Seeing As Your Inner Being

Think for a moment. How do you see yourself? What opinions do you have about yourself? If you are like most people, you have some critical opinions. These opinions have grown and been maintained over time. Any negative opinions you have about yourself are opinions based on thoughts of insufficiency. The opinions cannot be changed as long as you stay in an insufficiency mindset. The insufficiency mindset is what you have been taught by this world. It is a constant focus on what is wrong, what falls short, and what is not good enough. This is the view of the ego. What are the judgments you hold about your perceived insufficiencies? Do you call yourself irresponsible, inept, undeserving, foolish, or unintelligent? Are there other names you call yourself? With what do you justify these judgments? What is your proof? Do you find yourself arguing for these negative opinions? It is typical of people to argue for their negative opinions. There is a payoff here. The payoff could be drama, fear of success, or justification for not growing. Can you see any payoffs in your insistence that these negatives are true? We use the past to prove our own unworthiness. We can choose, instead, to look at past mistakes and say: “It doesn’t matter.” The question is: “Who are you now? What possibilities might you create now?” The key word in these questions is “now”. Several months ago I was scanning my mind for barriers to keeping a good flow of money. I found a pocket of shame in my thoughts and emotions. This shame that I was feeling came up whenever I was criticized or if I fell short of my goals. The message I was giving myself was that something must be wrong with me or this wouldn’t be happening. I am sure this feeling affected my body language and therefore my communications with others. In the past I have done psychological work to release childhood issues. This particular experience was no catharsis. It was just a realization that something which no longer fit was still operating in my personal consciousness. I didn’t need to reexperience any specific incidents. I just needed to let it go. I asked myself what the reasons were for feeling ashamed. The only response I had was that it was left over from childhood. Adults often used shame to keep me in line. It wasn’t real. Shame is the belief that something is wrong with you simply because you are you. We use experiences that have happened to us to “prove” to ourselves that the shame is deserved. The words and actions of others do not make us shameful. Shame is an illusion. I identified the feeling of shame in my body and I chose to release it. I handed it over to Spirit. I made a decision not to live in shame. After that decision feelings of shame still came up. I acknowledged and released them. I dismissed the emotion as a lie. I no longer believed in it. In dismissing shame from my emotional repertoire I found greater peace. I felt greater control. I shifted from the view of my ego to the view of my Inner Being. Imagine how your Inner Being sees you. Your Inner Being is your Higher Self. It is God expressing through you. Imagine how your Inner Being sees you in each aspect of your life. How does It see your memories and your negative judgments? Do you think it judges you? Do you think it is withholding from you until you straighten yourself out? Your Inner Being sees you with absolute unconditional love. Regardless of your history, your Inner Being loves you. Your Inner Being looks upon you and sees no sin, nothing wrong. It sees you on a journey to perfection. It patiently and lovingly supports you on this journey home. Your home is in the perfection of your Inner Being. You might imagine your Inner Being as a great and glorious being of light, standing before you, welcoming you into Its arms. It would be saying, “I’m here. I love you and adore you. You and I are one in the same.” In your Inner Being, you find your true sense of self. It is who you are. Your work in this life is connecting with your Inner Being, your I Am. It is here that you find true well-being. This is the meaning of: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all else will be added.” Where is the Kingdom of Heaven? It is within you. It is within your Inner Being, your I Am. Here you may seek refuge when you are feeling hurt, frustrated, or angry. For many of you, you have been taught that you may seek refuge in God, or Christ, or the Holy Spirit. This is true. The advantage of seeing this idea as turning within to your Inner Being, is that you learn that there is no separation. You are not a separate entity from God. You are not separate from Christ or Buddha. It is only in your mind that separation exists. It is only in your mind that poverty and insufficiency exist. When you look at life through the eyes of your Inner Being, there is no insufficiency. Regardless of apparent physical evidence, you see abundance and wholeness. Regardless as to whether there is the appearance of love, you see love. When there appears to be insufficiency, either in you or in your circumstances, you can offer that perception to your Inner Being. You can acknowledge your negative emotion, and turn it over to your Inner Being. Ask to see your life through Its vision. Whenever you are feeling shame, guilt, resentment, or disappointment know that it is time to connect with your Inner Being. The problem is not so much the particular situation you are facing, but the interpretation you place upon it. Not having money was more about my sense of shame than it was about attitudes toward money. My financial lack was a manifestation of my “need” to feel ashamed. As I released my shame, the “need” to experience financial lack was released, too. As I began to see myself through he eyes of my Inner Being, healing began. You can ask yourself: “How would my Inner Being see this situation?” The answer is that your Inner Being would see abundance, perfect love, total health and well-being, and harmony. If you can believe this at first, and act as if it is true, you will find your confidence growing. Belief becomes faith. As you continue to practice, faith becomes knowing. Many of you have already experienced knowing. There have been times when you were absolutely sure something good was going to happen. There have been times when you just knew a decision was the correct one. At the same time, there may have been times when you knew, but you allowed doubts and fears to prevent you from taking the indicated action. When this happened, you felt badly. You felt uncomfortable. When you followed your Inner Guidance, you felt good. Know that your well-being comes from within. Seek first to connect with your Inner Being. Ask for help. Listen. Act upon your Inner Guidance. Refuse to make any exte al person or situation the source of your well-being. When you find yourself feeling insufficiency, whether it is financial, social, love-related, or physical, turn within where there is plenty. If you are not in a place where thinking of yourself as the Inner Being works, then see yourself as the Christ, Buddha, or Holy Spirit would see you. As you evolve your thoughts about yourself, as you offer more love and acceptance to yourself, you will see positive changes in your life.