Building Your Foundation of Self—You Are Your Highest Self

Send Rachel a text message.

The highest self isn't an idealized version of ourselves to strive for, but rather our preconditioned consciousness that has always been present within us.

• Our highest self is like a blank sheet of paper upon which our life experiences are written
• Reconnecting with our highest self shifts inner work from fixing ourselves to remembering who we truly are
• When connected to our highest self, we respond rather than react in relationships
• Four practices to reconnect: stillness, writing as dialogue, self-compassion, and presence in daily life
• Notice moments when you feel merged with your highest self—during calm moments, while in nature, or engaged in activities you love
• Inner work isn't about becoming someone else but remembering who you already are

Join us for Write Yourself Open every second and fourth Tuesday at 1pm Eastern to use meditation, writing, and community discussion to reconnect with your highest self. Learn more and register at writeyourselfopen.com or find it on foundationofself.com or rachelestartetherapy.com.

• • •

Timeline:

0:00:00 Rachel introduces the concept that there is no "higher self" to search for; you are already your highest self, and the task is to let go of false ideas about yourself, a reference to Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, a spiritual teacher.

0:00:28 Host Rachel Astarte welcomes listeners and explains the ongoing "Building Your Foundation of Self" series, focusing today on the "highest self."

[0:01:00–0:05:27] Rachel defines the "highest self" as the pure, original consciousness within everyone—not an ideal to strive for, but the essence that is always present. She explains why reconnecting with the highest self is important for authentic inner work and avoiding burnout from constant self-improvement.

0:05:27 Transition to practical advice.

[0:05:28–0:08:01] Rachel shares four practical ways to reconnect with the highest self: stillness/meditation, writing as dialogue, self-compassion, and presence in daily life. She provides tips for each method.

[0:08:01–0:08:05] Encouragement to listen quietly for the answer from your highest self.

[0:08:05–0:11:50] Rachel gives examples of how listeners may have already experienced their highest self and invites them to notice and journal these moments. She emphasizes that inner work is about remembering who you are, not becoming someone else, and previews the topic of the next episode, the underdeveloped ego.

0:11:50 Rachel invites listeners to join the "Write Yourself Open" program for further exploration and support, providing details on how to join and

Got a question about your self?
Send it to me at [e-mail] and it may be featured on a future episode. 

Support the show

• Subscribe here, at youtube.com/@selftalkpodcast, or wherever you get podcasts. •

Music:
"Ave Marimba"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
There is no second or higher self to search for.
You are the highest self.
Only give up the false ideasyou have about yourself.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,Welcome to Self Talk.

(00:29):
I'm Rachel Estarte.
Thank you for being here.
Over the past few months, we'vebeen working through the
Building your Foundation of Selfseries, taking the time to
really understand the parts ofus that create a strong, steady
inner life.
Today, we'll talk about one ofthe most essential and often

(00:50):
most misunderstood parts of thatfoundation the highest self.
And we covered self-talk andthe highest self in the last
installment, but today I want todive deeper.
When we talk about building ourfoundation of self, the highest
self, sometimes also called thetrue self, is the material of

(01:14):
which that foundation is made.
So, yeah, it's important.
What is the highest self?
Let's start with that obviousquestion.
When I say highest self, I'm nottalking about some idealized
version of you that you need towork hard to become right.

(01:35):
I'm not talking about theperfect you who always eats
right and never loses patienceand meditates for an hour every
morning.
The highest self is not anaspiration or a concept of a
person you want to be.
It's not even something outsideof you.
It's already present in you.

(01:57):
In fact, it was present in youbefore your concept of you even
came into consciousness.
It's your preconditionedconsciousness, pure, original,
source consciousness, untouchedby the conditions even of human
form.
It's that spark of source thatlives and speaks within you.

(02:23):
That lives and speaks withinyou, the highest self, is the
you that is already whole,already wise.
It's the essence of who you are, when all the noise, the roles,
the expectations and theexperiential wounds fall away.

(02:47):
Sometimes I describe it as ablank sheet of paper on which
your life experiences arewritten.
What is written is not thepaper itself.
The inked stories of your lifelie on top of this perfectly
pure and accepting and eternalsheet of paper.
That paper, that self, isalways there, always was there.
That is your foundation, yourhighest self supporting you and

(03:12):
your stories.
So why does this matter?
Why bother reconnecting withthe highest self?
Because without it, our innerwork can start to feel like this
endless self-improvementproject.
We get trapped in this ideathat we're broken somehow and we

(03:34):
need to fix ourselves, and thatis exhausting.
I've heard it from my clients,I've heard it from my students
I'm tired of doing all this workand in fact, some of you may
have also experienced inner workburnout.
You're using all the tools andyou're healing all the childhood
wounds and you're keeping yourbody healthy and you're

(03:55):
practicing loving kindness andyou're being reborn into the
being of light.
You're pretty sure you are, butafter a while it becomes a slog
.
Light you're pretty sure youare, but after a while it
becomes a slog.
It's such an uphill effort thatit almost seems pointless.
That's because it's the small sself who's doing the heavy
lifting.

(04:17):
When we work from theperspective of the highest self,
everything shifts.
Instead of fixing, we rememberInstead of striving, we return
home to our original place incollective consciousness.
The highest self gives usperspective.

(04:38):
Gives us perspective.
It helps us rise above thetemporary moods, the spiraling
thoughts and the stories that wetell ourselves about things
that are going on in our lifenow, things that went on in the
past, things that we think mighthappen in the future.
It grounds us in a kind of deeptruth and it makes us steadier

(05:06):
in relationships.
When we're in touch with thatinner compass, we respond
instead of react.
We connect authentically ratherthan defensively.
This is why I always remind mystudents and my clients you are
not here to create a new self.
You're here to remember who youare.
Now let's get practical.

(05:28):
How do we reconnect with thispart of ourselves?
Notice, I said reconnectbecause you never actually lose
your highest self.
You just lose touch with itsometimes.
So here are a few simple waysto come back to yourself, to
connect to the highest self andlisten to it again.

(05:50):
Number one stillness.
Even a few quiet breaths canhelp you drop below the surface
noise of your thoughts.
Below the surface noise of yourthoughts.
Meditation, if it calls to you,is a powerful doorway to that.
Number two writing as dialogue.
This is something that I teachin the Write Yourself Open

(06:12):
program.
You can actually sit down andhave a written conversation with
your highest self, Ask aquestion and then let the deeper
part of you respond on the page.
It's often surprising what youget back and very reassuring.
But before you try to do that,I would recommend being quiet

(06:33):
before you start to ask thequestion and write.
So take a few breaths, clearyour mind as best you can and
then ask the question and dropin and let what comes out come
out naturally.
Number three is self-compassion.
When we treat ourselves withkindness, we clear the static

(06:56):
that keeps us from hearing thedeeper voice.
This is why non-judgment andgentleness are such an important
part of foundation of self-work.
So we develop thatself-compassion, that care for
ourselves, so that we can giveback to collective consciousness
and, more immediately, to thepeople around us in a more

(07:18):
authentic and grounded way.
Number four presence in dailylife.
You don't have to sit on acushion for an hour to connect
with your highest self.
You can literally feel it inyour body when you pause in
nature or when you lose yourselfin creativity, or when you

(07:40):
simply just notice your breath,as we were talking about a
moment ago.
It really is that simple.
Sometimes you can just getquiet for a moment, take a
single, long, slow, deep breathI call it LSD breathing and ask
yourself what does my highestself know right now and listen

(08:01):
quietly for the answer.
And listen quietly for theanswer.
So this may seem very strangeand distant to you right now,
but I'll give you an example ofhow you probably have already
listened to your highest self.
It is probably the voice thattold you this podcast would
sound really good to me rightnow.

(08:22):
I'd like to learn more aboutthis stuff.
That's your highest selftelling you hey, this is
something that will be helpfulfor you.
The highest self is a guidingforce.
It is the pure self connectedto source, as we mentioned.

(08:42):
It is with you always, and welose our way sometimes.
In the day Stuff happens, Oursmall-s self, our underdeveloped
ego self tends to take over andget caught up in the drama.
The highest self is alwaysthere, waiting for you to return
.
It is the expanse of the quietdepths of the ocean, while on

(09:02):
top of the ocean is the crazywaves and a lot of tempest.
So here's my invitation for youuntil we meet again.
Notice the moments when you aremerged with your highest self.
Maybe it's a flash of calm whenyou thought you might get angry

(09:25):
.
It's a flash of calm when youthought you might get angry.
Maybe it's in that gentle innervoice that says hey, take a
rest, You've been working toohard.
Maybe it's when you feelcompletely alive and connected
in something you love doing, orperhaps you're out in nature.
Jot those down in your journalor your notebook.
You all have your favoritenotebook and pen by now, right?

(09:48):
So use that space to reflect onthese moments and you'll start
to realize that there's apattern of how your highest self
feels compared to the noise ofthe ego and fear.
Remember your inner work is notabout becoming someone else.
It's about remembering who youalready are, without the

(10:11):
bullshit stories that you weretold about yourself, without the
small S self, underdevelopedego trying to keep you small
because it's scared.
And we're going to talk moreabout the underdeveloped ego
next time and how to help itbecome developed for your
service.
I hope this exploration intothe highest self gives you

(10:34):
something to reflect on andcarry with you and, if you'd
like, please do share yourthoughts and experiences.
I love to hear from you.
If you want to continue yourwork with your highest self in a
more practical way, please joinus for Write Yourself Open.
We gather every second andfourth Tuesday of the month at 1
pm Eastern online and we usemeditation, guided meditation,

(11:00):
writing and community discussionto reconnect with who we truly
are.
There's nothing like thatsupport of the group.
You're going to come away fromeach session with practical
tools to integrate the guidancethat you received every time we
meet from your highest self and,of course, the supportive

(11:21):
community that we have at WriteYourself Open.
You can learn more and registerat writeyourselfopencom.
You can also find it on mywebsite at foundationofselfcom
or rachelestartetherapycom.
You can sign up for a package.
You can also just drop in.
Just come for a single class.

(11:42):
That'd be great.
I'll add all these links in theshow notes, so no worries.
Until next time, be gentle withyourself.