Self-consciousness Awareness of oneself as the experiencer, attribution of one's experiences to an ego, consciousness of being a separate individual; whereas consciousness in the abstract is merely awareness of the experience.

Animals and very young children are conscious, man is self-conscious; yet the adult, when engrossed in an experience, may lose his self-consciousness for a while. But even man is only partially self-conscious, because he can contemplate only part of his being; that in him which is now the contemplator may become part of what is contemplated. As the subject, the knower, shifts upwards and inwards, so to speak, more and more of the vestures pass into the category of objects or what is known.

The Unknown manifests the universe in order to attain full self-consciousness; and in man, the microcosm, an unself-conscious spark of divinity passes through stages of evolution and experience in order to achieve relatively full self-consciousness. The potentiality of self-consciousness, however, is in every atom. In order to become self-conscious, spirit must pass through every cycle of cosmic being, until every ego has attained full self-consciousness as a human being or equivalent entity. Man's self-consciousness depends on his triple nature; it is man who is the separator of the One into various contrasted aspects.

Early humanity was not self-conscious; it was the living intellectual fires or manasaputras which gave to the human mind its self-perception and self-consciousness or manas. This manas is derived ultimately from cosmic mahat, and in man today it had become ahamship or ahankara. Full self-consciousness means consciousness of the one self, cosmic Purusha, the seventh principle, not only of the universe but likewise of man himself.

(See also: Self-consciousness, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Definition and meaning of Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, Expectancy - [Psychology]

Self-esteem is the value a person ascribes to himself or herself. It is a psychological need identified by Abraham Maslow in his Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow felt everyone acted to win approval, recognition, and a sense of achievement, but these were difficult to attain if basic human needs like food and clothing were not met. Once people satisfied these physiological and safety needs, they could consider realizing psychological needs of self-esteem and love. Self-efficacy is a person's perception of his or her own effectiveness or confidence in his or her ability to perform a particular test. It is part of the self-actualizing needs, the need to fulfill individual potential, which constitute the peak of Maslow's needs. In striving to attain these goals, people often act in ways which influence other people's perceptions. Attribution theory considers such actions self-serving. Expectancy relates to a person's expectations based on prior experience.

(Source: The Social Studies Center at Texas University )

Also see these pages:  Social Studies, Social Studies Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

Definition and meaning of Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, Expectancy - [Psychology]

Self-esteem is the value a person ascribes to himself or herself. It is a psychological need identified by Abraham Maslow in his Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow felt everyone acted to win approval, recognition, and a sense of achievement, but these were difficult to attain if basic human needs like food and clothing were not met. Once people satisfied these physiological and safety needs, they could consider realizing psychological needs of self-esteem and love. Self-efficacy is a person's perception of his or her own effectiveness or confidence in his or her ability to perform a particular test. It is part of the self-actualizing needs, the need to fulfill individual potential, which constitute the peak of Maslow's needs. In striving to attain these goals, people often act in ways which influence other people's perceptions. Attribution theory considers such actions self-serving. Expectancy relates to a person's expectations based on prior experience.

(Source: The Social Studies Center at Texas University )

Also see these pages:  Social Studies, Social Studies Sitemap, History, History Sitemap

Self Theosophical literature distinguishes between self and ego: self is a purely spiritual unit, divine in essence, the same in every being, expressed as "I am"; egos are many, different in different beings, and expressed as "I am I."

Egos are indirect or reflected consciousnesses, seeing themselves as apart from other egos, each having its own individualized characteristics. But the self or atman is the purest and strongest intuition of being as a universal principle and as the summit of the hierarchy called man. It is pure consciousness, the essential principle which gives to every person knowledge of selfhood. As it has no egoic consciousness, it seems to our reason to be unconsciousness. To become self-conscious, a vehicle is needed, so that the self may see itself reflected as in a mirror.

In humans what is called the personal self is a compound, in which the true selfhood or atmic ray shines dimly through many screens. This causes our various mental states to be regarded as pertaining to our own individuality, though they are actually influences which flow into and out of the mind, and to which we attribute a false sense of ownership, as when we say, "I am angry," instead of "I am experiencing anger." The path of liberation frees us progressively from these false selves; we abandon the heresy of separateness, and at last

See the true self within us as being identical with that self in all beings.

(See also: Self, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

yoga:

yoga. (a) Union of the individual self or Atma with the Supreme Being or Universal Self; act of yoking. (b) A spiritual discipline or exercise aimed at control of the senses. (c) Science of divine communion. No single definition of the word yoga suffices. Patanjali's Yoga-sutras define yoga as a series of eight spiritual steps leading to union with God. This is different from the eight steps given in the section titled "The eightfold path of yoga" of Prasanthi Vahini.

(See also: yoga, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Anatman (Sanskrit) (from an not, non + atman soul, self, variously derived from the verbal root at to move, the verbal root an to breathe, the verbal root va to blow)

Non-self, non-spirit; as an adjective, destitute of mind or spirit, corporeal. Used of the cosmos it signifies, in contrast to atman which is absolute spirit, its shadow or non-spirit, the corporeal or vehicular side of the universe, often mystically spoken of as the cosmic shadow.

See also ANATTA

(See also: Anatman, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

The Seven Jewels of Wisdom Theosophical term for seven fundamental teachings explanatory of the universe, its structure, laws, and operations. As enumerated with their Sanskrit names, they are: 1) reimbodiment (punarjanman); 2) the doctrine of consequences, results, or of causes and effects (karma); 3) hierarchies (lokas and talas); 4) individual characteristics involving self-generation or self-becoming (svabhava); 5) evolution and involution (pravritti and nivritti); 6) the two paths (amritayana and pratyekayana); and 7) the knowledge of the divine self and how the One becomes the many (atma-vidya).

(See also: The Seven Jewels of Wisdom, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Anatta (Pali) (from an not + atta self, soul)

Non-self, nonegoity; a Buddhist doctrine postulating that there is no unchanging, permanent self (atta, Sanskrit atman) in the human being, in contrast to the Upanishad view that the atman or inner essence of a human being is identic with Brahman, the Supreme, which pervades and is the universe. While Gautama Buddha stresses the nonreality of self, regarding as continuous only its attributes (the five khandas; Sanskrit skandhas) which return at rebirth, there is scriptural testimony in both Southern and Northern Schools that the Buddha recognized a fundamental selfhood in the human constitution (cf ET 108-10).

In the Dhammapada, one of the most respected texts of the Southern Buddhists, we read: "The self is the master of the self (atta hi attano natho)

, for who else could be its master?" (12:160); in the Mahaparinibbana-sutta (2:33, 35): attadipa attasarana, "be ye as those who have the self (atta) as their light (diva, also translated as island); be ye as those who have the self (atta) as their refuge (sarana)

" (cf RK Dh. 12, 45). Also we find Nagarjuna stating in his commentary on the Prajna-paramita: "Sometimes the Tathagata taught that the Atman verily exists, and yet at other times he taught that the Atman does not exist" (Chinese recension of Yuan Chung).

(See also: Anatta, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Alkahest (Arab.). The universal solvent in Alchemy (see "Alchemy "); but in mysticism, the Higher Self, the union with which makes of matter (lead), gold, and restores all compound things such as the human body and its attributes to their primeval essence.

(See also: Alkahest, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

MONAD/MONAS

Any entity acting as "one": the self, earth, universe, a society, even the life force at the atomic level. HPB (The Secret Doctrine) pointed out that "each atom is doomed to incessant differentiation."

(See also: MONAD, MONAS, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

MEDICINE WHEEL (Medicine Circle) -

1. Plains Indians way of life symbolizing a dynamic, spirallic understanding of the universe.

2. (l.c.) an ancient stone circle that has been used for thousands of years by Native people as a place for prayer, ceremony and self understanding. (Sun Bear) (NAD)

(See also: MEDICINE WHEEL, Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

direct healing: Form of private prayer (see prayer) and self-healing. Its principle is that imperfection - including poverty, sickness, squalor, and ugliness - is the result of disregarding the life which is hid with God. Its theory posits a spirit in man that is combinable with a Universal Spirit.

(See also: Direct healing, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

NAGUAL

Castaneda's term for the self (an alter ego or even a witch), as opposed to tonal, "ego." A Mexican word meaning "magic, mystery, disguise, double." The ego is a mask for the self. Kenneth Grant says that Don Juan's nagual is the "world of non-being" (his ubiquitous "Universe B" whose entrance is via Woman).

(See also: NAGUAL, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

ATHEISM

Can be divided roughly into two phases - Sartrean Atheism and Post-Sartrean Atheism. For Sartre, raised in the Catholicism of the 19th and early 20th Century, God was the meaning of life and the world. Once God was proved not to exist (or murdered as Nietzsche put it), meaning also ceased to exist. The universe for Sartre was hence absurd and nauseating. We now recognize that meaning and purpose can be present even if Creation is self-created - either as the original cause of self-creation or as its ultimate (not-yet-completed) result.

(See also: ATHEISM, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Selflessness The attribute of the atman, the essential self or selfhood; on the upward arc of evolution we strive to wean our lower or personal self from attachments to objects of personal desire and to achieve the universality of feeling which pertains to this divine essence (atman).

Without the altruistic intuition, no society, whether of animals or humans, could hold together. Instead of regarding selflessness as a lofty and difficult goal to be attained by climbing, we can regard it as an original "home" from which we have wandered.

(See also: Selflessness, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Gwynfydolion (Welsh) In Druidism, when the universe flashed into existence from latency, the Gwynfydolion -- the host of souls that had reached Gwynfyd in a previous life period of the universe -- awoke in Gwynfyd and, looking forth, desired to take infinity (Cylch y Ceugant) by storm. But traveling out from Gwynfyd with this purpose in view, they sank into Abred and began the cycle of incarnations that brought them at last into the human kingdom, whence by self-purification they may reach their native Cylch y Gwynfyd again.

(See also: Gwynfydolion, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Gwynfydolion (Welsh) In Druidism, when the universe flashed into existence from latency, the Gwynfydolion -- the host of souls that had reached Gwynfyd in a previous life period of the universe -- awoke in Gwynfyd and, looking forth, desired to take infinity (Cylch y Ceugant) by storm. But traveling out from Gwynfyd with this purpose in view, they sank into Abred and began the cycle of incarnations that brought them at last into the human kingdom, whence by self-purification they may reach their native Cylch y Gwynfyd again.

(See also: Gwynfyd, Clych y Gwynfyd, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Core Transformation (Core Transformation experience, Core Transformation Process, Identity Process): Ten-step self-help method pioneered by Connirae Andreas, Ph.D., the primary author of Core Transformation: Reaching the Wellspring Within. Core Transformation is a way to melt one's limitations and to open the door to a sense of wholeness and of the universal. Its theory posits an inner being, inner self, inner essence, or core self. Proponents have billed the technique as a breakthrough in the fields of NLP, psychology, and religion or spirituality.

(See also: Core Transformation, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Svayambhu (Sanskrit) Also Swayambhuva. Self-generating, self-evolving; in Hindu metaphysics the cosmic primordial beginnings of the solar system from the womb on Aditi, or the spatial Deeps. Less accurately, the Self-existent, or Self-manifesting. A name applied to Brahma, issuing from the still more abstract essence of Brahman, equivalent to universal spirit, not the Boundless or infinitude, but the self-manifesting spiritual essence in the beginnings of its cosmic appearance, which lies at the root of any solar system.

"Each Cosmic Monad is 'Swayambhuva,' the self-born, which becomes the Centre of Force, from within which emerges a planetary chain (of which chains there are seven in our system), and whose radiations become again so many Manus Swayambhuva (a generic name, mysterious and meaning far more than appears), each of these becoming, as a Host, the Creator of his own Humanity" (SD 2:311). Thus svayambhu means the primordial or self-evolving monad of a celestial entity, whether solar system or an individual body such as a planetary chain.

Not to be confused with Svayambhuva, a name of the first manu.

(See also: Svayambhu, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Attavada (Pali) (from attan self (Sanskrit atman) + vada theory, disputation from the verbal root vad to speak)

Atmavada (Sanskrit) The theory of a persistent soul. A study of Buddhist sutras or suttas shows that Gautama Buddha intended the term to convey the meaning of the heresy of separateness, the belief that one's self or soul is different and apart from the one universal self, Brahman.

Its importance in philosophy and mystical thought, and its genuine Buddhist significance, lies in the fact that Buddhism does not deny the existence of a soul, but strongly emphasizes the fact that no such soul is either a special creation or in its essence different from and other than the cosmic self.

Hence the meaning of the heresy of separateness, because those who hold this view are under the constant false impression that in themselves they are different from, and other than, the universe in which they live, move, and have all their being.

In The Mahatma Letters attavada is termed "the doctrine of Self," and with sakkayaditthi leads "to the maya of heresy and belief in the efficacy of vain rites and ceremonies; in prayers and intercession" (ML 111).

(See also: Attavada, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Definition and meaning of Self- Administered, Trusteed or Directly Invested Plan :

Self- Administered (Trusteed or Directly Invested) Plan: A plan funded through a fiduciary, generally a bank, but sometimes a group of individuals, which directly invests the accumulated funds. Retirement payments are made from the fund as they fall due.

(Source: The Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary )

Also see these pages: Self- Administered, Trusteed or Directly Invested Plan , Insurance Business, Insurance Business Sitemap,  Insurance, Insurance Sitemap, Insurance Dictionary - S