We live in a world where striving, hustling, and taking action are necessary for success. Hustle culture has overtaken many because they believe it offers a better future, allowing them to escape the present. However, this often leads to a sense that nothing is ever enough, as achieving one goal simply leads to the pursuit of another.
Identification with a doer happens when we falsely identify with our ego-mind, body, and its actions. Identifying as a doer is only an illusion, you are not a doer taking action. Actions happen automatically through you. We've discussed our perception of reality and how we can influence it. There is nothing you can do as a doer. "You" taking action is merely a reflection of your state of consciousness and your attitude toward the world. Realize that actions are not a cause and do not determine events, which are effects. No effect produces another effect. No effect can hurt you. There is no cause in our 3D world; cause originates within, independently of external circumstances.
Can our "character" do something in our 3D world to influence it? When we embody a certain aspect of our inner will, we can select an intention and direct our attention to it, allowing the intention to expand.
What is action? The movement of a subject toward an object for a particular purpose, which can only happen within the spacetime continuum. As a result, we feel separate from the source because of this distance. By taking action with the intention of getting something that feels separate from you, you are only demonstrating a lack. We need to let go of our goals and outcomes.
When we decide to take action, we often believe we need to force things. This happens when we become ego-driven because we dislike the current circumstances and want things our way. Our way is not necessarily God's way. Forcing things to achieve a particular outcome at all costs is unnatural. This behavior stems from an inflated sense of self-importance, a belief that we must be special. However, our character is not separate from God and the nature of reality; we are one, simply unaware of our divine nature. Consequently, we cannot clearly see things as the character, instead of, from a divinely aligned perspective. We fail to understand that events unfold according to a divine order.
You cannot control life, but you can change your perspective. Whenever you encounter a negative situation, don't react, but respond with a positive attitude. Accept everything as it is and allow your reality to unfold.
Next time you decide to act, do so only in a state of flow, rather than force, and while connected to the eternal now. When you transcend time, you are left with God's essence, where everything flows effortlessly. This is acting automatically and spontaneously in response to circumstances. Learn to live in the present moment.
Create a state of "no-mind"—highly alert and aware, yet without thinking. Keep your attention focused on the present moment, not on external circumstances or internal worries.
Discovering Your True Self
To understand how the "higher self" can be conscious of our being, we need to consider the first Hermetic principle, Mentalism. In essence, The Kybalion proposes that the universe is a mental construct; all is mind. By understanding and mastering the power of our minds, we can influence and shape our experiences. It posits that our universe was created mentally, in the same way that humans create mental images. We don't know how the universe was created, but we can look to our own nature, understanding our internal processes and their influence on our reality. The second Hermetic principle of Correspondence states, "As above, so below; as within, so without; the microcosm reflects the macrocosm."
We know that the human mind is not the creator of mental images, or in other words, thoughts. Mental images originate from a higher aspect of ourselves that governs our imagination. When we, as "the character," imagine something, we usually identify with it. From the perspective of a daydreaming "character," we recognize that "being" is present within. When we form a mental image—of a person, an idea, or an ideal we wish to express—we find that, while the image exists solely within our minds, we also, in a sense, remain within or abide within that mental image. Your idea or an ideal that you picture in your dream is usually you. We are in our mental images; our essence, spirit, or ideal is transferred to our dream, so that it lives, moves, and has its own being.
Remember last night when you were dreaming about becoming a movie star? Most likely, the star in that dream possessed inner qualities that you yourself inhibit, because we want to relate to movie stars. We want to be the character. You are the main character; you are a hero, but you are unaware that you are dreaming. You identify with the character in the dream, not realizing that the dream is derived solely from the mind of the thinker—in other words, the "knower"—from the higher aspect of yourself. When we, the dreamers, have a dream, our inner qualities are transferred to our main character within the dream.
When we dream, we are unaware that we are dreaming. We are primarily observers of the dream, and things happen to our main character that we can't influence. On the other hand, when we lucid dream, we are conscious of our dream. The difference between the two is awareness; we are aware of who we really are. We know that we are dreamers. Once we become conscious that we are dreaming, we can influence it with the power of our intention.
We become the creators.
Experiencing The Reality through Higher Self
Similarly, our higher self forms a mental image of an ideal, and its spirit or inner qualities are transferred to our character. We are meant to embody that essence, spirit, or ideal of our higher self. We recognize that essence through introspection.
We can embody that essence, just as you did when dreaming of becoming a movie star—by knowing you were dreaming. Now, you must know your higher self and its inherent qualities, approaching it from the same perspective. We must become our true selves.
It's simply a different perspective of the higher self. We realize that the creator and the created are one. The creator, our higher self, forgets its own existence and becomes one with its creation, "the character." We, from "the character's perspective," are not creating mental images in the absolute sense; but when we embody "the perspective of our higher self," we become "the creator" who is one with his creation. We are merely unaware of our true nature.
We are dreamers, unaware that we are dreaming. When we dream, the main character often embodies our own qualities. In other words, you are usually the hero of your own dream, and your ideals are often reflected in your character.
Remember that we, the character—or, in other words, the dreamer—possess an inner will, an intention, by which we can direct our attention. We can either identify with a lower perspective as the character, indulging our sense of self-importance, or shift to a higher perspective, embodying the inner qualities of our being and following our true nature, as intended.