“The greatest enemy is the self. Self – defeating activities and self-animosity happens when we do not accept our selves. “

-Yogi Bhajan (the master of Kundalini Yoga)

In the Aquarian Age, we realize that there are no enemies outside of us any longer – the real enemy can be found inside each one of us.

When you become more self-aware through your meditational practice, you will soon discover that within you lives a battleground. It’s like having an entire village of voices inside of you – each one clamoring for power and control. Sounds a bit scary – like the movie Cybil – but this is normal for most!

For example, you want to deepen your commitment to your spiritual practice, take better care of your health, start your own business, or pursue your art and dreams and yet something stops you from moving forward. What prevents you from sharing your unique gifts with the world? It is the self that is in conflict and uses all that life force energy for ‘the battle’ inside you rather than for manifesting your dreams. Here is what happens when you receive the guidance to move forward on your dreams. The voice of sabotage will say, “Screw it, let’s have some fun – you only live once”. The voice of criticism says, “You will never be good enough – you will never succeed. Why bother even trying.” Or the voice of fear says, “What about money? What would my family or my significant other think?” And so on. All these voices live in the subconscious mind that drives about 85 % of your behavior.

What is at the root of all this ?

This conflict with the self begins in childhood. If all parts of the child are not fully accepted by the earthly parents and other authority figures , the psyche will fracture and split off into pieces. The child psyche is very sensitive and it does this out of survival.

Some parts will be allowed expression, especially if these parts were embraced and encouraged by the outside world. Other parts get buried, locked away and given no expression. Hence, a battle arises between all these different parts of you for control and expression.

Journey Back to the Original Self

The spiritual path is the journey back to the Original Self – to the essence that is ‘you’. The Aquarian Age demands that we become whole again and sovereign unto ourselves. This means going inside to reclaim all parts of you – warts and all!

It is time to fully accept you. Your essence is one of perfection. The creator has not made a terrible mistake in creating you – bring that same unconditional love to yourself.

The bonus is this. When you begin to truly accept yourself – you stop judging and criticizing others. You stop projecting your own self-hatred on to others and you stop creating more human suffering on the planet. With this new awareness, you are able to truly accept others and to give them this priceless gift of healing.

Here is a meditation to begin to accept yourself.

Meditation to Conquer Self – Animosity