Blog #1: Embracing Our Divinity to Face the Challenges of These Times

Are you a divine being? Sacred texts and spiritual teachings from around the world say that you are.

• Hinduism calls our divine self the Atman.
• The Buddha-nature is the term in Buddhism.
• In Judaism, the Kabbalah teaches that the God-sparks of light are within us.
• The Christian Bible quotes Jesus as saying, “Isn’t it written in your scripture, I said, you are gods?”
• In Sufism, rūḥ is the name of a person’s immortal, essential self, spirit, or soul.
• The Ifa Yoruba tradition calls the individual person’s divinity Ori.

Do you think of yourself as a divine being whose essential nature is love, light, beauty, power, wisdom, and grace? Do you speak to yourself and about yourself as you would speak to and about a divine being? Do you treat yourself as you would a divine being?

If the answer to these questions is not a resounding YES, read on.
What gets in the way? We receive messages from childhood and throughout our lives about our inadequacies, flaws, ‘not enoughness,’ and powerlessness. These messages promote the belief that the Divine is something that we are not. That we are separate.

Even under the best circumstances, the belief that we are separate from what we see as divine, holy, and sacred is pervasive. When the illusion of separation dominates our perception, we see ourselves as small, disconnected, and fragile beings moving through a dangerous world—weak, vulnerable, and alone.

We look for the Divine as if this is somewhere that we are not. We may strive to become one with the Divine as if being apart is possible. The illusion of separation causes us to over-identify with our humanness and reinforces the belief that human is all we are. This illusion obscures our awareness of our divine nature.

What can we do?

• Mindful practice—sitting, walking in nature, running, yoga, even washing the dishes. Quiet the messages of ‘not enoughness,’ of separation from the Divine. Hear the voice of the Divine within.
• Pay attention to your thoughts about yourself and the stories you tell. Interrupt the thoughts and stories that argue for your limitations and separation from the Divine.
• Be in community with others seeking to fully embrace their divinity. Study together, learn together, and practice together.
• Surround yourself with messages that affirm the truth of who you are—wisdom teachings, songs, poems, affirmations, and elevated conversations.

A daily practice that deepens our awareness of the truth of who we are is powerful preparation to face the challenges of these times with courage, hope, and a vision of the world we want to see.