Day 18 - The Rewards of the Higher Self “You will never accept gratitude as a solution to your problems, until you have reached acceptance.” ― Shannon L. Alder In today’s meditation, we explore the benefits of living from your higher self. Living from your higher self means your sense of identity is rooted in your inner awareness rather than your separate self, or ego, which is oriented toward objects of perception. The higher self is who we are. It is our self-awareness and so it is always with us. The reward of the higher self is a life liberated from the demands, fears, and limitations of the separate self or ego mind. Practicing gratitude and appreciation helps to keep awareness aligned to the higher self because we remain focused on the unifying and uplifting qualities of consciousness, instead of allowing attention to get trapped in differences. Daily Journal 1. Write about how practicing gratitude has lessened or removed feelings of isolation, stress, under-appreciation, or dissatisfaction in your life. 2. Describe how you feel ego might still be blocking your full expression of gratitude. It could be through feelings of entitlement, envy, selfishness, self-pity, or resentment. 3. Pick one of these ego obstacles to gratitude from Question 2, and list at least two active steps for overcoming it. 4. Use this space to reflect further on your experience today.