. Some consciously apologize for the trouble and fuss they are causing. (Our Western culture fosters a sense of guilt in most of us when illness places us in the dependent role). If we are dying, we may even feel as if we are forcing the living to face the necessity of their own deaths for which we suppose they will not be thankful.