How do you define yourself?
Humans define ourselves in many ways. We are daughters and sons. We are siblings and parents. We are ‘our career’ (I am a nurse, teacher, ditch digger) or ‘how we spend our time’ (lazy, productive, creative).
We are caregivers and mentors. We are exhausted or exuberant.
We define ourselves sometimes as sad, anxious, angry, happy, hopeful, content, or the entire rainbow that falls between shame and pure joy.
But this is not Who we are. These words describe what we are, or how we are in the moment. We cannot ‘be’ our emotion. We experience our emotions, we do not ‘be’ them.
When we define ourselves by these descriptors, what happens when the descriptor no longer applies? Often women have self-defined as “mother” for decades. What happens when all the babies leave home? If you have defined yourself by your career, what happens after retirement? If you define yourself as wife and homemaker – adore that role, lean into it, and are passionate about it – what happens if the spouse wants a divorce, or departs this earthly plane?
If we feel defined by one of our roles, and that role shifts, does that change who we are? Of course not! So if we are not defined by our roles, or how we feel emotionally, then fundamentally speaking: Who are we? Who are you?
How do we answer that existential question, “Who am I?”
At our core, we are all One, Source energy, Spirit, God.
This is Truth.
When we remember this Truth we FEEL our connection, we are in the flow – literally flowing Source energy, Spirit, God. We naturally feel confident, secure, passionate, and joyful.
When we become disconnected from this Truth, (or forget temporarily, which is the human way) our energy plummets because we are no longer flowing as much Source energy. Our energy can become stagnant and depressed if we do not renew the connection.
If we do not believe – or have never been taught – that we are God/Source energy at our core, the disconnection we feel can leave us anxious, fearful, confused, insecure, and dependent on other people for a sense of validation. If we depend on others to meet our needs, we can easily become resentful if they don’t fill that role because we haven’t learned to turn inward for love and guidance.
Love and guidance are always ours!
When we remember the Truth of who we are, we can learn to listen for, and trust our inner voice, the voice in our heart, the voice of God. Tuning to our own inner wisdom clears up confusion. When we try to follow the wisdom of others, confusion ensues because each of those others may have very different ideas about what is right for us. And MANY of the people around us are disconnected from the Source at our core, which means their ideas of what is right or wrong can come from fear instead of unconditional love.
Lisa Miller PHD, Founder and Director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University, and author of The Awakened Brain, does a brilliant job reminding us that we are loved, held, guided, and never alone. She makes a strong case that spiritual disconnection is the biggest challenge facing our youth today, in this two-hour episode of the Rich Roll podcast. It’s long but well worth our time.
When others try to guide our lives, tell us what to do, or make our choices for us, they teach us that there will always be someone there to tell us what to do, someone wiser than us. Of course we didn’t learn to turn inward for guidance! Of course we feel adrift when left on our own!
If we’ve always had someone else steering our course, how on earth do we decide where to go when they are no longer here to guide us, and no one told us we had infinite wisdom inside us? How can we possibly trust ourselves to make decisions if we have never grown confidence in this skill?
Won’t it be a lovely gift to give our children (siblings, partners, employees) when we instill in them confidence in their own power?! Let’s teach them they are connected to Source energy always! Let’s remind ourselves and everyone that we are each loved, held, and guided always, and that to access infinite wisdom at our core, all we need do is turn inward, and listen!
Grow on!
How much does it resonate for you that you are Source energy having a human experience? Try saying the following affirmations aloud and see how they feel when you say them:
I am pure spirit.
I am eternal light.
I am Source Energy.
I am God in human form.
I am Divine.
I have access to all I need to know, inside me.
If one or more of these resonate for you, play with saying them several times a day to see what it does for your energy!
If none of these resonate for you, ask yourself how often you feel joyful, resilient, and full of vibrant energy?
What will change for you when you trust your inner voice?
What’s it worth to feel confident, worthy, calm, trusting, and joyful?
What’s holding you back?
What will it take to get over that block?
Sometimes coaching can help us get passed that stuck energy. If you’d like to find out if I am the right coach to help you move forward, schedule a free chat at this link to find out!