ANSWER

The major step that everyone should take, as early in their life as is feasible, is to become a daily meditator. There are many practical methods available to get one started. Just find one that works for you and, when you are comfortable with your practice (perhaps after a year), use your intuition to experiment with modifications to the practice that enhance your experience. My wife and I have altered our specific practice perhaps five to ten times over the past 40 years. It is important to realize that significant changes in self do not occur in weeks to months of practice but rather in years to lifetimes.

A second important step in the experiential development of inner-self management is to practice various breathing and exercise routines like qigong, yoga, HeartMath, Sufism, etc. Once again, seek a process that feels good to you and for you. Try to find one that is joyful for you to practice. In all of this, try to bring periods of reflection into your daily life. Try to be joyful, adventurous and confidently reflective and purposeful in all acts of your life. Consider the process of (1) two steps forward, (2) reflect and (3) one step backward as a small course correction on your trajectory path towards your future goals. In all things, try to maintain balance and harmony in your life and try to remember that one should only try to heal others via “overflow”.

In terms of useful affirmations, back in the early 1970s, when I hadn’t yet balanced my two simultaneous paths to outer and inner experience and knowledge, there were times when it was necessary for me to focus my attention on the following affirmation in my mind:

     “Divine love, divine love, divine love (heart center focus)
      divine will, divine will, divine will (throat center focus)
      divine light, divine light, divine light (crown center focus)
      divine wisdom, divine wisdom, divine wisdom (forehead focus)
      are being manifest and materialized in the name of the divine,
      I stand in the light of the divine -
      no foolish thoughts,
      no false imagery,
      no fears and no forebodings
      can come near this light within me -
      for I love it and I serve it!”

I would often repeat each of the first four lines a half-dozen times to bring about a deep attunement and centering. Then, I could comfortably go about whatever task was at my hand to do.

Now, thirty years or so later, I still use this affirmation but I have inserted an additional line between the first four lines after I have repeated each six times. These additional lines (repeated 3 to 6 times) are:

“Our creator’s love flows through me into this world”

“Our creator’s will flows through me into this world”

“Our creator’s light flows through me into this world”

“Our creator’s wisdom flows through me into this world”

This affirmation has brought me a sense of great peace and connectedness over the years. I hope that it does as well for you!