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Knowing of the Divine Self

“I am convinced that there are universal currents of Divine Thought vibrating the ether everywhere and that any who can feel these vibrations is inspired.”
~Richard Wagner, 19th-century German Composer

Divine ShivaThe divine self is your inner life force, your true motivation for living. The divine self is what powers you and makes you wonder. It is the soul light at your core that chose to be incarnate at this point in time.

The divine or higher self is that part of you that is ever-aware. The divine self has been aware and thinking since your birth in this lifetime and since your birth in every other lifetime. The body and the physical realm, in which we dwell, are but a vehicle for the higher self.

You are here because you have chosen to be here and because the energy force, that is life and awareness, has lessons to learn and exchanges to make that can only be accomplished by taking human or manifest form.

All that is, is light.

Though it may seem as if the physics of incarnation, of being born and of living in the busy, colorful, physical world of manifestation would cut us off from knowing the divine self at our core, it does not have to be so. You may chose for it to be otherwise.

Here is how we can begin to acknowledge our divine and true core and, by so doing, begin to draw closer to our own higher self:

The first step is to embrace the existence of the divine self.

Try this exercise.

Turn off your waking mind by calming and quieting yourself.

Remove all external distractions to the best of your abilities. No radios, televisions, lawnmowers, screaming children, telephones, alarm clocks, music… nothing.

Now seat yourself comfortably and chose one of the following, either a lit candle or a mirror.

If you choose the candle, you will stare directly into its flame. If you choose the mirror, you will stare into it, scanning your whole face… You will not stare into your own eyes and you will not let the flame make your eyes unfocused (as you do with those Magic Eye puzzle images).

Instead, remain aware of you, in your body, and remain relaxed, but with the eyes still maintaining relative focus.

The candle flame is light and light is the force of all life. Everything that we think is animate, and therefore alive, is powered by light. Everything that we know to be solid, material, and therefore provably real, is only perceivable due to its reflection and absorption of light.

Mass is matter, matter is energy and energy is light. So all that is, is light.

In the case of the mirror…The image of the self is one that we both embrace and avoid.

We avoid it because we compare it to the beauty and perfection that we would hope to find in the natural world. We avoid the supposed imperfections in our physical bodies, because they make us feel unlovable, unworthy.

We never realize that imperfections are what life’s purpose is all about. Sentient energy is in its whole essence perfect and choses to be incarnate, in order to experience not only the joy and sorrow that is physical reality, but also, most purposefully, to experience the joy and sorrow that is imperfection and to learn to give off and believe in the bright, universal light of unconditional love, in spite of the sorrows and imperfections.

Only by this process can true lessons be learned and one come closer to ascension or reintegration with the ALL, an infinite and sentient energy form which all that has been, and all that will ever be, is derived. The ALL is the “Creator”, the “Source”, it is neither male nor female but simply IS. The ALL is ever-present, as are all light beings that derive from its source. That means you and I, our light and our awareness, are ever-present and that we are all siblings in the Family of Light.

What we often miss is that the many things and people that we, in this physical realm, think to be perfect manifestations of the creative force of nature, have often been altered to appear perfect and are actually no longer natural. The ideal of natural perfection is an unnatural lie.

Alternately, we embrace the image of self because we have ego, because we KNOW that we are manifest in a body and that this body has eyes, a nose, a mouth, a face and a shape. We know this is true, because we can see and feel it.

Now, looking in the mirror, we might look at ourself as simply a physical thing, a manifest object comprised of matter, just like the candle or the match that we used to light the candle. We are just matter and we will eventually die and decay. But, hang on. WE can make choices, can lay up late at night thinking, can reproduce, can form religions, can create with our hands, we can cry and love and feel anger.

Then are we really just matter? Are we not something more advanced, a spirit, a personality incarnate?

Personality and thought are not physical functions. Yes, they are powered by physical functions, but this is only to bridge the gap between the spirit and the body. How does gas power a car? By combustion, which is achieved by a physical process that changes the state of the gas. The brain is the method of conversion for the fuel that is the spirit, but the spirit is always the necessary fuel for life. When our engine gets clogged we need only look at the poor state of a neglected spirit to find the cause.

So now that we can look at ourself in the mirror and see ourself as more than simply this flesh, but as a sentient spiritual being moving about in a living phyical body, we can begin to value our connection to things beyond the physical realm.

Look into the mirror and scan your visage, see the light within the body and the light, the lifeglow, surrounding it.

While doing this exercise with the candle, or the mirror, embrace the light of life, the energy of creation and your connection to all that is. Now repeat: “I believe in my divine self, I know of it, because I can feel it within me, because I can see its presence in my life.”

Repeat this phrase, but not mindlessly. Repeat it while feeling the truth of it well up inside your heart. Feel the energy of the divine self and the energy of your connection to the universe and all creation buzzing around the surface of your skin.

Repeat the phrase, or modify it if another, more suitable, phrase comes to your mind. Think to yourself of your divine self making contact with your manifest self.

Open yourself to the reality of your divine self and open your heart to the possibility of communication with that higher self, and see what comes of it in your life.

You may repeat this exercise every moon cycle, best at the new moon, for as long as you feel it is necessary to build this relationship with the higher self and to draw it closer to your waking understanding.