The Higher Self can be uncovered through releasing the negative conditioned "false self," the ego. He explained that awareness and ego, which is a barrier to awareness, are mutually exclusive and that the onset of full self-awareness is the end of the barrier to awareness called ego. The false self or ego is a collection of fictitious self-images about who we think we are (Psycho-Pictography, page 33) and inner liberation is a ridding process of attaining an accurate image of self.  The spiritual quotes below embody his philosophy.

​

“You have succeeded in life when all you really WANT is only what you really NEED.”
- Vernon Howard

“A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.”
- Vernon H.

“Do not be impatient with your seemingly slow progress. Do not try to run faster than you presently can. If you are studying, reflecting and trying, you are making progress whether you are aware of it or not. A traveler walking the road in the darkness of night is still going forward. Someday, some way, everything will break open, like the natural unfolding of a rosebud.”
- Vernon H.

“Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn, and you will.”
- Vernon H.

“By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.”
- Vernon H.

“Just be honest with yourself. That opens the door.”
- Vernon H.

“It is a mistake for anyone to think he has lived too long in his old, unsatisfactory ways to make the great change. If you switch on the light in a dark room, it makes no difference how long it was dark because the light will still shine. Be teachable. That is the whole secret.”
- Vernon H.

“A clear understanding of negative emotions dismisses them.”
- Vernon H.

“The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.”
- Vernon Howard

“We are exactly where we have chosen to be.”
- Vernon H.

“You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.”
- Vernon H.

“A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep. “
- Vernon H.

“To change what you get you must change who you are.“
- Vernon Howard

“Our freedom can be measured by the number of things we can walk away from.“
- Vernon H.

“Just be honest with yourself. That opens the door.“
- Vernon Howard

“It is a true miracle when a man finally sees himself as his only opposition.”
- Vernon H.

“We are exactly where we have chosen to be.”
- Vernon Howard

“Can you think of anything more permanently elating than to know that you are on the right road at last?”
- Vernon H.

“Truth is not a matter of personal viewpoint.”
Vernon H.

“Beauty is only skin deep, but it's a valuable asset if you're poor or haven't any sense.”
- Vernon H.

“We are slaves to whatever we don't understand.”
- Vernon H.

“What you really want for yourself is always trying to break through, just as a cooling breeze flows through an open window on a hot day. Your part is to open the windows of your mind.”
- Vernon H.

“Freedom begins as we become conscious of it.”
- Vernon H.

“Study carefully the law of cause and effect.”
- Vernon H.

Quit thinking that you must halt before the barrier of inner negativity. You need not. You can crash through... whatever we see a negative state, that is where we can destroy it.
- Vernon H.

All forms of self-defeating behavior are unseen and unconscious, which is why their existence is denied.
- Vernon H.

Learn to see things as they really are, not as we imagine they are.
- Vernon H.

Remember above all that mental stability comes by examining the contents of the mind, not by avoidance.
- Vernon H.

We are enslaved by anything we do not consciously see. We are freed by conscious perception.
- Vernon H.

We clearly realize that freedom's inner kingdom cannot be touched by exterior attacks.
- Vernon H.

"We must become acquainted with our emotional household: we must see our feelings as they actually are, not as we assume they are. This breaks their hypnotic and damaging hold on us."
- Vernon Howard