Who Are We? Let’s Start With Who We’re Not

August 19, 2008 · Filed Under Humanity · 5 Comments

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“Remember who we truly are.” WTH does that mean? Many new-agers use this phrase, including me. Whenever I do I ask myself, does anyone know what that means. It’s one of those statements that people make and no one questions it. They just nod their head. Sometimes I see their eyes getting glossy and I’m sure they must be thinking - Yeah - Okay - Whatever. I know what I mean when I use it so let’s see if I can explain it. I’ll start with what we are not and see if the explanation emerges from there.

The mind AKA the ego needs definitions. It works through comparison and labels and needs to put concepts in a box. The ego needs to define who we are. Define a self-image. Define self worth. The ego has the need to constantly be fed. Whether it is to diminish or enhance the image it doesn’t matter. It only needs the blank filled in. I am (fill in the blank). We’ll start with the easy one:

We are not our things - We love to use things to define who we are. Starting with my toys, then my car, my house, etc. The ego loves things because it’s easy to define self using what things we have compared to other people. Evita from Evolving Beings wrote a post this week about David Hoffman, a documentary filmmaker, who just lost all his “things” in a fire. He chose to look at the positive of the event without getting all messed up at the loss of his treasures. Evita discusses the concept about us not being our things.

“Can’t take it with us” is a truism that we all know and describes the place that things hold in our true identity. The things we have or don’t have are definitely not who we truly are.

We are not what we do - I am a doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Our education, Our societal “status. The ego needs these labels to makes sense of who we are. I am smart or I am stupid or I am rich or poor. These labels change over time. They are not with us from birth to death therefore how can they be who we truly are. Once again, they are just the box that our mind likes to put us in to give us the illusion of self. Defining our self-worth by designating what we do to who we are. Anything that changes with time cannot be who we are.

We are not our roles - I am a father, mother, husband, wife. I am black, I am Canadian. I am Jewish. I am a Christian I am a victim. These identifications are merely roles. Our mind can attach to these roles and we can believe that they are who we are. Aren’t they just more examples of food for the ego to put us into a form?

We are not our minds - Many like to identify our self with our thoughts. The mind uses the content of our life to define who we are. It uses our past “story,” and it uses what I have mentioned to form the sense of self. It uses our past beliefs to determine who we are. Lots of people have great minds but does that make them who they are? Is that all we are? Are they better human beings because of their minds? Can we think our way through life? Our mind is a great tool for interpreting information. That’s what it is - a tool. Not who we are.

We are not our bodies - When we look in the mirror what do we see? The mind uses the body to form an identity. We are either male or female. Fat or thin. Beautiful or ugly. The physical image we see in the mirror can often be confused with who we are. Many people tie their sense of self worth with the outward appearance of their body, both to enhance or diminish their sense of who they are and their place in society. Society in general does a great job of perpetrating that illusion. Of course these aspects change over time so if we think that we are our body then when that beauty or strength is lost we can also lose our sense of self. This happens to many who believe their outward appearance is who they are. That can’t be who we are.

Our body consists of water and carbon. How can a blob of these elements be who we are. The ritual of dressing up the body at a funeral for all to take one last look at the person makes me laugh. Can that be the person’s true self in that coffin?

My mother passed in 2001. She had lung cancer and had quit chemo. She was basically waiting to die. Her breathing was very labored because of her condition. I was on my way back from Vancouver to be with her when she transitioned. My sister described what happened moments before she died. She said my mother took one deep breath and after that her breathing became even and unimpeded.

I knew that at the moment she took that deep breath was when her true self left her body. Her eternal self moved on.

That’s a clue to the answer of who we truly are.

If we are not our things or what we do or our roles in society or our minds or our bodies then we must be the observer of all these things. Shut off your mind for a minute and feel. Can you feel the core of your being? Can you feel the life force running through your body? Can you stand back and observe that your mind is thinking. That awareness is your true self. Like someone who had an out of body experience or near death give witness to this awareness.

So many names for it. Divine self, god self, higher self, soul. It has no form. When you peel away all the layers it’s what is left at the core.

Your true self has no fear. It is eternal. It has no needs. It has no feelings of separation. It has no limitations or walls. It is your awareness of right now. Not your past. Not your future. It has the inner peace that we all crave because it knows without needing to understand how it knows. It’s what comes to the forefront in times like the death of a loved one or a time of emotional upheaval when the mind steps aside and allows your true self to be in control. When anything that you have identified with as self is lost, like wealth or a job or like David, his things. These times are your opportunity to see your true self. To become aware that you are not those things.

When you open up and see who you really are you are experiencing the awakening I so often talk about. You are recognizing your true self. Once you know who you are you will never feel unworthy or imperfect. You will not be driven or defined by ego. You will be the observer of your human life story. You gain the ability to detach yourself from it and see it for what it truly is. A game of life and you get to play it for a while until you return to your formless self. Only now when we remember who we truly are we can go from doing to be-ing.

Like the story of Moses when he asked God what name should I say when they ask me who you are. His answer was,

I Am That I Am

It can also be said, I will be that I will be. That’s what I mean when I say “true self.” That’s who we are. We are be-ings. We are spiritual be-ings. Our true self is a piece of God.

Formless … Limitless … Eternal

I Am (no blank to fill)

Tags: ego, god self, higher self, I am, true self, who are we

The God Self Of Paul Potts

November 20, 2007 · Filed Under Humanity · 2 Comments

We are God. I have made this statement in a previous article. A bold statement. Maybe even a blasphemous statement to an organized religion follower. Humans search for god from the time we come into each lifetime. The search ends within us. With the entering of the new age of human consciousness, I believe that we will all recognize the god within ourselves and each other. I look for validation of this in all situations. Here are my descriptions of how I recognize god in action.

There are many names for the entity that I am describing. God self. Higher self. Spirit. Aboriginal cultures have described this for centuries as your lower self being human and your higher self being spirit. Lots of labels but all describing the same thing. I will call it our god self for the purpose of these descriptions.

When our actions or words are being controlled by our god self we are considered to be in the flow. Athletes call it the zone. It is where everything just falls into place and we follow along without even having to put much thought or energy into what we are doing. It is a place where time means nothing and all that matters is what we are doing at that moment. It is always a situation where we are doing something that we are passionate about. It is that passion or emotion that brings out our god self. It can be anything. It can be at times of so-called tragedies or times of exhilarating personal accomplishments. The key is passion. When we are doing something we are passionate about the words and actions just flow. The reason that this happens is because we are god with limitless ability to create. Have you felt that feeling before?

When we are in the flow of creation, everything comes easy. Words flow out of our hearts to the extent that if you are conscious of this happening you can tell when your god self is, as I call it, front and center. I know I can feel it. I can recognize it in myself and I can also recognize when my words or actions are controlled by my human self. Things go so much smoother when I am speaking and acting from my higher self. I can also recognize this distinction in others.

Musicians, for example have a lot of practice at operating from their god self. When I hear the sounds come straight from their hearts I know I am hearing the god within them. Ask any musician what that feels like. I have heard many say that they live to perform. That’s because they feel whole when they are in that zone. It is the same for artists or writers. They have more experience with showing their god selves which is why they are labeled as “creative” people. This is also why we as humans love to witness creative people in action. We subconsciously recognize that we are witnessing god in action.

Professional athletes are another example of humans operating from their god selves. Sometimes there is super human feats on the field or court that defy explanation. I love to watch the final game of any sport whether it the world series or the super bowl or whatever. I love to watch the post game celebrations. The excitement and passion that is shown by the participants and also the spectators is more examples for me of the presence of god within them. The excitement and passion that is generated from athletic endeavors of any kind makes me feel it. Anyone who has experienced these feelings of being in the zone will understand what I am saying. They will say they are on auto-pilot. Unthinking. Just letting things flow naturally. That is their god self at the helm.

I love to recognize the god within us. I will cry when I see a demonstration of it. It is an automatic reflex for me. It is a recognition of god that automatically brings tears to my eyes. Not tears of sadness but tears of joy knowing that I have once again witnessed god in action. I remember watching Tiger Woods being interviewed after he won one of his US Opens. He hadn’t won a tournament in a while and he came on in the final round to win. I looked at him on the TV and automatically started tearing up. I could see god within him with such intensity that the tears within me just flowed instantly. What a great feeling for me and I am sure for him also.

This teary feeling may not happen for everyone but I am sure I am not the only one this happens to. You may not realize that this is why you have shed a tear but maybe you can watch for it. This is one sure way for me to feel the presence of someone’s god self.

These demonstrations of showing others and yourself your god within are not reserved just for “special” people. Everyone has or will experience this feeling sometime in their life. It doesn’t matter who you are, everyone has something they are passionate about. It is at these times of passion that your god self will be revealed. You may even say to yourself after “I can’t believe I said that or can’t believe I did that.” These are the times when our normal human fears and doubts about our worth or abilities are forgotten and we operate from our higher self. I know this to be true because I know that we are god. It only takes the belief in this to recognize god within each and every one of us.

We we are in the flow. When our creative juices are running. When we are invincible. When we feel love for all things. When we witness a scene in nature that is breathtaking. When we have those feelings of how good it is to be alive. These are the times when our god self is present and recognizable. At least for me it is. However one describes these feelings doesn’t matter. To me, it is validation of my belief that god is within us. Will you look for it? Can you see god within that homeless person? Can you look deep into the eyes of another and feel the presence of god? God is there at all times, not just the time of heightened emotion or passion.

This is really a continuation of my article called We Are God Also. My intention was to give you some real life examples of god in action. This video is an example of the difference between our human selves and our god selves. We all have these abilities. All it takes is for us to recognize that we are god. The next step is to be in constant connection with the god within us and to act like the truly spiritual beings that we are.

This has become quite a famous video now but I saw it about a week after it happened live. It is Paul Potts. the winner of “Britain’s Got Talent.” If you don’t know him he was an very ordinary guy. A cell phone salesman that appeared to be a very shy person will little self-confidence. He was competing in the English equivalent of American Idol. He sang opera.

The first time he sang he came on stage in an ill fitting suit and as I said, appeared very shy. His human self walked on stage and received the reaction of a rolling of the eyes by the judges when he announced he was singing opera. When he started to sing, his god self took over and was displayed in it’s finest form for all to witness. I immediately started to tear up and recognized that I was experiencing and connecting with the god within this man. If you watch the crowd you can see others wiping tears away.

This is a perfect example of Paul Pott’s god self in action. Can you feel it?