The following is an excerpt from Danielle LaPorte’s new book, How to Be Loving: …when your heart is breaking open and the world is waking up, © 2022 published by Sounds True. Order your copy here.
How do you move steadily through an epic shift for the human race? How do you do what needs to be done for your Soul’s work? And for the next generation? How do you steer with Love when you’re dealing with polarized personal conflict and a world that looks like it’s out of control?
Focus on what YOU have the immediate power to control: how you perceive yourself.
We stop the outer wars by bringing peace to our inner battle.
“Identification causes suffering.” Essentially, this is the first teaching of the Buddha. I’ll put a finer point on it: Misidentification causes suffering. Misperception. An inaccurate conclusion of what we are.
How we see ourselves and interpret the events of our lives are what creates suffering or fulfillment. Do you see yourself as the wound or the healer? The past or the present? Alone or complete? Competent, capable, challenged, doomed, blessed, supported?
Misidentification is: I am my personality traits and my body. I am my career, my nationality, my reputation . . . my thoughts, my beliefs, my feelings. I am this “self.”
Truthful identification is: I am pure life energy. I am a Divine Being. I am a Soul. I am a ray of the Light of Creation. I am you and you are me. I am the Eternal Loving Presence. I am one with the Universe. I am Divine Love.
Identification as Divine Nature, as our Soul, allows our consciousness to expand. To even entertain the concept of being innately divine raises our frequency. Just think about being higher energy and you generate higher energy. This is the holiest use of the mind.
When we are conducting higher energy frequencies, virtues such as Love, Compassion, and harmlessness begin to dissolve our lower, fear-based energies. The higher subsumes the lower, and everything gets lifted into Loving awareness.
When we understand that we’re divine energy beings and every single one of us is here to help humanity ascend to higher levels of Love, then our vanities and judgments seem . . . as petty as they are. A lot of what the personality gives power to is inconsequential and meaningless. When you know that you’ve incarnated to shine your eternally inextinguishable Light, does it really matter what people think of you or the car you’re driving? Not so much.
The Practicalities of Being Divine
Let’s break it down, love:
How does a divine perspective work when a problem surfaces? Let’s say you have a painful physical challenge that you’re working to heal. The pain occurs. And before you choose your reaction to the pain sensation, you breathe into your heart and ask yourself, What am I identifying with?
Are you seeing yourself as the pain in your body? You’re bigger than any physical pain sensation. Are you the body that’s holding the pain? Your energy extends far beyond your organs and skin. Are you the brain that’s firing pain signals? No, that’s just your biology. Are you the mental mind that’s chattering to you about pain levels and remedies? Those are thoughts and feelings—and you are most definitely not your thoughts or feelings.
You are the consciousness that’s observing the thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. You’re the Eternal Loving Presence that’s witnessing your current personality and body having a particular experience.
And that means that you can use your consciousness to transform the pain into healing.
You are not the wound. You are the healer.
So! When any type of pain occurs you can think, I’m Jane, and I’m sad and scared, and this hurts. Which is probably how you will feel because you’re human. Hold those feelings ever so gently. But keep your energy moving toward your heart center. You can make a choice at that moment to stay stuck in the limited identification, or you can breathe into your heart and remember that “I am the Eternal Loving Presence.” And that means you have a universe of resources to draw on.
Or… you can keep believing that you’re just Jane.
…
Okay, let’s review:
When a problem arises, what will you ask yourself? This:
What am I identifying as?
A small self or my Higher Self?
My thoughts or my heart intelligence?
My defenses or my natural openness?
As the storm clouds or the infinite sky?
As fear or as Love?
….
AN INVITATION:
COME TO CHURCH WITH DANIELLE & FRIENDS
The last few years taught us that we need to be together more than ever––and that Zoom rooms can be healing spaces. Danielle is doing a sacred Sunday experience on October 16: CHURCH WITH D & FRIENDS. LeAnn Rimes is singing from her new album, God’s Work. The four-women choir, Beautiful Chorus, is debuting a new song inspired by How To Be Loving, and Rev. Michael Beckwith, Founder of Agape in LA is doing a blessing. Danielle will throw down in her characteristically soothing and soulful way on what it means to choose Love over fear, and there will be a freestyle Q&A.
It’s a 2 hour event, 9am to 11am PT.
To get your ticket to Church With D & Friends, just buy two copies of HOW TO BE LOVING from the online retailer you like the most, and head to daniellelaporte.com/howtobeloving to let Team Danielle know that you got your copies.
You’ll also get a “Loving Reminder” voice memo from Danielle every Sunday for a Year.
Recalibrate your heart. We’ll see you there!
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Danielle LaPorte is a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 and former director of a future studies think tank in Washington, DC, where she managed a team creating global scenarios.
Danielle is the creator of the Heart Centered Membership and the Heart Centered Leadership Program with 400+ coaches and facilitators in 30 countries hosting conversation circles, retreats, and workshops.
Her podcast, With Love, Danielle, often ranks in iTunes’ top 10 for wellness. Millions of people a month visit DanielleLaPorte.com. How To Be Loving, Danielle’s first book in five years, is a nuanced perspective on the life changing power of Self Compassion, shadow work, and being more receptive to Higher Guidance. This is a guide on how to use the genius of your heart to create conditions for healing. Order your copy here.