Becoming Who We Already Are
In a recent Edge Magazine, their theme of the month was “How to Awaken to Our Divinity”. Below is the article I wrote that offers a practical approach that many have found helpful. Please enjoy!
“We are on a journey to become what we already are.” These are the words of the modern and local sage, Leonard Jacobson. Another modern sage, Adyashanti, put it another way: “Enlightenment is really just a radical shift in identity.”
We are multi-dimensional beings. We are souls that use and identify as specific bodies. As souls, we all come from the same energy source. At the highest level of our being, there is only Oneness. Hence the teaching of sages is non-dualism.
Those who have spiritually awakened know at the core of their being, without any doubt, that the consciousness that animates them is the same consciousness that animates you, or a cat or a tree. They identify with that consciousness more than they identify with their bodies and the ego mind chatter that goes with it.
The tricky part, however, is that this Truth can only be realized and known without the analytical thinking mind. It is an experience, a knowing that comes only in the present moment when there is a gap between the incessant chatter of the thinking mind, and/or you are identified as the calm, still observer of your thoughts.
The thinking mind is the tool that we as humans use to function in our present reality, but it also keeps us identified with our body. Although our thinking mind is very helpful to live this earth life, it does nothing but hold us back if we decide we want to discover the truth of who we are. That is why people use meditation to quiet the thinking mind. Many health benefits have been measured by quieting the thinking mind….what the Buddha called the source of our suffering.
When you are fully present with a flower, a sunset, a lover, a latte, a pet…there is nothing wrong in that moment. Only when the mind pulls you into the past or the future with worries and concerns, or arguments about how the moment should be different than what it already is, only then is suffering generated. Thus another modern Australian sage nicknamed Sailor Bob said, “What’s wrong with this moment, unless you think about it?”
Yet another present day sage, Byron Katie, says when you go to war with “what is”, you’ll lose every time. If things should be different than what they are, they already would be. This doesn’t mean we can’t change the world or our lives for the better, but change it while anchored in the peace and love of Oneness consciousness, or Christ consciousness, and you’ll notice much more effective results.
Not many people realize that hypnosis can be used as a short-cut to enter a profound state of meditation to quiet the thinking mind, and thus anchor yourself deeply in the present moment. Applying hypnosis to go on an inner spiritual journey, such as with past life regression and life-between-lives, is probably the fastest, most effective way for the average person to tune into and identify with the higher dimensions of themselves, partly because it cannot happen unless you are deeply anchored in the present moment and the brain wave activity has slowed down from beta to alpha and then theta and even delta.
In past life regression, once the thinking mind is quiet, you consciously dis-identify from your present body/mind system and assume a different body/mind…one that drops into you only in the present moment from your subconscious mind. You are shown a life that could be either challenging, amazing, or boring, but it will automatically by default be something that can help you grow and evolve as a soul either by healing an unresolved trauma or by learning and applying wisdom gained from the past life experience.
Eventually the past life comes to an end and you identify with your soul. Thus you are no longer identified with neither your present nor past life self in that moment, but rather the soul consciousness that animates all the lives you’ve lived. During a Life-Between-Lives spiritual journey, you go deeper into the spirit realm, deeper into the present moment and deeper into a higher dimension of yourself…all of these are synonymous.
It is no wonder that as people go further and deeper on their soul’s journey during a Life-Between-Lives session, they feel lighter, freer, and no longer separate from the joy, peace, love and security that the ego personality has long been seeking outside of itself. And as they keep going, they inevitably feel a sense of “home”,and a stronger interconnection with life. “Home” is a place deep within themselves. No incessant mind chatter is noticed…that part of you becomes silent when tuned into the higher dimensions. In fact, it feels as if it would take effort to apply the thinking mind. All information drops into you as a download of combined thoughts, feelings and senses in the moment.
If you want to experience who you really are, try going on a deep inner journey within yourself to re-identify with the higher aspects of your being. After all, you couldn’t separate yourself from that part of you if you tried…it simply gets covered up in this human experience.
