The Self is not our Ego which has been our symbol of outward expression until this time. The ego has been an integral part of our human journey but is no longer its mainstay. As many Eastern philosophers point out, ego is a stepping stone to this new threshold, arising of Self. This Self is our core which, as we shall see, connects us to Divine. Remember, ego wants to be a God unto itself, totally self-sufficient and isolated, lying at root of all our addictions which take us away from our true Self.

This Self contains and expresses that which we are in our feelings and emotions. This feeling nature has been called Heart and refers to our strongest desires and passions. “Follow your bliss” Joseph Campbell would suggest in answer to such questions as “who am I?” and “what is my purpose here on this earth?” The “recovery movement” has linked this Self with “the lost inner child.” Again, another description that places Self as our feeling nature. I believe that this Self is “true” center of our human personality and when “free” and “actualized” connects us to our Soul, its spiritual counterpart.

Our Soul is our connection to Spiritual and very source of our being. Our Soul takes on human form for its Earthly experience and gives rise to Self which is spiritual in human form. Self and Soul are flip sides of same coin. On one side we see our spiritual nature; on other we see our essential human nature. Expressing Divine through our human form brings God down to Earth and renders this physical experience “Holy.” Our parables, myths and stories recount this journey where hero or heroin always emerges vitally alive, unencumbered and free.

The Self then, is brought forward and nurtured on human plane of experience. Expressing this Self strengthens us in our human drama and leads us back to Soul. Self and Soul work dynamically together to maintain bond between human and Divine. We see that we are Spiritual beings first and foremost. And our humanness is but one expression of Divine that seeks to enlarge Itself through human journey, to once again assert why we are here – which is simply To Grow!

1)The kind of person who cares about nothing and cares about no-one other than themselves 2)A person who is low in self-esteem and cries out for support and recognition through a “devil may care” attitude.

You need to be aware in order that you may look for ways in which to help such people, but also that you may prepare yourself so that you may communicate with them in a positive manner. They may perhaps consist of people that live with you, but they do not live for you. Both you and they are responsible for your own decisions. Indeed, you both have a right to make your own decisions.

The whole topic covered here, can be summed up in very few words. In order to be able to live in now, we need to plan for both whatever future events may hold, and prepare yourselves to be a reliable and dependable resource.

So how do you go about that? How do you go about planning for things that you do not know are going to happen? What do you do? Thrust your hand into a bran tub and come up with an item to work on? Nothing so vague.

Certain things in a typical life span are pretty certain events. You are born, go to school, start dating, get a job, get married, have children, retire and so forth. This is a basic common plan and one which you plan for almost on autopilot. I`m not saying that these things do not involve planning or detailed attention. They certainly do, but as they are not unexpected, they flow along life's course.

No, it is unexpected that you need to particularly plan for. In one of “Pink Panther” films, Inspector Closeau (Peter Sellers) continues in attempt to hone his hand-to-hand combat techniques with his assistant/servant (chinese), inspector warns (chinese) to “expect unexpected”. Now, you could stop reading right here and lesson will have been taught, but my guess is that you might want to know what kind of things you need to prepare for. Obviously, I could not possibly list everything here, but here are a few ideas to ponder on in no particular order:

•Food shortages • Water shortages • Particular illnesses - (check what runs in family) • How will you handle news? • How will you manage affairs on behalf of sick person? • How will you tell others? • Death in family • Accidents • General health problems – dental. optical, etc • Redundancy • Floods • Freak weather conditions • Children being born • Transport problems • Car breakdown • Public transport failure • Fuel shortages • Marriage • Children leaving home • Family pet problems • Major financial outlay • Burglary • Vandalism • Theft • New job/promotion • Windfall

So in summary then, how we go about living in present is determined by how well we project our thoughts into future. During process of projecting such thoughts, we need to pay careful attention to unexpected events that could potentially happen and prepare for them as thoroughly as possible. As we have determined that “present” is so small a moment in time, then you had better start thinking about what you can do tomorrow to prepare for your future and always be one step ahead.