Chapter 3: Who Am I?
(continued)

THE CONSCIOUS MIND is the division of mind that we use to think, reason and make decisions. It is the mind in closest contact with the physical body. The conscious mind can be a great friend or an enemy, depending on how disciplined and honest we are. In the School of Metaphysics we teach exercises to develop self respect, undivided attention, concentration, memory, and listening so that anyone can become a clear channel for the superconscious energies coursing through them. The plan of our existence is stored in our own superconscious mind. It is like a seed with divine potential. The energy that issues forth from this Higher Mind can be interpreted by our conscious mind as an urge for growth, for change, for understanding, for awareness. It is the natural impulse to do good, to serve others, to be helpful.

We pursue different activities in life in response to this inner urge. We can interpret it as a desire for self expression, for understanding our influence, or for being important. In the example I related concerning my Atlantean past lifetime, my intuitive report said, "Would see that the expression is of utmost importance at the present time." That was very true. I had written a list of the ten most important desires in my life, and Self Expression was the #1 desire.

At that time I thought every day about how to express myself most fully. I wanted to allow my inner self to shine through, to be on the outside as I was on the inside. To do so, I needed to change the ego picture I held of myself as shy. I needed to experiment with expressing myself in a variety of ways rather than being locked into a familiar personality. "Would suggest a more flexible approach with herself, a more open approach towards simply allowing that which is present in herself to come out..." Concentration exercises and meditation helped me to cooperate with this inner desire, to be open to self discovery.

These exercises enabled me to listen to the guidance and wisdom of my inner subconscious mind. The ability to draw upon this inner mind is called intuition which means inner teaching. The intuitive reports given through the School of Metaphysics are a controlled use of intuition. They can help us understand how we have come to be who we are today.

We have spent lifetimes in many different activities, developing all kinds of identifications. A Past Life Profile relates how we have used these activities to further our soul progression. It tells an individual about one particular lifetime that is significant to the present lifetime because of the soul's karma, that is, what they need to learn. For example, in the Past Life Profile I just related, the karma for me was to initiate giving. A Dharma Portrait tells an individual what they have learned and who they have become in the course of many lifetimes.

It describes how they have refined their vibration to more closely attune to their real soul song. The report reveals what they have to give to the world that resonates with universal harmony.

From School of Metaphysics Past Life Profiles, Past Life Crossings, and from my Dharma Portrait, I have found out that in different lifetimes I have been male and female, an architect, a princess, a monk, a nun, an Essene, a teacher, a dancer, a pianist, a temple guard, a mother, a father, a wife, a botanist, a zoologist, a clothes designer; I have been in Atlantis and Egypt, Persia and Syria; I've been Native American, African, Italian, English, Hebrew, Jewish, Buddhist and Catholic. These are just a few of the myriad experiences that have brought me understanding. Understandings are universal. We cultivate them with practice. For example, one might develop vision, loyalty, commitment, discernment, faithfulness, generosity, or devotion. These understandings become a permanent part of our being. They are the qualities within the Self that we can use in any physical endeavor.

Why Me?
People have asked me if their dharma is something that comes naturally, or if it is a quality that they have to work at bringing out and discovering. It is both. People naturally exhibit their dharma but may not identify what it is. They may take it for granted or they may recognize it and respect it. I have found that this depends on the individual. It depends on how well they listen to their inner self and how facile they are in responding to what is in their life. It also depends on how accurately they interpret the energies that move through them.

A notable example is a woman who came to the Spiritual Focus Weekend "Your Soul's Purpose" to discover her dharma because she was becoming dissatisfied with her job. She was in her early fifties and had worked for many years as a nurse in a hospital. She was always in the midst of trauma, anxious people, heart-wrenching accidents, and death.

B* thought that she must have some kind of curse on her head, because throughout her life there were people in her immediate environment who suffered tragedy. She had a brother who had been killed, and several other close relatives had untimely deaths. In her work as a nurse, many of the terminally ill patients died during her shift. B* was convinced that she was some kind of death magnet. She thought that she drew pain and distress into her life because of some kind of negative energy she emitted.

What B* learned from her Dharma Portrait astounded her. It said,

This one has a profound sense of peace which she offers others. This has been true for some time within this one's experience. We see that there have been many incarnations where this has served her well for it has brought her friendship, it has brought her comfort, it has brought her the manifestation of her needs. We see that it is very much this one's dharma to offer comfort to to others that is derived through this sense of peace. We see that this is not to say that this one can offer others peace nor is it even to say that it is through this one being peaceful that the comfort will come. Nevertheless it is this one's dharma to offer comfort every opportunity that arises with anyone, anytime, anywhere...

We see that the influences that this one has upon others is unfathomable to her in the ways that it does touch other souls and ultimately it is not important within the present that this one even recognize this. It is important that this one perform the dharma, in her case, give the comfort...
(9-13-97-BGC-4)

When B* heard this, you could almost see a black cloud being lifted from her shoulders. She said that her entire life flashed before her and she saw experience after experience when people came to her for comfort. Even when she was a child her parents turned to her for solace when her brother was killed. Patients died when she was at work because she could help them make their transition in peace. Before receiving this intuitive report, B* thought she was causing tragedies to occur. She was relieved to learn the truth - that she had the ability to bring peace and comfort to people who were suffering. She drew to her those experiences because of what she had to give people with her "profound sense of peace."

What she thought was a curse was in fact a great gift. This entirely transformed her existence. The following week, her son and future daughter-in-law were involved in a near-fatal car wreck. Because of the new knowledge B* had, she could give comfort to the couple without feeling guilt or shame for having brought pain upon them with her imagined curse. She felt empowered and energized with this renewed sense of purpose.

Inner Harmony Brings Outer Harmony
Oftentimes when a person learns what their dharma is, they settle into themselves with a new appreciation for their uniqueness. They can more easily understand why they have been in certain situations in life. I know a woman who has a beautiful, contagious laugh. She can brighten up a room with her smile and warmth. When she was a young child she used to burst out in song when filled with delight. So it made sense to her to find out that her dharma is joy:

For lifetimes this one has been building a sense of pure joy. We see that there has been so much progress in regards to this that there is a part of this one that is very real, very strong and very much a part of the key to the essence of this one that is most readily understood and expressed as joy. We see that there is a very strong drive within this one to express this and we see that there is a very real need for this one to embody herself with it and to fill her world with it.

...We see that this one has experienced incredible hardship physically in many lifetimes where this one has been able to connect with this joy, to maintain it, to bring it forth and to cause transformation within the experience for herself and others. We see that this is very much this one's dharma once again for there is a great fulfillment and inner satisfaction that this one receives through employing this and it is quite powerful for this one and for those within this one's environment.
(11-14-98-BGC-5)

Terryll's connection with her dharma is so strong that she took it for granted. She didn't realize how much other people thirsted for the quality she naturally emanates. Her report suggested that greater awareness would help her to grow and to more completely be herself:

We see that the joy has become such a part of this one that it is active in her even when she is not aware of it and we see that the greatest strides would be made for this one in daily cultivating awareness of the joy.

As discussed earlier in this chapter, in order for Terryll to BE joy, she had to identify herself as more than her body, possessions, and roles. Oftentimes she consumed a lot of energy worrying about money, or becoming distracted by thinking that she didn't have a good enough job, good enough computer, good enough car. Sometimes she experienced health problems, like sinus infections, headaches, or sluggishness. Then she would become engrossed in herself, not thinking about how she could benefit other people. When she became deaf to the joy that bubbles up within her, she was unhappy and blamed people or conditions in her life. This perpetuated the cycle of thinking that she needed a different job, or better clothes, or needed to entertain herself with a movie.

In truth, what Terryll thought she needed to find outside of herself was always present within her, she just needed to become aware of it:

Much of this would come a stilling of the mind to allow the joy to become pervasive within this one's thinking. Much of it would come in disentangling the Self from attachment and engrossment in the physical body and its senses. Much of it would come from this one being able to free the ego from the physical conditions of the Self and to align the ego with the inner Self, the spirit Self, the divine Self. It is the recognition of being and becoming and their relationship to one another that would free this one's outer consciousness to open and allow the joy to pour forth.

Terryll's ability to be a pure channel for the joy was within her grasp. She only needed to recognize and change any resistance:

It is when this one fights against this or does not cooperate with it occurring that all of this one's difficulties arise. Would therefore suggest that this one be willing to almost in childlike wonder, allow the pure expression of joy that is within her to completely be embodied by every thought, by every cell of her being.

Doing the Task at Hand
One of the participants at this Spiritual Focus Weekend was envious of Terryll's dharma of joy. She thought that her own dharma (usefulness) was boring and wished she had a different dharma! She took herself for granted.

This is not uncommon. Many people discount their own inherent gifts and compare themselves to others, always thinking that what other people have is better. We are all important and needed in the scheme of Creation. No dharma is better or worse than another. It is essential that we respect ourselves so that we can bring who we are into manifestation.

A Hindu scripture called the Bhagavad Gita tells us how important it is to fulfill our own dharma in the world:

And finally, O Arjuna, remember this, that
it is better to do one's own Duty,
humble and insignificant though it be,
than to seek to perform the Duty of another,
no matter how much nobler that may seem.

Better death in the performance of one's own Duty and tasks, than victory in performing the borrowed Duty of another. The assumed tasks are full of danger. Doeth the task at hand. When you are prepared to perform a higher one, it will be placed before you, in the same manner.

When we are doing our Duty and fulfilling our dharma we are aligned, inwardly and outwardly. We feel in sync with other people. We enhance our environment. When things just don't seem to click, it is usually because we are trying to be something or someone we are not. One person (whose dharma is attending) discovered this from asking the following question in her Dharma Portrait:

Conductor:
At times this one feels like there are things in her environment that are not in harmony or disharmony within her environment. She tries to create harmony and is not always capable of doing this and would like to know what she can do to build an understanding of this, also, how to create harmony within the self.

Reporter:
Harmony is not this one's dharma. Attending is this one's dharma. At times when this one becomes distracted other thoughts or ideas become important and therefore divert this one's attention from the essence that is attempting to come forward through that which has been described as attending. Therefore in regards to what has been queried, this pattern or constellation of thinking can be most easily recognized as a distraction away from that which will bring this one the greatest sense of comfort, power, security and aliveness.
(11-4-00-BGC-2)

This is a piece of wisdom anyone can use. When we feel like we are not being ourselves, when we are out of sorts or ineffective or feel powerless, it is probably because we are out of alignment with our dharma. When we stay focused on our own dharma, we can be powerful and secure.

There is only one you in this entire universe. So only you can be the piece of the puzzle that is yours. We are all needed to make up the entire Creation! A Nigerian proverb says,

Borrowed trousers and garments
never fit a man well;
they are usually either too tight
or too loose.
Proper fitting is achieved
when one wears one's own dress.

The Universal Language of Mind is a symbolic picture language that can be used to interpret dreams, myths, and scripture. In the Universal Language of Mind, clothing symbolizes your outward expression. This proverb is telling us that we each have an expression that belongs to us. We need to express who we truly are, not imitate others. This is our Duty and the key to inner happiness.

© 2008, Dr. Laurel Clark, All Rights Reserved

Excerpted from the book, Dharma © 2008 by Dr. Laurel Clark. Printed with permission from the School Of Metaphysics.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Laurel Clark currently serves as President of the School of Metaphysics, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 educational and service organization with branches in ten states and memberships on five continents. A teacher, counselor, ordained minister, and intuitive reporter, Laurel's passion is aiding other people to live in alignment with Universal Law and Truth. An accomplished speaker, Laurel recently addressed the International Association for the Study of Dreams conference in Montreal on the most recent Global Lucid Dreaming Experiment findings and is currently on a lecture/book signing tour for her newest book The Law Of Attraction and other Secrets of Visualization.

Dr. Clark mentors an extended learning weekend called Your Soul's Purpose at the College of Metaphysics in September. For those wanting to learn about their dharma and how to live it, you can learn more about this weekend by visiting the SOM website at www.som.org.