higher self
From Fictional Self To Authentic Self
A new concept that seems to be going around a lot lately in the spiritual community is to be your ‘authentic self.’ But what does this really mean? How do you know who your authentic self is? Heck, you may say, “I’m still trying to find out what my life purpose is, never mind who I truly am!”
Well, as a result of our education, our upbringing, our family dynamics, our job, and such, when we are asked the question “who are you,” we resort to answers such as: a mom, a dad, engineer, doctor, janitor. We tend to express our identity by what work we do, what credentials we have, and what society or our community has told us to be. We are bombarded by social, political, environmental and family expectations that can overwhelm us in modern life.
On top of this, the world today seems to be in chaos. There is distrust everywhere, and we have to contend with challenges like identity theft and social peer pressure. Yet, we are now also expected to know our authentic self? “God, help me, I don’t have time to look for that! I have the kids to take care of, work deadlines to keep, dinner and laundry to do, and I urgently need to sign up for an exercise program to reduce my weight!”
It is never ending, you say. Your authentic self is somewhere, you just don’t know where and no time to find it. But that is just the point! All these things we are expected to do are there because of the pressure we put on ourselves. As we look through our colored lenses of self-inflicted expectations and the social pressure we have learned from family or peers, we lose touch with who we really are, and what we truly want.
The Angel That Saved Me
I love to go hiking, often alone. Over the years I have had a few scary moments. One time, it was an encounter with a rattlesnake, another when lighting struck a mountain ridge very close to me. Fortunately, I have not had any incidents with bears or mountain lions!
However, I did have one very frightening experience involving another person. I was walking back down in a quiet, wooded area, about one hour away from the trail’s end, when a man came walking up towards me. We exchanged brief greetings, as he passed by me, and I continued down the path.
But then he stopped, turned around, and followed me.
“I think I’ll hike back down with you,” he said, once he caught up with me. The tone of his voice sent a shiver down my spine.
“Thank you, but I am actually needing a little alone time today,” I replied politely and just kept walking. But he ignored what I said and kept walking next to me, speaking in a manic way.
My intuition prompted me to keep walking and just let him talk. My gut instinct was telling me that if we were to stop, the situation might escalate! Meanwhile, I could feel my energy shifting to my lower chakras (fear, fight, flight) and had to work very hard to stay centered in my upper chakras (intuition).
The stranger became increasingly excited with our ‘conversation’ and it was apparent that he was mentally unstable. He began talking about “loving first times,” while I sensed the danger increasing. My intuition was now in high gear and I started praying silently in my mind. “Please help, please. If ever I needed a guardian angel, then it is right now.”
It Is Never ‘Just A Dream’
People often say, “It was just a dream, it does not mean anything.” But in my experience our dreams always mean something, and sometimes it is profound.
Dreams serve important mental, emotional, and spiritual functions in our life journey. Our dreams help us to process and learn from our daily experiences, store memories and important information, master new skills, and manage our emotions. Dreams are also key to our inner guidance, spiritual expansion, karmic evolution, and soul growth. And some dreams are the key to healing trauma.
The first nine years of my life my family lived in a small town, until we moved to a much bigger and more bustling city. Soon after we settled in our new location, I began having the same dream repeatedly.
The content of the dream never wavered. I was back in our hometown, and I was standing frighteningly close to the edge of a large, deep lake. Then suddenly I was running away from a threatening bear chasing me. The intensity of this nightmare never changed, and I consistently woke up terrified.
Around the time I turned 14, it suddenly stopped, and I never experienced the dream again.
Years later, I researched the dream’s possible meaning. I then learned that water often represents emotion, while frequently dreaming about being chased is a sign of feeling stressed, anxious, worried, or fearful. In my dream, I was running away from the negative emotion, or trying to avoid it.
Let Spirituality Be Your Guiding Light
In a fast-paced world where superficial, materialistic pursuits tend to dominate our lives, the search for deeper meaning and purpose has become even more significant for many people. Spirituality has always been a guiding light in this quest.
Spirituality offers solace, clarity, and a profound connection to something greater than ourselves. It is inherently personal and subjective, and not limited to religious affiliations, formal belief systems, or cultural traditions.
To be spiritual is to have a deep awareness of the higher self, as well as a heightened connection to God, Goddess, Source, Spirit, the Divine, the Universe.
Our preferred spiritual practice does not have to be some form of dogmatic religion, which tends to involve organized rituals, ceremony, and fixed doctrines. Instead, it can also be an individual exploration of higher consciousness that seeks a direct and personal experience of the sacred and divine.
Spiritual awareness is also not confined to merely a few isolated moments of contemplation, but instead a holistic, consistent state of mind, or way of being in the world, that permeates every aspect of our life.
By integrating spiritual principles and practices into our daily life, we infuse our everyday choices and actions with intention and authenticity, leading to a more balanced, fulfilling, and purposeful existence.
Spiritual Awareness Requires A Soul-Body Connection
A practical way to understand our own spiritual identity within the co-created reality of this world is to think of our soul as the metaphysical software, and our body as the physical hardware. Both software and hardware are needed to have a fully functioning computer that is able to solve problems and complete tasks.
In spirituality, we tend to focus mostly on the mind or consciousness aspects of our existence, such as intuitions, dreams, psychic experiences, paranormal events, our belief system, and altered states of consciousness achieved through various spiritual modalities, including meditation, chanting, trance-inducing rituals, hypnosis, yoga, music, mandala, and so on.
Yet, we seldom consider the importance of the physical experience we are having. This is a vital component in our spiritual evolution that is often overlooked! As metaphysical, energetic beings, we incarnated in human form with a physical body to have a physical learning experience. There is therefore much spiritual value in making the most of our physical embodiment in this lifetime.
The physical body we are born with unique resonates with our soul consciousness and is designed to support us through our journey on this physical plane. But too often we take for granted this amazing vessel that carries us through life. Soon after our birth we become so used to being in our body that we seldom consider its true value.
Sadly, many of us tend to abuse our body in all sorts of ways, for all sorts of reasons, and yet, our body just keeps on doing everything in its power to keep us healthy and strong, for it to continue carrying us through our spiritual journey in this lifetime.
Your Divine Talent Is A Gift To The World
Talent competitions on television are spiritually intriguing. Although I do not watch much reality TV, I do see video clips of talented performers on my social media newsfeeds from time to time. And I am often in awe of the deeper spiritual implications of their remarkable talent.
I have noticed in recent years, for example, a prevalence of very gifted young artists who sing, dance and play instruments, some with no formal training, as if they have many years of experience. There are youngsters who look like the kid next door, but when they perform, they have the star quality of professional artists who have had years of training.
I believe these gifted youngsters were born with gifts they brought with them from past life incarnations. I further believe they are spiritual conduits who are instrumental in helping to raise the vibration on this planet.
One of my recent favorite clips is of 13-year-old Malakai Bayoh singing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu on Britain’s Got Talent. He truly has the voice of an angel, and you can palpably feel the energy of the audience in absolute awe as they watch him perform. It is said he sings at the 963 Hz Solfeggio frequency, also known as the ‘frequency of divine harmony’ or the ‘sound of the crown chakra.’
According to meditation teacher Griff Williams, the Solfeggio Frequency Scale is an ancient musical scale comprising nine original sound healing frequencies ranging from 174 Hz to 963 Hz that are energetically powerful and spiritually uplifting.
We Choose Our Way Of Being In The World
Our material belongings reveal much about how we tend to operate in this world. For example, I can look at the make of a person’s vehicle, as well as the model, size, and color, and instantly get a sense of how they navigate through life. I further believe we also choose our way of being in this world, based on our spiritual mindset.
A good friend and I own the same make of car, but different models. Mine happens to be a smart car and hers is a jeep. This makes perfect sense to me in terms of our personalities and lifestyle.
I am small in stature, so it is only logical that my preferred vehicle would also be small, snug and space efficient. She, on the other hand, frequently has to transport passengers, as well as plants, clothes and a variety of household items that belong to the members of her family.
More interestingly, however, is that both of us have experienced the exact same technical problem with our cars. There was a time when both our cars suddenly indicated that the brake lights were no longer functioning.
When that little warning light came on in my car, I immeditately sensed the worst, but I secretly hoped that only the bulbs might need to be changed. To my shock and horror, the entire panel eventually had to be replaced. The day I took the car in to be fixed, I miraculously escaped a major traffic accident on my usual route at my usual travel time, because my car happened to be in the shop. Yes, sometimes a malfunctioning brake light can in fact save your life!