The Inner Journey is one of making deeper connections to all of the realms of consciousness in order to live most fully. This is called expanding. And as I do that I call that part 'my Expanding-Self.' The inner journey is about continuing to grow the Expanding-Self while staying in the physical realm. Below are some skills that can help us to find our Expanding-Self..

PRESENTING (being in the here and now moment) and INTROSPECTING(looking inward; awareness of self)
The two most important processes in growing the ExpandingSelf are the skills of presenting and introspecting. Being present and available to know myself is the way to become more connected to my Expanding-Self. This is also called being 'mindful' or 'awake'. The skill of focusing inward is to know what my experience of myself is at any moment in time. Before we can expand ourselves to new experiences, we must know are current experiences.

As I focus on this moment in time I am aware that I am experiencing some excitement, now some anxiety. Ah! This is good to know. From this knowing I can decide how I want to be, what I want to do, and where I want to go.

This connection to my internal self allows me to experience myself in the world from the inside out, rather than from the external to the internal. At this moment I am more connected to who 'I really am (Now-Self)' and who 'I really want to be (Full-Self)' in the world, than to how others want me to be. Being connected to my Now-Self allows me to move past my Now-Self towards my Full-Self. It is my movement between the two that is the Inner Journey.

With this inner experience lies the truth about who I am in that moment (and that is the only truth there is). Introspection is a tool to find out the truth about who I am in the moment and to tell myself this truth. Knowing the truth about who I am sets me free. Now I can share this truth with others and even be set free of the truth others may have designed for me.

ATTENDING and MINDFULNESS
Another process to practice is the ability to stay connected to the inner experience. In order to continue to grow the Expanded-Self, we must follow the inner experience to its completion. We will find there some insight or resolution, which will allow new experiences of ourselves. To do this we must be able to watch ourselves as if we were an observer. Mindfulness is the commitment we make to ourselves to continue attending to our experience. This is also called being awake. We realize the the Inner Journey is the primary journey and the more we commit to attending to this inner experience, the more fully our Expanding-Self will develop.

SUMMARY
Being introspective, connecting to our experience with our inner sense of self in the present moment is all there is to the journey. Attending, with mindful commitment to improving our ability to be focused on ourselves in the moment, to not worrying about the future or being regretful of the past. This continues our journey towards inner peace.

Go to the Experiential Exercises page that accompanies these skills on 'Connecting with the Inner Self'.

Next session: Staying Connected to the Inner Self