“There belongs to every human being a higher self and a lower self—a self or mind of the spirit which has been growing for ages, and a self of the body, which is but a thing of yesterday. The higher self is full of prompting idea, suggestion, and aspiration. This it receives of the supreme power. All this the lower or animal self regards as wild and visionary. The higher self argue possibilities … The lower self says we can only live and exist as men and women have lived and existed before us. The higher self craves freedom from the cumbrousness, the limitations … of the body. The lower self says that we are born to them. …
“You have, in a sense two minds—the mind of the body and the mind of the spirit.” ~Prentice Mulford
Higher and Lower Self
I had never read any of Prentice Mulford’s books until I found this one in a volume of Human Science Classics on Amazon Kindle. I was beginning to feel I had wasted my money on the book, for the first few classics in it, while possibly good for their purpose, were not spiritual or esoteric at all. Then I reached Mulford’s book “Thoughts are Things,” and found the quote above on the first page! I think it’s going to be a good read.
The idea of a higher and lower self is certainly not a new one. There is some disagreement about which is which. Some think the lower self is merely the body and the instinct, but the intellect is the higher self. Mr. Mulford has it correct.
Lower Self
The physical body is certainly part of the lower self. I’ve never heard of anyone disagreeing with that. But the mind of the lower self is more than just the most primitive parts of the brain where instinctive and automatic behavior occurs. That is the only brain found in simple animals like frogs and lizards. The higher brain functions found in more complex animals, and man, are also part of the lower self. That is because the lower mind cannot truly know and understand the spiritual. It can speculates about them as an interesting fantasy, but not much more. This brain-mind is very useful in the physical words, not useful in the spiritual realms. It can turn light waves coming into the eyes into images of the things around us. It can guide us through the material world with hearing, scent and touch as well. But it cannot go beyond the lower dimensions, so is part of the lower self. Continue reading “Higher Self and Lower Self of Man”
