When you came into this world, you didn’t come as a completely blank sheet of paper yet to be written on. You came with particular, unique qualities and traits embedded within your spiritual DNA. Of course, within the mix were other influences, too, to one degree or another – some genetic and some ancestral… and, either or both, could present a challenge to your personal journey, or work to your benefit. A mix of both, probably, though not necessarily in equal measures.
Nevertheless, YOU were, and still are, in there. The authentic you, with your natural loves, talents, sensitivities, and hopes. I’m sorry if the world has worked against you, convincing you that who you are is not good enough or worthy enough. I’m sorry if you’ve been made to feel, by unconscious, damaged souls, that you aren’t precious and lovable – because you most definitely are. People can only meet you as deeply as they’ve met themselves, as the saying goes… and it is absolutely true. These can include our parents and other key figures whom we would expect to nurture and guide us – in an unchallenging, perfect world, that is.
However, if you found yourself born into what felt like the ‘wrong’ family, try and view it another way. It’s a subject I have pondered long and hard, and have often wondered who and where I’d be, now, if my childhood hadn’t been so (what could be considered) dysfunctional. The truth is, my life – and yours – could have turned out better than it is… or worse – if things had been different. We’ll never know, which is good, actually. There are millions, probably trillions, of potential futures any of us could experience… but this is the one we are currently engaged in. I don’t dwell on the question, and neither should you. The family we are born into, the location of our birth, the social, economic, and political climate, at the time of our birth, is not designed for an incarnation of ease and comfort. Many feel cheated because of a less than ideal childhood. And it is true, some poor souls experience a bitterly cruel and loveless introduction into this thing called life on earth. Some of the most inspirational and humble people I have met are souls who have been at the mercy of utterly devastating circumstances, and I have been in awe of their dignity, strength, and courage.
I don’t have inside knowledge regarding our individual journeys or processes in this life, but I do believe that our early circumstances can either make us or break us. And, I think, that’s the point of it all. Or, at least, one of them. I’m okay with who I am, at this point… and I hope you are too. We should feel that we still have much to learn and much we’d like to improve – but we really need to be on our own side – self reflecting, reflecting on our experiences, taking accountability, encouraging ourselves, being our own cheer-leaders, forgiving ourselves when we’ve messed up (which can be difficult, I know, but it has to be done if we are to evolve into our higher selves throughout this lifetime). I have been aware of certain traits, from both parents, within me, throughout my life. Some good, some not so good! It’s been up to me to be aware and not habitually and mindlessly repeat the sins of the father (and mother). It’s up to me to develop my own consciousness, and dictate my own pathway. And the same is true of you.
But, who are you, at your core?
You are a shard of the whole. A tiny, but vital piece, of the source of all existence and creativity, whichever name you choose to give it. The energetic, authentic you, constantly evolving, will share all that you experience and become, with the whole… with the collective.
The you who enters into this world is a projection of that self… an avatar, if you like. And it has its own mind! Imagine it as an extension of yourself, part of you, but rather like a toddler that quickly grows into a teenager. Liken your projection’s entry into this world to a young person who is leaving home for the first time, having to figure out how to handle the grown-up world. Having to learn how to earn their own keep, manage their own affairs, balance their own books.
You have a vested interest in your projection, and all of its experiences – because, eventually, you and your projection will merge, energetically speaking. You will absorb it, and all it has learned and become, when its time on earth is over. When the energy-turned-matter body dissipates, releasing its atoms back into the universe. My conclusion is that the most important purpose of any soul’s physical life is, a) to develop a deep relationship with its authentic self, and embrace that, and, b) for the projected self and the energetic self to gradually align, getting as close to each other as possible, by the time the process has completed.
In other words, to become as aligned with our higher self as possible, in the time we have here. Our higher self is aware of that which it feels it still needs, in order to be able to evolve further, and is dependent on its projection to help that to come about, through its experiences and openness to growth and wisdom. A life in this physical dimension is, without doubt, a crash course!
The problem is, our avatar, as I said earlier, is equipped with its own mind. We are a projection of the great creator, the source of all that exists, but gifted with free will. Our avatar is a projection of us, and also gifted with free will. Does that make sense?
On that basis, the earthly version of us gets to choose how it goes about things. It’s been flung in at the deep end, and is at the mercy of souls who got here before it did. Also, at the mercy of some of its natural programming, as in genetic and ancestral. It’s a massive undertaking, and yet a privilege to be allowed to enter into the process at all (although it often won’t feel that way). Each of us will have our own reasons for putting our projection through it all, and the overall results will vary, I imagine. The bigger the gap that develops between our higher, energetic self and our avatar, the less chance there is of us evolving consciously and spiritually. When the combination of self-awareness, consciousness, and conscience fails to develop, then the ego (whose job is to keep us physically alive and thriving) has chosen to put its earthly wants and needs above those of its higher self, and above those of its fellow human souls. An avatar run amok, like a wayward child who has run away from home. This disconnect creates a destructive and even dangerous mindset and behaviour. Be they power-hungry and corrupt, or easily led, unquestioning and self-serving, or miserable, barely-surviving, selfish and cruel, these are all projections who have turned their backs on their own creators – their higher selves. There is always hope, of course. At any point, an errant avatar could choose to reach out to, and begin to align with, its greater part.
There is another reason a projection might drift away from, or even fail to develop a relationship with its higher self: Because it has been programmed by unconscious, unaware souls to believe that it is useless or wrong, and that its unique and wonderful traits and talents are worth nothing. They might even be well-meaning, in their own, misguided way.
Squashed, unseen, unheard, unacknowledged children often grow into adults plagued by an inner emptiness, trying so hard in life, yet rarely feeling fulfilled or good enough. They unconsciously set themselves up for rejection, which only serves to reaffirm their negative beliefs about themselves. Vaguely and consistently unhappy, they desperately try to uncover their life’s purpose – without realising that what they are seeking is a close and committed relationship with their true, authentic selves. They are lonely for a connection with themselves. And that can happen for them, with patience, and dedication, and a little outside help, probably. My advice is, start with yourself. Remember who you are. What you love, what makes you smile, what lifts your spirit. Don’t write off those activities that won’t make you any money, or are deemed by others to be a waste of time. Remember who and what you wanted to be, as a small child yet to have your colours faded by other, jaded, human souls who knew no better. It’s all still in there, I promise.
I have barely scratched the surface of this subject, but it is a start. I just wanted to remind you of your origins, and how special and important you are. We human souls are all on our own, individual journeys, some handling it a lot more productively than others. We are all going to mess up and we’re all going to go through our unconscious phase, too. We’re all going to behave in ways at times that embarrass and shame us when we look back. Because we are all born with spiritual amnesia, to one degree or another, but we’ll wake up – if we do wake up – at some point along our timeline. Your higher self is always with you, loving you, sometimes feeling sad for you, often cheering you on – but always utterly grateful for the work you are doing on its behalf. You need each other, its as simple as that.
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