Be Still

Most of us have old identity scripts (voices) circulating around in our hearts and minds. These are the defaults that have caused the lives we now want to fix. In order to overwrite these voices, we must bring in their replacement. Rewrite the old identity with the new and improved you by persistently assuming the thoughts and feelings from inside the new identity.

Until you have complete self-mastery over your thoughts and feelings, both meditation and sleep are invaluable tools. Rewriting your identity requires awareness and tapping into your subconscious. Both of these are aided through awareness and pre-sleep.

Sleep:
Just before we fall off to sleep is a great time to imagine a clear image of the kind of life you want and who you would need to be in order to experience that life. As these images of your new identity are coming onto focus, and the associated feelings are filling your mind, you will drift off to sleep. Doing this, takes these images into your subconscious mind and can help to shift your image of yourself and rewrite old scripts. In these still moments, we can know who we truly are and who we want to become. In these moments we should hold close to the reality that we are connected to the Infinite, and to everything we wish to become in our own consciousness. We are made in the likeness of God and one with the Infinite. This is one of the best and most powerful times in your day to feel that reality.

Meditation:
The other powerful tool for use is meditation. Remember from the second Key, "God's one and only voice is silence." When we are able to connect to the silence inside, we connect to the field of all Possibilities (3rd Key). This is when the veil between the Creator and the Creation is thin and we can cross over, clearly rewriting our Identities and experiencing life renewed. Also, meditation gives our minds the ability to focus and hones our powers of awareness.

Take time to be still before you sleep. When you meditate, clearly imagine you are who you are creating yourself to be – the unlimited Creator you truly are. Open your consciousness to Universal Consciousness - it is your true identity.

Being not Yearning

To long for something is to admit that it is not true now. To say or think I will be, is to admit that I am not. The stronger thoughts and emotions always win out over the weaker thoughts and emotions. 'I am' is always stronger than 'I will be.' To say I will be, you feed your subconscious with the continual message that I am not.

"The end of yearning is to be." (Neville) The only way to drive the old unwanted concept of yourself out of your consciousness is the invite another one in to take its place. When we assume the attributes, thoughts and feelings of a higher ideal, and we assume it to be so now, not in the future, we transform ourselves. When we change, when who we are changes, so do our circumstances.

When we spend time daydreaming of something we want, yearning for a change to happen to us, we simply substantiate that these things are not true in our lives. We bolster the idea (and feelings) that we are not that person. We are using our creative energy to reinforce the current state of being (identity) and associated circumstances.

We must instead imagine a new idea for ourselves and our lives and assume those thoughts and feelings of ourselves immediately, in the present moment. Like a cloak, we should put on the new identity and stare out from it, seeing and feeling our world differently. In this way, we become new, now in this moment. As we persist in wearing the new identity, we become it, until the old one is run out of our consciousness.

Do not yearn to change. Do not yearn for your circumstances to change or for some new thing or person to enter your life to make everything better. Everything changes from within first. Change who you are and you change everything. Change who you are, to be more like your Infinite Being, and you change the world into a better place.

Assuming a New Identity

The dictionary says to assume is to take upon oneself, to undertake, to adopt or to take over the duties and responsibilities of.

To assume your true identity is to take upon yourself the attributes of your highest good (God); to take on the duties and responsibilities for your happiness, joy, contentment and peace. To undertake these you must assume them to be yours.

"What you desire already exists. It is excluded from view because you can see only your own consciousness. It is not the world but your assumptions of (yourself) that must change.” – Neville

Assume yourself to be who you wish to be from the infinite nature of God. Assumptions determine our experience. We have to watch them with all diligence. We are not assuming our true nature by daydreaming of the future, longing to see it come to pass. We have to be that future person now, assuming that person, being present in that reality now. We must feel it now, be it now.

Since consciousness is everything, we have to expand our awareness of who we are. In order to do this we have to utilize our most powerful tool: imagination. As we imagine ourselves to be different, we set in motion the forces of change within our being.

What would make me happy? What desires do I hold in my heart? What would give me contentment and peace?

Think on these things. Imagine these things. The word imagination comes from the word fantasy, which in Middle English literally means making an idea visible. Our imagination is powerful and is directly tied to our assuming a new identity, and thus a new life.

Once you can imagine the life you want, begin to imagine yourself in that life. Begin to look out from the inside of it, not from the outside. This exercise in the use of imagination and assumption will be powerful and illuminating.

No matter the distractions of the outer "reality," stay with your imagined life, in the moment now. Cling to your imagined self. In time, this identity will become who you are and your imagined world will become your world. Remember that the outside is only a reflection of the inside. This is how you change the outside: assume who you want to be, and the life you want to lead, Now!

Reconceptualizing Self

"If a man’s concept of himself were different everything in his life would be different. His concept of himself, being as it is, everything in his life must be as it is." – Neville

While our true being may be infinite, through our concept of our self, we display a limited aspect of our being. When we have internal thoughts and beliefs that are positive and unlimited, our lives become positive and unlimited. The opposite is also true.

An acorn does not grow a peach tree. When it sprouts, it will become an oak tree every single time. It is confident in that truth - its clear about its identity. What you are on the inside will show on the outside. ‘You shall know them by their fruit.’(Matthew 7:16)

As we look around at our lives, we can see the concept of ourselves shining through. We can spend a lot of time analyzing what this outcome and what that circumstance tells us about ourselves. Or, and this is what I recommend, we can spend that time and energy by first defining the new outcomes and circumstances we want to experience outwardly and decide who we need to become for that to be true. We have to be really clear, not general or vague about what kinds of changes we wish to experience.

The next step is to ask ourselves, if that were true, how would I feel? How would I act? How would I live? The final step is to feel, act and live like that now. Until we have changed who we are, our life can not change. Remember, it is always an inside job.

It takes determination and work. I am amazed at how habitual our daily emotions and states seem to be. We all have fall-back emotional states that we live in everyday. We have been living from these emotional and psychological states for so long that we hardly notice them at all, until we want to change them that is. But it can be done and it must be done if we want to proactively create the life we want.

Take the time, it is worth it. To know peace, joy and happiness, one must become peace, joy and happiness. There is no path to these things, they are the path. Begin now to reconceptualize yourself as peaceful, joyful and happy!

As a Man (or Woman) Thinketh

There is an amazing little book that was written in 1902 by James Allen, one of the pioneer's of the New Thought Movement: As a Man Thinketh. This book is one of many that he wrote, and is based on Proverbs 23:7: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

Allen helps us understand the power of identity with: "Man is anxious to change his circumstances, yet unwilling to change himself. Therefore, he remains bound." and again with: "Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are."

Neville Goddard echoed Allen in his book, The Power of Awareness, published in 1952.
"You never draw out of the deep of yourself that which you want, you always draw that which you are and you are that which you feel yourself to be as well as that which you feel is true of others. Be who you are instead of who you are not."

Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) and Illusions (1998), put it this way: "Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they are yours."

We argue and fight for our identities while we complain about our circumstances. The one simply mirrors the other. Life is always an inside job.

Neville says it so clearly in Out of this World, first published in 1949: "There is no way to bring about the outer perfection we seek other than by the transformation of ourselves... Nothing is more important than our concept of ourselves...It is our concept of ourselves which frees or constrains us...Because life molds the outer world to reflect the inner arrangement of our minds, there is no way of bringing about the (change) we seek (from without)...Thus it is our own consciousness that we must turn, as to the only reality, the only foundation on which all phenomena can be explained...to attempt to change the world before we change our concept of ourselves (Identity) is to struggle against the nature of things. There can be no outer change, until there is an inner change. As within, so without."

As we attempt to change our lives and our world, we MUST turn to Identity.

Who do you think you are?

Remember your Higher Self

Remember that you have a higher self who is one with the Divine. God would not say I am unhappy or I am miserable. The Divine understands its connection to love, joy and fulfillment. The Divine understands the power of thought and identity. "I am that I am."

Align with your divine self and set in motion the power of your Identity. Only use the words and thoughts of 'I AM' to create connection, love, joy and fulfillment in your being; and in your life. When you use 'I am' in this way you access the fathomless mind of God. You become one with your Creative Source. You become the Creator of your self and thus your life.

Identity is malleable. Who do you choose to emulate, to be? Take your power away from unpleasant conditions and put all your consciousness into who you truly are. As you do this you shift your Identity to align with your Higher Self.

Change Your Identity

"Your higher self is a piece of an all loving, all embracing creative source. It resides within you. It is you. Align yourself with this divine essence; begin to act like it acts and think like it thinks. Give your Divine Nature a chance. Befriend that spark, consult it frequently, nurture it, pay close attention to it, believe in it, and practice describing yourself first as a spiritual being, one who lives as frequently as possible from this all loving, all giving, all joyful place called your higher self." – Wayne Dyer, Wishes Fulfilled

Creative Source = Creator. All loving, all embracing = without fear. Resides within you = your true Identity. It is you!

In this moment, how would my divine nature act; how would it think? 

Awareness is always the first step to change. We can not change what we are unaware of. As we become aware of our true self, we can become more identified with it. 

Believe in it. There will be moments when we are not sure that we truly have a divine self. This is when we must cling to our belief. We must not let go. We must raise up, move our body, change our mental and emotional state through our environment and shift our bodies. All the while, we cling to our belief in our higher self. Do not let go. Reality is such that our divine nature never releases us, we simply forget it exists. We abandon it and in its place we put a static shell of an Identity, who is fearful and limited.

Take heart and believe through the trial, in the reality of your diving nature - the all loving, all giving, all joyful place - your true Identity!

The Strongest Force

"The strongest force in the Universe is a human being living consistently with his identity." - Tony Robbins

This quote means that how you identify yourself dictates how you act and how you react. Your identity is your life. It defines your emotions, your perspective and your attitudes. 

What Tony Robbins is saying is that your response to life will always be aligned with who you define yourself to be. If you are unsure of how you define yourself, you have but to look at your life. Your life will mirror your identity.

This is a daunting realization, but it is also an empowering one, because your identity is changeable. You weren't born with the identity you now assume. It was something that you developed over time. It can and must change if you want to change your life; if you want to know joy and peace; if you want to live your dreams, and if you want to become your full potential - the creator you truly are.

Take some time to think about how you define yourself. Meditate on your identity. Use the clues that your life presents to see areas that need improvement and change. 

Listen to what you say. We often say things like: "I always...." or "I never." Whenever you begin a sentence with I ... or I am ... you are about to receive clear clues about how you identify yourself.

Once you are aware of your current identity, you can begin to retrain yourself. There is much more to come on identity, but remember who you are not and also that you are the Creator not the creation. 

Some would argue that love is the strongest force in the Universe, and there are probably many other ideas as well. But as you are the center of your world; how you define yourself would be the strongest force! Do not take this lightly. Your quality of your life depends upon it!

Be correctly Identified!

We are Creators, Not Creations.

Creations are not the point. You may ask: "What is the point?" The point of life is to remember who we are. To connect to the part of us that is the Creator. To find that link inside oneself and let it expand into our entire being until it is all of who we are.

The creations are little (or big) desires that bubble up within your consciousness to drive us. They are motivators. But the results are not the payoff. The act of creating is the payoff. The realization that we can and do create is the payoff. The creations, the things we create will never satisfy us. They will never fill our hearts and souls. And we can not take them with us when we die. They are temporal, static events that are simple byproducts of being a Creator. 

What we create is only a reflection. When we stare at a still pond and see our reflection, we can understand the relationship between the creator and the creation. The reflection is only the image, not the real thing, If someone comes along and throws a rock into the pond, does it hurt you?  No. The water ripples, but we remain unharmed. The reflection will return to the true state if we wait. Who we truly are remains untouched. Often we move our identity into the creation; the reflection. When we do this, we assume separation. Separation from our true selves causes fear, pain, disease, unhappiness and death. We become as static, unmoving, and powerless as the creation. We must keep our awareness of who we are, and move back to our true being.

Understanding and assuming who we are is what satisfies us. It is what will fill our lives with happiness, peace and joy. As we awaken to our true nature, life rises to a whole new level. As we add this awareness to our life, as it fills us, it changes us. It expands our life in more ways than we can imagine. 

Once we are focused on our true nature, then creating all those things takes on a completely different perspective. Some things will loose their appeal altogether. Other desires will simply become fun to create and then we will give them away. Still others might remain, but their importance will never usurp the real point: to be who we are – a Creator!

Who You Are Not

When it comes to identity in the western, modern world; we must begin by erasing some of the prevailing ideas of who we are. 

You are not:

• your job
• your bank account
• your IQ
• your degrees
• your family name
• your social standing
• your credit rating
• your car
• the stuff in your garage
• what you eat
• your friends
• your family
• you house or neighborhood
• a wife
• a husband
• a child
• a grandparent
• your accomplishments
• your lawn or garden
• a doctor, nurse, lawyer, architect, athlete, teacher, fireman, waitress, maid, or any other title you may have assumed during this lifetime.
• what others think of you

You are much, much more than these transient titles or things that can come and go with the tides of change. If you attach your identity to these things, you will experience fear and stress in the constant battle to keep and improve them. The things of this world are creations.

You are a Creator. You are an eternal being - descendent from and connected to God. God is the Universal Power, the force that binds and connects all things and you and I must begin the journey back to our true identities.

The symbol for the 5th Key, is the vertical Tetragrammaton - which are the letters and sounds of YAWH (Yahweh: Hebrew for God). These letters when written vertically are the shape of a man/woman. This literally means: man made in the image of God.

For the next few chapters, we will explore in much more depth who and what we truly are and what is our correct identity. For now, each time you begin to feel fear or stress around something in this world, ask yourself: "Am I identifying with this thing?" If so, pause and remember that it is only a creation, you are the Creator. This simple adjustment can make a big difference.

Question: What part of your life are you most stressed about?
Answer: This will give you a clue about how you identify yourself.

Your life will show you clearly what you believe yourself to be.