The Source For Seth

Seth Garrison

Remembering Who We Truly Are - What Does That Mean?

"Remember who we truly are." WTH does that mean? Many new-agers use this phrase including me. Whenever I do, I ask myself does anyone know what that means. It's one of those statements that people make and no one questions it. They just nod their head. Sometimes I see their eyes getting glossy and I'm sure they must be thinking. Yeah Okay Whatever. I know what I mean when I use it so let's see if I can explain it. I'll start with what we are not and see if the explanation emerges from there.

The mind AKA the ego needs definitions. It works through comparison and labels and needs to put concepts in a box. The ego needs to define who we are. Define a self-image. Define self worth. The ego has the need to constantly be fed. Whether it is to diminish or enhance the image it doesn't matter. It only needs the blank filled in. I am (fill in the blank). We'll start with the easy one:

We are not our things. We love to use things to define who we are. Starting with my toys, then my car, my house, etc. The ego loves things because it's easy to define self using what things we have compared to other people. Evita from Evolving Beings.com wrote a post this week about David Hoffman, a documentary filmmaker, who just lost all his "things" in a fire. He chose to look at the positive of the event without getting all messed up at the loss of his treasures. Evita discusses the concept about us not being our things.

"Can't take it with us" is a truism that we all know and describes the place that things hold in our true identity. The things we have or don't have are definitely not who we truly are.

We are not what we do. I am a doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Our education, Our societal "status. The ego needs these labels to makes sense of who we are. I am smart or I am stupid or I am rich or poor. These labels change over time. They are not with us from birth to death therefore how can they be who we truly are. Once again, they are just the box that our mind likes to put us in to give us the illusion of self. Defining our self-worth by designating what we do to who we are. Anything that changes with time cannot be who we are.

We are not our roles. I am a father, mother, husband, wife. I am black, I am Canadian. I am Jewish. I am a Christian I am a victim. These identifications are merely roles. Our mind can attach to these roles and we can believe that they are who we are. Aren't they just more examples of food for the ego to put us into a form?

We are not our minds. Many like to identify our self with our thoughts. The mind uses the content of our life to define who we are. It uses our past "story," and it uses what I have mentioned to form the sense of self. It uses our past beliefs to determine who we are. Lots of people have great minds but does that make them who they are? Is that all we are? Are they better human beings because of their minds? Can we think our way through life? Our mind is a great tool for interpreting information. That's what it is - a tool. Not who we are.

We are not our bodies. When we look in the mirror what do we see? The mind uses the body to form an identity. We are either male or female. Fat or thin. Beautiful or ugly. The physical image we see in the mirror can often be confused with who we are. Many  people tie their sense of self worth with the outward appearance of their body, both to enhance or diminish their sense of who they are and their place in society. Society in general does a great job of perpetrating that illusion. Of course these aspects change over time so if we think that we are our body then when that beauty or strength is lost we can also lose our sense of self. This happens to many who believe their outward appearance is who they are. That can't be who we are.

Our body consists of water and carbon. How can a blob of these elements be who we are. The ritual of dressing up the body at a funeral for all to take one last look at the person makes me laugh. Can that be the person's true self in that coffin?

My mother passed in 2001. She had lung cancer and had quit chemo. She was basically waiting to die. Her breathing was very labored because of her condition. I was on my way back from Vancouver to be with her when she transitioned. My sister described what happened moments before she died. She said my mother took one deep breath and after that her breathing became even and unimpeded.

I knew that at the moment she took that deep breath was when her true self left her body. Her eternal self moved on.

That's a clue to the answer of who we truly are.

If we are not our things or what we do or our roles in society or our minds or our bodies then we must be the observer of all these things. Shut off your mind for a minute and feel. Can you feel the core of your being? Can you feel the life force running through your body? Can you stand back and observe that your mind is thinking. That awareness is your true self. Like someone who had an out of body experience or near death give witness to this awareness.

So many names for it. Divine self, god self, higher self, soul. It has no form. When you peel away all the layers it's what is left at the core.

Your true self has no fear. It is eternal. It has no needs. It has no feelings of separation. It has no limitations or walls. It is your awareness of right now. Not your past. Not your future. It has the inner peace that we all crave because it knows without needing to understand how it knows. It's what comes to the forefront in times like the death of a loved one or a time of emotional upheaval when the mind steps aside and allows your true self to be in control. When anything that you have identified with as self is lost, like wealth or a job or like David, his things. These times are your opportunity to see your true self. To become aware that you are not those things.

When you open up and see who you really are you are experiencing the awakening I so often talk about. You are recognizing your true self. Once you know who you are you will never feel unworthy or imperfect. You will not be driven or defined by ego. You will be the observer of your human life story. You gain the ability to detach yourself from it and see it for what it truly is. A game of life and you get to play it for a while until you return to your formless self. Only now when we remember who we truly are we can go from doing to be-ing.

Like the story of Moses when he asked God what name should I say when they ask me who you are. His answer was,

"I am that I am"

I Am (no blank to fill)

The Ultimate Most Meaningful Mother's Day Present Ever!

If my mother were still here in body and someone asked her what the best Mother's Day gift she had ever received, she would be quick to respond. There was one gift that beats the competition by miles.

My mother starting having children in 1952. She bore three daughters and one son. During the 1950's it was almost expected of a woman to bear children and stay home with them to cater to their every need. She took her job very seriously and was the best Mom a child could ever ask for.

With that in mind, my siblings and I would always do something special for her on Mother's Day. We would make her something at school that would bring tears to her eyes when we proudly presented them to her on her special day.

These small but meaningful gifts would make her day and would consistently be rated in her top three "best gifts for Mother's Day" but could never attain number one status.

I am sure every mother would say the same thing. Receiving a hand made present from someone who is the center of their universe means more than a gift that costs a lot of money. Those kind of presents are nice too.

My Father had that covered with the kind of presents he would bestow on her every second Sunday in May.

One year he presented her with tickets to Hawaii. Most years he would treat her to a night at the fanciest hotel in town. He would always tell her that she deserved a break from cooking and a break from her children. The kind of gifts that cost a lot of money were surely appreciated but would never hit number one on her charts. That was reserved.

Her response, to being asked what her best Mothers Day present ever was, would always quick and decisive.

As we know, Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. One Mother's Day in 1954 she received her all time best present that was never topped for her 60 or so Mother's Days to follow. It was a present that was the most meaningful, the most exciting, the most heartfelt and the most unusual of any she had ever received. 

In 1954, Mother's Day fell on the 8th of May. Her present arrived that Sunday very early in the morning.

I was the second child born in our family. The only male child. I was born at 5:40 AM on May the 8th ... 1954. Mother's Day. The best Mother's Day gift my mother ever received was without a doubt ... ME.

The New Planet Earth Series - Self-Judgment

I've done it again! Wrote an article. Published it. The next day it hits me. I forgot to include an important concept. In the article I described an attribute of human behavior on the new planet earth. It was called "Judgement Is Over". I neglected to talk about judgement of self. Funny thing is that self-judgement is one aspect that has played a big part in my life. It is also a very common form of judgement and the cause of an impediment to inner peace.

We are, in many cases, our own toughest judges. Self-judgement is the root cause of lots of imbalances within us. We love to judge our selves as good or bad or right or wrong. Whether it is our behaviors or our perceived "status" in our families or workplace or society in general, this judgement can cause us great strife. Mental illness and sometimes even criminal behavior can result from labeling our selves as bad people or good for nothing.

One of the most popular examples of self-judgement is one that I hear all the time. It is the judging of whether we have parental approval. This practice of measuring up to our parents expectations can carry through with people their whole life causing them endless feelings of unworthiness. This feeling then overflows into many areas of their life and can cause problems with other relationships. When we carry the feeling that we have let our parents down and haven't turned out the way they had hoped, it can lead to escaping into self-destructive behaviors to avoid facing our judged inadequacies.

As was offered in the previous article, judgement is not only just an illusion but it can also be destructive.

My father was the closest thing to God that I knew. He was God in my eyes. I ached for his approval in everything. I had a burning desire not to let him down. To live up to his expectations. Of course, as is usually the case in examples of this kind of self-judgement, he was totally fine with whatever I did and loved me regardless of my behaviors or achievements. But I was my harshest critic. I had a blessed childhood. I was a straight A student. Quarterback in football, Pitcher in baseball. Tops in anything I attempted. I had it all. Or so everyone told me. Everyone but myself. I knew I didn't measure up to what my father expected of me. At 16 or 17 I escaped into all kinds of behavior that diverted me from the pressure of figuring out what my life's work would be. I could be anything. Anything I put my mind to. That was too much pressure.

I partied for 10 years. Then, never became Prime Minister of Canada or head of a large corporation or rich and famous or anything really noteworthy. I had let my father down. I didn't love myself. I was a failure in his eyes. Well maybe not in his eyes but definitely in mine. I didn't love myself. I didn't even like myself. The root was my belief that I was not worthy. That I screwed up. Self-judgement impeded my inner peace for many years. Until June 7 2000.

My father died June 7 1990. I woke up exactly 10 years later to the day. It was a personal trauma that jolted me out of my sleep. It was then I realized that I was God. That I was the creator of my own reality. My reality had been misjudged. These feelings of lack of self-esteem were groundless. The feeling that I had let him down was not reality. Sure, he was God, but so was I. He never once gave me any indication that I was anything less than perfect. It had been just me judging myself for all these years.

For the first time in my life, my mind quit nagging at me. All was quiet inside. There was no internal chatter. No telling myself I was stupid or useless. I had inner peace. It is a feeling I carry to this day.

I learned later, after my Overlight training, that my primary life lesson in this lifetime  was "love." The love of self being the main component. Self-judgement plays a big role in the mastering of this life lesson. If you have judged yourself to be unworthy or "bad" then it is impossible to love one's self. Loving your self is needed to love everyone and everything around you. It all goes hand in hand with our step into unity consciousness and a new planet earth.

That day in June is the basis for this whole article series about creating a new planet earth. I believe that if it can happen to me it will happen to us all. We can all obtain the inner knowing that we are masters. We are like Christ. We are all stepping into Christ consciousness.

The practice of judgement will be over. We will have the attributes that I am describing in this series. The new energy will bring us the answers we seek to the meaning of life. Without judgement of self or others, the inner quiet and the ability to enjoy second of every day will become our reality. The reality on the new planet earth.

• Previous Posts:

• Remembering Who We Truly Are - What Does That Mean?
• The Ultimate Most Meaningful Mother's Day Present Ever!
• The End or The Beginning?
• Where Is Happiness?
• How I Untied Myself From Attachments
• The New Planet Earth - Are They Really Our Kids?
• The New Planet Earth - Attachments - Things That Weigh Us Down
• The New Planet Earth Series - Self-Judgment

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