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Sophi asked:

I've been reading a book about a person who has magnetic energy which he can use to heal people,
is that true? Are we surrounded by energy which we can receive and transfer to others, and how can
we use it for inner peace, to be more effective in all aspects of life,and what we should do to be more
open and ready to receive this energy?

Last question: What is the higher self?

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No philosopher would want to say that we could transmit energy to others and so cause inner peace.
Philosophers like logically coherent theory and evidence, and even if philosophers were to experience
this sort of thing taking place, they would not be able to account for it. However, I don't see why any
philosopher should deny this sort of thing is possible.Personally, I see no reason to rule it out.
However, the notion of a "higher self" is not a subject matter with which academic philosophers are
concerned — academic philosophers haven't yet sorted out the concept of self.

What you seek is a life-style guru. One of the main writers and speakers on this sort of thing is
Deepak Chopra who has written several books which should be easily available. Chopra is a qualified
medical doctor, which may or may not be a recommendation, and is highly regarded by many people
— especially in California.

Rachel Browne

I don't know what book you have been reading, but I do know that there is a long history, going back
over a thousand years, of gobbledygook written about this subject. The latest manifestation of this
genre is the self-development philosophies of the so-called New Age. If you want to get more of an
historical perspective on 'alternative' ideas the books of Frances A. Yates are excellent and libraries
often have them. The most occult books on the subject you are interested in, which might be worth
reading, are Alice A. Bailey's Esoteric Healing and Treatise on Cosmic Fire.Also, the Treatise on
White Magicis pretty mind-boggling. These books are available at your local Theosophical bookshop
or library. Bailey didn't write these books herself, of course. She was the medium for a Tibetan
Master, who, it is said, watches over humanity from a higher dimension. Bailey's books, along with
The Secret Doctrineof Madame Helena Blavatsky, to which they form the sequel, are the source
books for most other New Ageisms.

The higher self is not a psychological self but refers to a metaphysical notion of the human person. A
simple example is from Christianity. In Christianity conscience belongs to the higher self. It is the part
of you that 'knows better'. The concept of the higher self which you refer to is from Neo-Platonism in
the West and Indian metaphysics, which believes in it as well. It refers to the objective ground of your
personal being qua God, or that which is universally ultimate. This objective ground of your being is
not a psychological ground but the ground of the psyche itself. Remember though, before you get
dogmatic about higher selves. Buddhism says the higher self is empty and nothing.

Matthew Del Nevo
http://www.sicetnon.com