Even in rags I am a god, fallen I am divine, high I triumph when down-trod, long I live when slain! Sri Aurobindo

Divinity is my true identity! What does this mean? Does this mean that I am not just a mother, wife, daughter, my past, mistakes, material success or the lack thereof, or the person that lives at the end of the street? Definitely yes! Most of us hear the words “you are made in the image and likeness of God” and in our hearing we think that because we have grasped it intellectually that we have experienced what this statement means on all levels of our being. We may have technical book knowledge and agree with the statement even claiming this truth in the moment without the light of experiential knowledge. We may also have experiences of being a spiritual being and yet, understanding says that this experience of God and our Divinity Identity is much more that just intellectually memorizing a principle, knowing the right words and even just having a few spiritual experiences. The true experience of knowing our Divine Nature lies in the death of who we think we are, who we think God is and what we think reality is.

The lower-self personality interpretation of who we think we are and how we relate to our identity must die as we realize the goal of the spiritual path is integration with the Higher Self and for this to happen we must die to ourselves. The experience of our Divine Nature brings us into direct conflict with the lower-self interpretations of who we are and what we believe reality to be. When you realize the abilities that exist inside of you and that these abilities are part of your Divine Nature you come to understand that you are co-creating your reality with all that is. If we believe that our past mistakes define us or if our success defines us then we will co-create realities that fall into alignment with our programmed thinking and feeling patterns. The person that thinks that their past mistakes define them as a person will wallow in a pit of guilt, victimization and low self worth lacking in the true self esteem of the Divine Nature knowing that mistakes are part and parcel of the growth process. This person also does not know how to forgive themselves for past actions. The person that is defined by their success or the lack thereof is the type of person that bases their self esteem and worth as a being on a reality of whatever their ideal is as to what they define success as. If they fall short of their ideal then their self esteem and their self worth plummets because their identity is based upon what they have or don’t have.

If we say that we are our mistakes, our success or the lack there of and if we identify only with the “roles” of mother or father as our identity or whatever else we might “do” so to speak then we can say that we are existing in an identity crisis. Our Divine Nature is not based on any of these things as these examples do not define us as Divine Beings. As a Divine Being we are always worthy, forgivable and even always loveable. The Bible gives us an example of the importance of this understanding when Moses led the children of Israel out into the desert to teach them of God’s Nature, God’s Love and God’s Reality. Their identity crisis was so great that they desired to go back to the fleshpots of Egypt. Their interpretation of themselves and what they believed to be true of themselves and God was so warped that they could only interpret the experience of God through their lack of self-love and self-worth. They could not understand the perfect parental parenting of the One, and the land of milk and honey that God was trying to lead them into.

The lack of their understanding of Divine parenting and true Godly self-esteem rooted in identity becomes very clear as the events and experiences of the children of Israel unfold in the Wilderness. The children of Israel had been deeply affected by their time in Egypt (3-D) and their identities were so rooted in lower self / fear-based / co-dependant / low self-esteem / poverty consciousness that this is no doubt why they needed a Deliverer. The children of Israel were used to, both the permissive/critical style parenting they received from Pharaoh / mass mind / lower self / the world that they could not even perceive that the Most High leading them in the wilderness could be any different. They were a very oppressed people and this could be seen in their identity crisis in the wilderness wanderings. They did not want to talk to God directly because they did not know that they were made in His/Her Image and not the fallen image they had been given of themselves in Egypt as slaves so they perceived God as they experienced the taskmasters of Egypt. They could say that God was with them yet they did not know His/Her character to be able exhibit trust in their statement or the experience they were having. They were given to states of rebellion and murmuring because they did not trust God’s parenting and this stemmed from the fact that they were like children that had been permitted to raise themselves without proper instruction as to the true parenting style of God that they were being offered as their own by coming into alignment with God and the Godforce. The permissive and/or critical parenting style will keep a person in bondage to the lower self and will affect how they perceive God’s dealings as a truly loving Father/Mother God.

The lower-self identity is one of victimization, limitation and separation from our true inheritance in the Divine. We face the same dilemma today as the Sons/Daughters of the Most High God that the children of Israel faced. Most of us have either had critical or permissive parenting or a strange combination of the two and this has affected our image of God and ourselves. There are many that have their identity so rooted in materialism, survival mentality, no purpose to life, low self-esteem, top dog/underdog mentality and many other examples that this has caused an identity crisis in them that prevents them from seeing their true Divine Image. We are kept in the bondages of the lower self and all of its interpretations of who we are and what a life lived on Planet Earth should look like based on these identifications. Our families, society and the world at large reflect this crisis of identity to us everyday. When we lack true Godly self-esteem, self-love and an understanding of the critical/permissive parenting styles and the relationship of these issues affect our perception of God we will not come into direct communication with God and the Godforce nor will we know the Divine in us.

In the wilderness Father/Mother God was trying to give the Children of Israel what they needed in order to be in direct relationship with them throughout the wilderness wanderings. Our Heavenly Parents along with the Host were trying to assist the Children of Israel out of Egypt, and out of their identity crisis as slaves in order to bring them into the Higher Dimensions of Reality and their Divine Inheritance. They chose to rebel against God and against Moses every step of the way. We have the same choice today as to whether or not we want the assistance of God and the Hierarchy so that we may die to the lower-self interpretations of self, others and reality. If we are willing we will be led into the curriculum that is part of the training of this Grand Mystery School we call Planet Earth. God and the Hierarchy will assist us to begin the conscious work of dying to all our false interpretations of identity and reality.

To do this we need to learn to distinguish between the negative ego / lower self / fallen image and identity and the true Spiritual / Christ / Higher Self Image and Identity of God. If we trust in the process and the instruction that we receive to come into alignment with God and the Hierarchy we will come to know Aumkua, the perfect parental self, as the Hawaiians would say! Coming to know the perfect parental parenting of Father/Mother God will lead us to the understanding that we are to be neither permissive nor critical in our parenting styles with ourselves or others. This imbalance can be seen today even amongst our Spiritual leadership and long time brothers and sisters on the Path. Being that we get up everyday and choose what we will name ourselves, others and our reality it is very important to understand these inner dynamics no matter how long we have been on the Spiritual path. I encourage each and every one of you to pursue the understanding of how God truly parents you so that ye may come into your true identity as a Son/Daughter of God and the understanding of God’s perfect parental parenting!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

S.O.I.L. Ministries is big on Affirmations, Visualizations, Meditations and Journal writing! These are just some of the tools we recommend that you have readily available in your tool box and use them on a daily basis. We encourage everyone to affirm a positive reality for self and others for we know that action follows thought. Affirmations are simple yet powerful tools to use in our daily walk, which we use all the time even if we are not aware of this.

Every time you speak you are affirming a thought, not all of these are positive, some in fact are negative thoughts which take form in actions, words and deeds. Just to clarify one of the definitions of deed is a covenant made between you and God. These are promises that are very important, how you affirm your relationship with God is done through affirmations everyday even if you have not been aware of this that is what you are doing. Now you have a new tool to use bringing greater awareness to your daily life! Your affirmations are your deeds, contracts made to build a better, brighter future!

How we build these affirmations is a simple gift that is so powerful we can change our thoughts in 21 days from negative to positive, thereby building a better, brighter future for self and others! Affirmations are a bit contagious as well. You can see this simply by looking at commercials, songs and slang that has stuck in your mind, which you find yourself repeating and sharing, such as TGIF – thank God it’s Friday! That one is so powerful they built a restaurant in honor of this slogan! Now if that does not convince you, this should at least bring a smile to your face. So how do we work with affirmations in order to change our thoughts? We have to start somewhere simply in our daily walk.

Affirmations simply can be done any way that is comfortable for your lifestyle, however you first want to pick a few to work with and stick to them. Doing them off and on will not produce the results desired. Spiritual vigilance on a daily basis is needed to attain a desired goal, for as stated action follows thought – affirmations become our thoughts! Pack your affirmations with a punch if you are speaking these out loud. Form them into repetitive Mantras spoken silently within your heart. Post them in places at home, even at work if you can, using colorful post-it notes or recipe cards. Record your affirmations so that you may play them while driving, walking, running and/or doing other activities, even sleeping. There is no wrong way to affirm your life except with negativity! The more you affirm a powerful, positive thought by speaking forth that which you desire to see manifest in your life, you in turn create a new thought which in turn creates a better, brighter future for yourself and others!

This is your life, take charge of your thoughts and affirm your right to co-create as God intended you to! Scripture is used to build up and edify our lives, Jesus said: “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Here are some simple yet powerful affirmations to work with courtesy of S.O.I.L. Ministries Team! May your every word sow seeds that will spring forth a beautiful garden as God Will’s just for you through thought, word and deed!