I am What?

Trust me with your life, because I Am you, more than you are yourself.
Bhagavad Gita

So how do we answer the question, "What am I?"

I believe we answer with "I am that"

I am what, crazy lady?

I mentioned earlier that when we repeat/think the mantra OM So Hum we are actually saying "I am that. "  What exactly is that?

Again...I don't know...yet.  :) But there are  a lot of possibilities out there that resonate in my core.

"That" according to the writers of the Rudraksha Yoga site is Brahman: the One, the Divine, the Universal Self according to Vedic tradition. There is an amazing translated passage in the Gita that Ram Dass & others have  written about.  It is worth a read:  https://sacredgate.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/bhagavad-gita/

Now I caution when reading  translations because words/concepts/ terminology and meaning  may differ from translator to translator.  For example, I cannot seem to find what chapter that beautiful passage from above comes in when I read the below translation of the Gita.  Just saying.

The gist is the "that" is God.  We are more God like...a bigger Self  than we are little "I's" or selfs. 

Even the Tao purports this idea.  In the Scriptures of the Yellow court, the body is described as a divine court with inner dwelling places for each God.

How do Christians view the "that" in I am that? Do they see the body as a dwelling place for God?

I love this passage from Corinthians:  "Do you know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? " I Corinthians 3: 16 (ESV) .  It speaks to the same idea, does it not?   God is within us and therefore we are God like.  We are born of God and we know God through the amazing act of Love.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. " I John 4:7 (ESV)

God is Love and we therefore are Love too.

What we are Not.

I believe it is important in understanding who we are... to strip away the things we are not.  If we want to see the  true Self we need to remove the false self  that hides it.

We are not our egos; we are not our personalities and false selves.  We are not the masks we wear.  We are not the opinions of others.  We are not our successes or what we feel we have "earned" in terms of prestige, wealth or recognition.  We are not what we do or what we own. We are not our thoughts or our minds . And we are not our bodies.

We are often over identified with the little self and its attachments.  The little self is focused on body and mind and so often steers us away from the voice of Spirit.

We are something much more than this.  We are that which sees and experiences all these things. We can not see that until we step away from the things the little "I" attaches too.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2


Hmmm! What does that leave us with?

What we are then ? What is "that"?

"That" is God/ Brahman.  We are of God/ Brahman.  "That is Love" . We are Love. The Kena Upanishad puts it beautifully.

Not that which the eye can see, but that whereby the eye can see: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore;

Not that which the ear can hear, but that whereby the ear can hear: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore;

Not that which speech can illuminate, but that by which speech can be illuminated: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore;

Not that which the mind can think, but that whereby the mind can think: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore.

 Now that resonates in me.  What about you?

All is well.

References/Sites to Check Out:

" Not That Which the Mind Can Think"-The Kena Upinshad (2013) MoonLightened Way.  Retrieved from https://moonlightenedshelves.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/not_that_which_the_mind_can_think/

Open bible: https://www.openbible.info/topics/who_we_are



Religion Library: Taoism (n.d.) Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence. Patheos. Retrieved from http://www.patheos.com/library/taoism/beliefs/human-nature-and-the-purpose-of-existence

Rudraksha Yoga (2013) What is the  Meaning of Soham?  Rudraksha Yoga. Retrieved from https://rudrakshayoga.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/vagartha-what-is-the-meaning-of-soham/

Sir Edmund Arnold (translated by) (n.d.) The song Celestial. Theosophical University Press on line. Retrieved from http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/ctg/bhaggita.htm
 
Taylor, Marie (2013) Bhagavad Gita . Remembering the Sacred Self. Retrieved from https://sacredgate.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/bhagavad-gita/
 

Was There something Before This?

God is so great that the greatness precludes existence.
Raimon Panikkar


I would like to address all those important soul  questions listed  in the previous post.  I do believe they are very important things to ask ourselves to trigger our recognizing and remembering.

My first response in answering any of these questions, however,  would be: I haven't got a clue. 

I Knew Before

I would be sincere in responding that way because   I don't know but only partially so. I may not know on the conscious level but I feel somehow that I "knew before."  I do believe I know the answers to these questions on a deeper level of understanding I have yet to tap into.  The answers are in me somewhere, where they have always been. I just forgot.

Something tells me, I did know before!  This leads to another big question.

Was there really a before?

Do you believe we  knew before as ACIM tells us we did ? Were we somewhere else in different form before we came here; before we were born into these bodies?  Did our souls exist before the body did?

What do you believe?  What do you really believe?

I know what I was taught to believe growing up with orthodox Christian teachings.  I was taught that the body came first then the soul...therefore there really was no before. There may be an after but no before. "But it is not  the spiritual that is first but the natural, then the spiritual."  I Cor 15: 46

And "The first man being from the earth is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven." I Cor 15: 47-48  The Jerusalem  Bible

Even to consider the idea of pre-existence was sinful according to this belief system. 
It was deemed by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 that purporting this belief  could lead to excommunication. "If anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema"

Is this what the bible teaches? 

Even that is questionable. "Before I knew you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the  nations." Jer1: 4-5 (NIV)

And what about this from Romans 8-29-30? : "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (NIV)

The idea of us having a before seems to have different possibilities in the bible. Which one do we believe?

Do all Christian Religions teach that pre-existence does not exist?


No.  The Church of Latter Day Saints teaches that it does.

“ Mormons teach a totally different perception concerning the nature of God, the pre-creation universe of eternal realities, the origins of our world, the nature of humanity, and the eternal potential of humans to become gods. In fact, the worldview constructed and promoted by Mormonism mirrors several aspects of ancient paganism, Egyptian and Greek mythology, Hinduism, and New Age, and is foreign and destructive to a biblical Judeo-Christian worldview. " (The Primordial World of Mormonism)

So not all Christianity is set on this idea that we were nothing before so therefore we have no prior knowledge to "remember."   What about other religions?

Other Religions' take on Pre-Existence.

According to Kohler & Blau ( 1906), pre-existence of souls is a part of the Jewish teachings. They begin their article in the Jewish Encyclopedia with this description, " Existence previous to earthly life or to Creation, attributed in apocryphal and rabbinical writings to persons and things forming part of the divine plan of human salvation or the world's government."

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter 2  of the Gita, " Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." So the Hindu take on us having a before is certainly expressed.

Islam also speaks of a pre-existence, a Fitra which is a primordial nature that we are born with and "the ever flowing life."

Buddhism speaks to the  concepts of being and non-being and that there is no death, just rebirth.  We are re- born into one of 6 realms of existence and it is from one of those six realms we emerge.  So there was a before and there is never an end, according to Buddhist tecahings.

So from the "universal"  religious standpoint the dominant thought does not agree with Orthodox Christianity and sees that there definitely was a place where we were before.  If there was a before, there was a knowing before.  This supports the teachings of  A Course in Miracles.

Philosophical Theories on Pre-existence

Whether  we came here with innate knowledge or a "blank slate" has been a topic of great philosophical debate for centuries. Two dominant figures come to mind when I think of pre-existence. Plato who first coined the term "innatism" firmly stated that we were somewhere before and have come into human form with some knowledge.  Carl Jung a 20th century psychiatrist also believed that we had the memories of our ancestors trapped within us, in what he coined "the collective unconscious,"

These two historical figures both purported, amongst great debate and criticism, that we existed before and that we carry knowledge with us now.

Scientific View of Pre-existence

According to many quantum physicists there had to be pre-existence of consciousness before anything manifests in physical form. " The implications of the 'Observer Effect' are profound because, if true, it means that before anything can manifest in the physical universe it must first be observed. Presumably observation cannot occur without the pre-existence of some sort of consciousness to do the observing. The Observer Effect clearly implies that the physical Universe is the direct result of 'consciousness'." 

Were we pure consciousness before we were bodies?

Somewhat Unusual Explanations of  a Before

Some others, step away from  the religious and philosophical understanding of a before and have totally "new" ideas.  Many  of these innovative thinkers believe we come from other planets.  There are several different theories related to that possibility. I have included one article for the Gaia site for you to review.

Or maybe we came from another dimension.  Please read Stuart Wilde's article linked below.

How will we ever know what that before is?

It doesn't matter what you were taught, what you read, what you discovered through experiementation...do you really know if there was/wasn't a before and if there was...what that before was?

How will we ever know if there was a before if we can't remember it? How will we ever know if we are carrying precious knowledge and wisdom within us from the "something" that may have existed before our births into these bodies?  How will we know if this is our first time here or if we have been here many times?   How will we know where we are going if we don't know where we came from? 

How will we ever know which teaching; which philosophy; which possibility is the true one?

Whether it is a scientific explanation you are looking for, a spiritual one or a new more exciting one there is only one way of knowing anything. The only way to know the answer to that question is to do what we need to do to answer all soul questions:  ask the  Spirit within.  Go inward to the silence and stillness...that has  a lot to do with where we were before.  I know that for a fact and I cannot even tell you how I know that.  I don't know much but I know that. 

If there was a before, maybe we will never remember everything or anything  about it and that is okay too. 

Do we really need to know where we have been or where we are going when all that there really is, is this moment we are in right here and right now?

At this point I can tell you that I strongly believe there was a before but  I don't know.  I follow my heart and I am doing my best to remember because I strongly feel there is something I am supposed to remember.

All is well in my world.


 
References


For More Information to help you answer that question for your self, check out:



Chapter 2: Contents of The Gita Summarized (n.d.) Retrieved from https://asitis.com/2/12.html

Could a Person's spirit existed Before Their Soul was Created? (n.d.)  Apostles Creed . Retrieved from http://apostles-creed.org/confessional-theological-orthodox-perspectives/could-a-persons-spirit-have-existed-before-their-soul-was-created/

Innate idea. (n.d.)  New World Library. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Innate_idea

Lafontaine, Lewis (2013) Carl Jung, Gnostic, Meister Eckhart, Scrutinies, Soul. Carl Jung Depth Psychology.  Retrieved from https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2013/07/05/carl-jung-meister-eckhart-gnostics-red-book/

Lesson 15: Life, Pre-existence and Eternity (2004) Al-Islam.org.  Retrieved from https://www.al-islam.org/discursive-theology-volume-1-dr-ali-rabbani-gulpaygani/lesson-15-life-pre-existence-and-eternity

McLeod, Saul (2014) Carl Jung.  Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html

New International Version.  Bible Gateway https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A26-30

Patterson, Alex (2008) The Observer Effect. Master Index. Retrieved from http://www.vision.net.au/~apaterson/science/observer_effect.htm

Thich Nguyen Tang (n.d.)Buddhist View on Death and Rebirth. Urban Dharma. Retrieved from  http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma5/viewdeath.html

The Primordial World of Mormonism The Exhumator-Encyclopedia of Esoteric Knowledge http://exhumator.com/02-017-00_religious-mormons-faith-latter-day-saints-the-primordial-world-mormonism.html

Wann, Raenae (n.d.) Are Humans Actually aliens on Earth? Gaia .Retrieved from: https://www.gaia.com/lp/content/are-humans-actually-aliens-on-earth/

Wilde, Stuart ( 2009) Where Did Humans Come From? (The Fourth Dimension) Stuart Wilde. Retrieved from http://www.stuartwilde.com/2009/02/where-did-humans-come-from-the-fourth-alternative/

The Important Questions

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Mark Twain

We all want to know why we are here and what our life is all about don't we? Between Deepak Chopra (2013) and John from Higher Awareness  I have discovered seven important questions we need to ask ourselves  prior to each meditation session and when we are contemplating our lives

They are:

• Who am I?
• What is that I want?
• What is my purpose?
• What am I grateful for?
• What am I here to learn?
• What gives me meaning?
• How can I best serve?

I would like to take a look at all of these in greater depth when I have more time.  Right now...I am late for work. :) .

All is well:

Check out:


Chopra, D. (2013) Four soul Questions. Chopra Center http://www.chopratreatmentcenter.com/blog/2013/01/07/soul-questions/

John.(n.d.) Soul questions: Letter from the Editor? Growth Tools.  Retrieved from  http://www.higherawareness.com/growth-tools/revealing-soul-questions.html

I am that

Wisdom is knowing I am nothing,
Love is knowing I am everything
and between the two my life moves.
Nisargadatta Maharaji


When you are lost and wondering "Who am I?"  ...try sitting quietly by yourself, close your eyes and listen to this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA4XX15xatk

The So Hum mantra is derived from the Vedic scriptures and Upanishads.  In translation directly from Sanskrit it means, "I am He".  The "He" is Brahman...the Universal Self.  So in other words we are saying, "I am that" when we repeat this mantra, because  "Myself is the universal self."

This is a chant without a chant.  It is repeated not with words but with breath.  We breathe in on the "Soooo" and out on the "Hummmm" ...(though it is said, in some scriptures, it can be repeated the other way as well and that mantra is referred to as the Humsa mantra). Humsa is also a white swan in Sanskrit which is the symbol of the "Universal Self".

Soham...like most spiritual things in this world cannot be understood by words...it must be experienced ...just as union with the universal self can only be understood when it happens.
The writers of the Rudraksha Yoga site caution that this should not be performed without the supervision of a qualified Master.  Just saying.

It is so beautiful, just to listen to!


References/Recommended Reads:

https://rudrakshayoga.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/vagartha-what-is-the-meaning-of-soham/

 http://www.chopra.com/articles/cultivate-present-moment-awareness-with-the-so-hum-meditation

http://meditativemind.org/must-listen-choir-sings-om-so-hum-mantra/

More on Recognizing and Remembering: Another Imperfect Video

Perhaps it is our imperfections that make us so perfect for one another.
Jane Austen (Emma)



Another Video

I am having a hard time explaining what I mean by recognizing and remembering who we are and from Whom we came, to others and to myself. I feel like I have to spit it out somehow. So I thought I would try it with an off the top of my head video again.  I scribbled down a couple of quotes, fired up the camera and off I went on a tangent.

The Bloopers:

When I recognize and remember through reviewing this video, I know that on the inside I am perfect...on the outside...not so much.  :)

Okay...  you will have to excuse the lighting.  I am somehow silhouetted by a dark border as if I was going for the " mysterious gothic" theme...(was not intended)...

You will also have to do your best to ignore the less than graceful transitions between clips and the way I sound like William Shatner  auditioning for a very intense movie in some parts.  (No offense to William Shatner)

My bobble head has got to stop snapping from side to side too!

I also have to laugh at my creation of new words again. lol ...  like "Emongous" : which is a combination of enormous and humongous.  Why do I do that? Is it like a thing?   More importantly, how often do I do that in everyday conversation and why has no one ever pointed it out to me before?

 It is just too funny what we pick up from watching ourselves.

Shutting Ego Up

Again...these videos are not ready for the big public and maybe they will never be. I will however share them here.

 I can hear ego, "OMG!  You can't be serious about putting those atrocities up for people to see? What will they think?  What will they say?"  I am determined to shut ego up.

Too often in life we allow ego to hold us back with its "It's not good enough!  You are not good enough!" speeches.   It tells us not to expose ourselves unless we are perfect or what we do is perfect.  Wow!  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't do anything if that were the case because I have never been perfect on the outside.

We cannot spend this precious life being afraid of showing our imperfections.  That doesn't mean we are not going to try to be to best people we can be.  We are going to learn and grow with our efforts and failed or less than perfect attempts. We are only going to be able to  hit a home run if we actually swing at the ball coming our way.  We may strike out... sure... but there is no way of knowing what we are capable of until we try! Even if we do miss the mark, we will be more experienced the next time we get up and more likely to succeed.  Don't let a heckling ego keep you in the dugout!

Besides, when we recognize and remember who we really are, we will happily let ego make a fool of itself because we will know it is not us.

So once again...I step up to the plate in all my apparent imperfection.


All About the Message, Not the Messenger

Anyway...I am not sure I was clear in what I wanted to say but it certainly felt good saying it.  It was sincere. That has to count for something.

I have a message  coming from a place much deeper and wiser than ego.  Whether I should or I shouldn't, I feel compelled to share it with somebody, somewhere.  You are obviously still here... forgiving of my imperfections and possibly even getting something from my rampages lol.  So I share with you.

For that reason, it is all good.

All is well in my world.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

I thought I should compensate for my laughing at Roxy bumping into walls with the cone on her head...by showing a pre-cone pic that flatters her.

 

Aren't the colours amazing?  I am so thankful that I live in an area that splashes so many amazing colours over the landscape in Autumn.  It is almost worth the long hard winters we Canuck's endure (Almost...lol)

 

It is Thanksgiving in Canada. ... so much earlier than that holiday our friends to the south of us celebrate.  Here are some interesting tidbits of information to share about our Northern Day of Gratitude:

• October was traditionally the month for celebrating the harvest in Europe for centuries.
• We actually had Thanksgiving here before the May Flower ever landed.  When Martin Frobisher reached Newfoundland in 1578 he was so grateful that he survived the trip from England that he celebrated with a feast of thanksgiving
• For centuries the date of the Canadian holiday was as unpredictable as our winters...changing several times before it was officially declared by parliament in 1957 that the second Monday of October would be "a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."
• October made more sense than November did for us being that we were further north and therefore our harvest came earlier (as does our winters :( )
• The country also wanted to avoid the day falling on Remembrance day ( November 11th).  War is never something to be thankful for.

So here we are...celebrating and thanking almighty God for a bountiful harvest!! May you have a blessed day of gratitude, regardless if you are Canadian or not.

 

All is well!

 

 

 

Check out:

 

 

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2614-canadian-thanksgiving

 

 

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thanksgiving-day/