The grammar and philosophy of "I am who I am"...

There's a theme that keeps popping up lately - at conferences, in my readings, in conversations.  It's the age-old question: "Who am I?" In my Reiki session tonight, I was told that I am "unique, special, deep"; that I "vibrate at a different frequency" than the norm -- would you believe it?  LOL.  Really, my challenge is to accept that and live it fully, which is not easy when all I really want to do is "fit in"...  Well, that has not really worked up to now, so I might as well try the spirited way ;)

So, here are some of "Jaz's deep thoughts" on the I am topic.

In her book Secret Wisdom, author Ruth Clydesdale presents the major philosophers in Western history and the answers they have provided to the Who Am I question.  For thousands of years, we have been led to believe that we are unworthy; we are sin or the product of sin; we constantly have to follow a difficult path to perhaps have a glimpse of something better after endless trials and tribulations.  Life on Earth is punishment, and we have to endure it and suffer until we die and are reunited with our god.  The business of science, philosophy and organized religion was to help get us there sooner.

Hmph.  Those are not happy thoughts.  Not very empowering either.

In a keynote address he gave at Toronto's "I Can Do It" conference, Dr. Wayne Dyer briefly mentioned the "I Am Discourses" (Saint Germain series -- from what I've glanced on the Foundation's web site, it feels much like "God Save America"...  oh, and other countries too, as an after-thought.  But there is value in the core teaching).  He went on to quote the Book of Exodus 3:13-15:

13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

So the lesson here, as explained by Dr. Dyer, is that the name of God is "I AM".  This name has a strong energy, and, as we have been told in the 10 Commandments, we should not use this name in vain.  Therefore, we must be careful of how we use sentences that contain "I AM" - for to say these words invoke the power of God.  The question is, what do you want to put energy on?  What do you want to create?  If you constantly say, "I am poor"; or "I am ill" - well guess what, you are poor and ill.  Follow the words "I am" by a positive affirmation, and that is what you will create for yourself.

Pretty cool stuff, huh?

In a Mindwalking course, author/facilitator Nancy Eubel wrote of the "I am THAT I am" concept, whereby the god of your heart connects to the universal love consciousness through your thought process - "THAT" (your thoughts) being the bridge between the two "I am" consciousnesses / god. She describes it thus:

"We need the help of Higher Consciousness to raise our own consciousness in our process of becoming and integrating into the Divine Mind. In the final Mindwalking for this group you will complete the bridge you began building last week between the God, or I am, of your heart with the I AM of God Consciousness. The heart will then have a direct link to the Divine, to Spirit, as you hardwire it into your brain. This connection might be thought of as an energetic hourglass with a small connecting tube as the channel between the two. The connection point in the brain will be the "that" link in I AM that I am. Not only will this allow the flow of spiritual guidance to come to us as we request it, it also helps to sustain the balance between heart and mind and between body and mind.  When we come into alignment with Spirit by building and maintaining this bridge, we assist Spirit in spiritualizing our physical matter and expanding our consciousness - becoming co-creators as (Edgar) Cayce said we are destined to be. (...) When we readjust our thinking we have to the power to access the infinite dimensions to achieve spiritual healing and soul growth and hear the voice of I AM THAT I AM speaking in the temple of our heart."

I find this concept is similar to Chakra teachings, whereby your throat chakra is the bridge between your Heart chakra and your higher chakras of inner wisdom and higher wisdom.  (Btw, I truly recommend the Mindwalking course!)

Also, neuroscience has proven that thoughts affect our brain matter and neural pathways.  Quantum physics demonstrates that thoughts create matter.  Thoughts manifest our reality.  The words we choose create our reality.  Just to paraphrase the Bible - God thought of creation, and creation occurred.  Jesus is a manifestation of God's Word.

Soooo...  for Jaz's spin on all this...

I think God has a real good sense of humour.  We tend to take him very literally and seriously when really he wants to show us the light side of things at times.  Moses strikes up a conversation with God up on the mountain: "So, who are you anyway?  What's your name?"  God, momentarily perplexed and forgetting about the human limitations of three-dimensional thinking: "What do you mean?  I AM.  That's what.  I AM."  (Duh!)  Moses: "So, what do you look like?  Can I see a picture?"  God:  "There can not be a picture of me."  Moses taking mental note of this for the commandment against drawing pictures of God and worshipping idols.  God knowing that humankind at the time could not possibly draw or understand pure energy, pure Love, Wisdom, and infinite Quantum vibrations...  God knowing that humanity would like to picture "him" with a human (or animal) identity - polarized male/female with a distinct nationality, language and creed.  Love and Energy have none of that.  Our soul, which is greater than our body, has none of that.  It transcends all.  It is all, in all dimensions, in all time and levels of consciousness and manifestation.   Try to draw that at your next Pictionary party!

Also, note the verb tense - in the PRESENT.  We create in the present, in the now.  Of course, time is only a dimension and it can be overcome with meditation yaddi yaddi yadda...  Thing is, this body and consciousness is in the NOW.  This speaks to our thought patterns - emotionally, we have to live in the now and detach ourselves from regrets and even joyous events from the past (know of people who keep repeating the same stories of the past and keep re-living the same moments over and over?); and we have to detach ourselves from worry from the future.  When we worry about the future, we vibrate fear in our NOW.  It is important to be aware of where we've been and where we're going, but we still need to focus on what we want to manifest in the present, and what seeds we are planting in the present for our future.   There is such freedom in this, and when the soul feels free, it expands and connects to something greater.  God knows all this in his/her infinite wisdom, and that is why he/she just "IS".

Whether or not God's name is "I AM", humanity has spent too much time going against the divine flow of Love and Wisdom.  Who hasn't had thoughts such as "I am not worthy"; "I am incapable of helping the world"; "I am sick and tired"; "I am superior/inferior"...  There are certainly many examples throughout history.  And what have we created?  Injustice, famine, war.  So why not examine our thoughts and consciences and heal our negative patterns to positive ones.  This is what we will manifest.  "I am healthy"; "I am abundant"; "I am peace"; "I am forgiving"; "I am compassionate"; "I am patient";  "I am creative"; "I am worthy of love"; "I am Love"; "I am happy"...

Sentence by sentence, we can build a better self, a better community, a better world.

Could it really be that simple?  To God, yes.  Breathe, and say - with a smile - "I AM".

God consciousness is available and accessible.  It is a bridge we can build and nurture.  It is in us to do.  Jesus and many Ascended Masters have told us that.  "Everything I have done, you can do too".  "Oh sure, but I am not worthy.  I am but a poor human without knowledge."  CRASH goes your bridge.

So, who am I?  I AM.

What is my purpose in life?  TO BE.

That simple.  Do we need lots more philosophers to make it complicated so we have an excuse not to understand?  ;)