“There is a light the dwells within you that can not fail.” – Gospel of Truth

Over the years I have become quite intimate with this unfailing light. I like to call it my inner divine self. I see it as sort of a sacred superpower that lifts me from the fray of life. Having an awareness of this fearless flame that fires up our faith in the goodness of life is worth getting intimate with.

It’s this miraculous power that not only holds a helpful roadmap for stepping into your optimal potential, but it also has the ability to steer you away from the things that no longer serve you.

Like most superheroes being a divine being is not something you are born into: it is something that you become only after you have been ripped, gutted, and tenderized. The divine self is the one who gets back up like the phoenix thanking the fire for her release as she rises.

They say that religion is for people who are afraid of hell, and that spirituality is for those who have already been there. I don’t mean to suggest that you can’t activate your Internal Being without having first experienced your own personal shit-storm, but it doesn’t hurt.

Life has a way of preparing you: divorce, disease, abuse, addiction–no one gets out unblemished. These classrooms have the potential to be our annihilation or our initiation. Personally, I don’t care to make my misery my ministry, but the truth is, I am an expert in the particular place of pain, and if I have figured out a way to crawl free, why wouldn’t I want to share it?

How to Channel Your Inner Divine Self

With the smile of a conqueror and the swagger of a rockstar, once you channel your inner divine self, there is no turning back. So here are the five steps to channeling the unfailing sacred that dwells within us all.

1. Show up

To show means to make visible. Most times we think of this direction as a self-serving endeavor. Fear and self-consciousness whisper for us to hide, play it safe and small. Many of us do not get past this first block. Until we see that this perspective is more selfish than helpful.

How is this done? Commit to remembering that you are showing up, not showing off. That all that you do is done for the highest good of all. Does this sound like you are venturing into martyrvile?

When the passion of all your endeavors is fueled by a higher purpose, you will have enough gas in your tank to take you all the way, without stress or struggle. Showing up means that you are allowing yourself to be used in bigger ways and for bigger reasons. It is not just about you. Your good serves everyone.

The channel lays open to the river of wisdom that sees its way through. The channel shows up to hold that wisdom. It does not dam itself by holding itself back.

Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you and out into the world. You can never be deprived of your perfect holiness because the source of all joy goes with you wherever you go. ~ A Course In Miracles.

2. Pay Attention

The divine self pays attention to life. In this world of fractured multi-taskers, we can all get sucked into the idea of hustle. It slays that notion and kicks it gently to the curb.

Moving majestically allows us to slow to the pace of peace and invites us to take earnest inventory.  We look and then we look again, with new eyes, and open minds. As we lean into life “as is”  with a curious gaze, we will be working from the present moment where all true solutions live.

From this sincere vantage point, we are more prone to hear our own hearts. Our buried desires can be unearthed and nurtured. Letting go of the distractions that prevent us from seeing the truth can be painful at first. Because along with hearing your heart, you will also hear your fears. Fears speak first and loudest. So don’t get put off by them.

Just listen.

Get to know your fears, and you will get to know yourself. Under a curious gaze, fear (false evidence appearing real) quickly loses its footing.

Like a sudden sobering, the fear goggles drop and we see what is. Devotion to this practice will bring benefits beyond measure.

As you face the things you fear, turn the light on and give it your full attention, you will be able to choose again. Choose love. Choose to do what love would have you do. Choose a greater good. Choose faith.

Fear and faith ask us to believe in the same thing, something that we cannot see.

One of the tools I use to clear the space to hear the Voice of love over fear is something I call Dear Divine letter. It’s a practice of journaling to your Internal Teacher. Each morning, or whenever you feel confused simple do this. Grab a pen and start writing,

Dear Divine Self what would you have me do? Then allow yourself to listen and take dictation. In our culture, we have made the art of channeling something reserved for wizards and weirdos. The first attempts at this internal conversation will feel as awkward as a first date with a best friend. You have known this resource has always been there, and maybe you’ve taken it for granted and now you are giving it your eyes, your ears, your breath.

We are complex beings, and alongside the serenade of love, sits the distracting voice of doubt filling you with the feelings of unworthiness and confusion. But like a baby learning to walk, be gentle with yourself. Show up as you are. The Divine already knows all your character defects and blind spots and it loves you anyhow.

But don’t knock it till you try it. I have used it as a worth compass that has supported me in seeing doors where I once saw walls and solutions where I once saw limitations.

The practice will help cultivate a faith in a world that is for you. You will notice more synchronicities. You may even be surprised to find a blessed beauty lurking behind all encounters and endeavors.

3. Tell the Truth

Your words are like seeds, they take root and grow and bring forth your world. That which you plant will bear fruit. Scatter loving words and the world becomes bright and shiny. Scatter complaints and condemnations and well… you do the math.

No one escapes cause and effect. Your spoken words and the thoughts that give rise to them are the first cause.  If we truly understood this we would have no problem being impeccable. However, sometimes we can develop an odd tolerance for sideways banter, gossip, white lies, and exaggerations. If your words are the carving tools for your life, then these bad habits are the very things that will dull the blade. It’s time to recommit to honoring the power of your word and using it for good.

So the practice is first, telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Second, telling the truth directly to where it will do the optimal good. This eliminates sideways conversations aka gossip. Telling the truth requires trust, but trust can be developed. Mostly telling the truth helps to keep us in perfect alignment with our good.

“Only the trusting can afford honesty, for only they can see its value. Honesty does not apply only to what you say. The term actually means consistency. There is nothing you say that contradicts what you think or do; no thought opposes any other thought; no act belies your word, and no word lacks agreement with another. Such are truly honest. At no level are they in conflict with themselves? Therefore it is impossible for them to be in conflict with anyone or anything.”~ A Course in Miracles

If you are craving freedom from conflict, allow yourself to show up and tell the truth. It will cut through the static and open a sacred space where authentic conversations can take root and goodness can grow.

4. Love Like Crazy

Within everything is a core desire to express, appreciate, experience. There is an innate desire in all things to remember and be reminded of its connection. Within everything is also a core fear of expressing, a fear of being heard, being witnessed, being seen. Everything has a shadow, but the shadow is not real. Only love is real.

So how do we get to live in the reality of love? If you practice these first three suggestions, showing up, paying attention and telling the truth, you will find yourself on a surer footing to walk the way of love.

Sometimes the first three steps to channeling your divine self will feel crazy. It will not make sense in a world of conformity. But you are not here to conform. You are here to create the good, the beautiful and the holy. A Course in Miracles tells us that love creates. That we are all creative beings, created by a creative source, for the purpose of creativity.

Creativity is generous and expansive, so even as you read these words you may experience a re-awakening, a gentle stirring in you that recognizes this truth.

5. Don’t forget to laugh

Finally, although I hold great admiration for the concepts and inspirations that I have been given through my study of … you guessed it A Course in Miracles. The most important idea is to not take it so seriously.

Go gently.

I remember being a kid at the Jersey Shore swimming in the ocean. And more times than not, this beautiful ocean that I loved and adored would knock the hell out of me.  I would find myself being twisted and shaken and sucking up sand.

Rattled with fear I would crawl myself to the safety of my mother’s beach blanket and whimper and whine and complain.  “The ocean beat me up!” I would croak through salty gulps of air. My mother, like a beautiful goddess, would laugh and rub my back.

Then against my better judgment, I would hear the call of the waves and the laughter of my siblings, and I would find myself sitting up. I would finally get bored with my sorry self and slowly find my way back to the sea.

Sitting on the safety of the sand was fine, but it was the rowdy, rough ocean where all the good stuff happened. My sisters floating on inner tubes, my brothers playing Marco Polo, and hours of fun lacing the air with laughter.

Much like the vast ocean, this being human thing is so seductive. It’s best if we accept and honor this experience and do our best to not take it personally. Yes, it will knock the snot out of us, and yet it’s beauty and preciousness makes it’s hard to sit on the sidelines and lick our wounds. All of us eventually get drawn back into the game.

Using these tools will give us the courage to take the risks that life requires us to take. As we continue to court this code of wisdom we will find that showing up is easy, paying attention is peaceful, telling the truth is freeing, loving does not seem so crazy and laughter becomes our loyal companion.

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