ARE YOU THERE? | CONVERSATIONS WITH MY SPIRIT GUIDES

Are you there?

Yes, we are here.

Today, I would like to do a follow-up to our last conversation in which we discussed addiction to thought. At the end of that conversation, we were talking about the importance of shifting the way in which we identify ourselves from the ego back to our true selves. I thought that in this conversation, we might discuss some of the ways in which we can facilitate that shift.

We would be more than happy to discuss with you this very important topic. Where would you like to begin?

I’d like to start with a conversation that we had a while ago about using meditation to help quiet our mental chatter. In that post, you said that if you can remain focused during meditation, “after a time, you may even begin to feel the tingle of your own presence within your physical form. If so, keep your focus there as long as you can, for that tingle is you. That is your life force vibrating within your physical form.” This is one way in which we can shift our identification from the ego and its mental chatter back to our true selves, is it not?

Indeed. This perceptual approach to shifting your identification can be used in tandem with all of the other ways we have previously discussed, those that focus on the feelings that are available to you through your interactions with others – gratitude and appreciation, compassion and understanding, empathy, peace, joy, and most importantly, love. These are the high-vibrational energies that are closest to those that comprise your true nature, and when you seek them out and allow them to take hold within your daily experience, acknowledging them as an essential part of who you really are, you help to shift your identification from the ego back to your true self. You can do the same by merely sitting still, remaining quiet and focused, and allowing yourself to feel your natural, intrinsic vibrational energy, your “tingle,” from inside your physical form. This approach is yet another doorway, another access point into that part of you that resides within.

I have been practicing this during my meditations, and while I can’t honestly say that I can sustain the feeling of the “tingle” for very long, I have managed to get there often enough that it feels real to me. When I can focus on it and allow it to simply be there, it really is a wonderful feeling. I just wish I could maintain that feeling a bit longer.

That is the nature of spiritual practice, is it not? One step at a time while you build trust and confidence. Eventually, feeling your true energy within your physical form will become almost second nature.

One thing that has helped me with this practice is focusing on the observer within. In another one of our conversations, on surrendering to the present moment, you said that “You can sense your own awareness by allowing yourself to step back for just a moment from whatever it is you are thinking about or feeling in the moment and allow your own presence to arise. Just step back and observe. After a time, your mind’s chatter will begin to subside and you will sense a subtle separation between what you are observing and the part of you that is observing. The part of you that is observing – that is you. That is who you really are. Your true essence.” It seemed to me after I began the process of focusing on the “tingle,” that if I could focus on the separation between the observed and the observer, I could strengthen my ability to shift my identification from the ego to that of my inner self.

Indeed. Identification with the inner observer is an essential part of the path of remembering who you really are because the observer IS who you really are.

Well, as a result of this practice, I am now more and more aware of this part of myself in relation to the ego thoughts, to the mental chatter that occupies so much of our attention. For the first time, I can experience that separation. Like with the “tingle,” I can’t maintain an awareness of the separation for very long – the ego always finds a way to grab my attention and pull it in another direction – but still, it is now a tangible thing to me. And I can repeat it. Like I said, not for very long, but I believe that it is really just a question of practice.

And when you are successful in maintaining your sense of the difference between what you are observing and yourself as the observer, how does your awareness of this separation make you feel?

Well, it feels great! Even though it might not last for very long, there is a sense of relief almost, an opportunity to step back from the fears and worries and concerns generated by the mental chatter of the ego. It’s not just a quieting of that chatter. There is something else. A familiar feeling. The feeling that the observer is who I really am.

That is excellent news. A sign of real progress.

Thanks. That’s very nice to hear.

We would like to stress, regardless of the approach you take in re-orienting your identification from where it commonly resides – that is, with the ego – back to its proper home – that is, with your true, higher self – that the goal as always is to take every opportunity to remind yourself of who you really are. In meditation, for example, it is important when you feel the “tingle,” or when you feel the separation between what you are observing and that part of you that is observing, that you take a moment to acknowledge that fact. Confirm it for yourself. Cement the identification within your own energy field. Say to yourself, “I feel the tingle. That is WHO I AM.” Or “I am aware of myself observing my thoughts or observing what I see around me and I can sense that part of myself as something separate. That is also WHO I AM.” Do the same when you use affirmations. When, for example, you say to yourself “I feel peaceful,” consider who the “I” is in your statement. Consider the possibility that it is your inner self that is actually at peace. Acknowledge for yourself that this part of you embodies peace naturally and without effort within its own consciousness. Of course, the ego-centered part of yourself may not feel especially peaceful as you practice this kind of affirmation, and you may even feel tempted to stop your practice due to the ego’s resistance, but do not be swayed. By holding to the inherent truth of your affirmation, you can facilitate this shift we have been talking about, this shift in identification from who you are NOT to who you really are.

I wonder now if it is our lack of identification with our inner being that makes the use of affirmations sometimes feel ineffective or even pointless.

Often times when individuals use an affirmation to assist in bringing higher vibrational energy into their field, they address the affirmation from the point of view of the ego. It is almost as if they are using the affirmation to try and convince the ego of something that it does not believe or understand. The ego does not want to feel peaceful or safe or even loving, unless, of course, it is a love that is fraught with drama. What the ego thrives on is insecurity and imbalance. This is why the use of affirmations in this way is often ineffective, because they are used in an attempt to change the ego into something it has no interest in becoming, making it that much more difficult for you to believe any of the uplifting things you are saying to yourself. Instead, it makes much more sense when using affirmations to use them as an opportunity to shift your focus and strengthen your identification with the part of yourself that is already peaceful, already safe and secure, already knows the true nature of love. Use the affirmation not so much as a way to resist the low-vibrational feelings that the ego stirs up, but as a way of reminding yourself of who you really are, of pointing yourself back to those energies that represent your true self. So, when you say, “I feel peaceful,” say it from the point of view of that part of yourself that is actually, really, fundamentally peaceful. No convincing required. It should feel as natural as if you were saying to yourself “I have brown hair and blue eyes.” It is not so much a suggestion as a fact. “I feel peaceful because I AM peace.”

All of that makes perfect sense and really gives me a new perspective on the way that we use affirmations. This has been a very enlightening conversation.

For us as well. Until next time.

Thank you all.

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