What Am I and Who Am I? by Rev. Christine Emmerling 5/28/2023
“What Am I? Who Am I?” by Rev. Christine 5/28/2023
Today my talk is reflecting on the question “What Am I and Who Am I?”. We are told in Genesis that God made mankind out of the dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into the first man and woman. We are also told that God made mankind in their image and likeness. And, that womankind was made by taking a rib from a man. Two interesting stories that lead us to believe that we are both made of the earth and spirit.
Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 15:44-54, “There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. For this corruptible must put on the incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Then the Sanskrit tells us,
“Never the spirit was born;
The spirit shall cease to be never
Never was time it was not;
End and Beginning are dreams!
Birthless and deathless and changeless
Remaineth the spirit for ever;
Death hath not touched it at all,
Dead though the house of it seems!
Nay, but as when one layeth his worn-out robes away,
and taking new ones, sayeth, “These will I wear today!”
So putteth by the spirit lightly its garb of flesh,
And passeth to inherit a residence afresh.”
Again I ask, “What am I and Who am I?” A man’s sperm impregnates a woman’s ovum or egg, and from there a new earth life begins. Cells quickly divide and multiply. My body is made of trillions of cells. Each one knows its function to become an organ, neurons, a skeleton, arteries, and blood. Eventually all takes form to look like and be a human baby.
Emmet Fox is a well known author and Divine Science minister. The following is from his booklet titled Reincarnation: “The soul incarnates at the time of conception attaching to the ovum. The subconscious mind is active all the time and from moment of incarnation it is busily building the new body.
For it is the baby’s own subconscious that builds its body in the uterus, and it builds it in its own image and likeness – that is why our bodies express the things that are of the soul. The mother supplies the material but the soul of the fetus builds its body. We learn in metaphysics that our environment is always but the out picturing of our soul.”
Parents wanting to bring in a more evolved soul must prepare their own consciousness; purify themselves both physically and mentally, as well as spiritually prepare. Then they will draw to them a more highly evolved soul.”
Emmet Fox is very strong on that no one ever inherits anything from their parents or ancestors. The only things we do inherit are from our Creator - God. Jesus said, to not call no man on earth your Father, but the one in heaven who is your Father. Therefore, we inherit life, wisdom, power, love, strength, knowledge, understanding, wholeness, abundance, will, imagination and so much more.
The soul of the baby already had certain mental tendencies before incarnation, and these tendencies guide them to a family where similar tendencies existed – that is all... Like attracts like all through the universe, or, as we say more picturesquely, “Birds of a feather flock together.”
I am before I am here with this tiny body that continues to grow and unfold. I always have been and will always be. Therefore, I am spirit as a soul. A soul is an individualized expression of God. A soul is the collective experience of Spirit individualized as a unique persona. This body then is an outer expression of my soul made manifest as light, density and form.
Therefore, I am more than a body of material density. Starting from invisible intelligent light and the vibration of love merged together creates our eternal body of light. There are several layers to this light body and is what sustains the life force of the physical body appearing as one integrated body.
Talking about birth also makes it necessary to mention life after death and reincarnation for the two go together. Briefly I will summarize what I understand about this sacred process. A soul that permanently leaves their dense body is what we call death. This is much like taking off an overcoat for we still have an eternal light body which is incorruptible.
We have this double of a body that is invisible to the human eye and is eternal. It is known as an astral body and is infused into our etheric and physical bodies. This astral body is what sustains the life of our lower vibrational bodies. The ethereal body can be seen as an aura by those with eyes to see. The physical body and its ethereal essence dissolves slowly when the astral body of our soul becomes detached.
Many say that death is like going to sleep and waking up to the other plane of life. Others are consciously aware of a light drawing them upward through a tunnel. There are loved ones to guide them to what we call the heavenly planes of life. There is no one waiting to judge us, instead we review our prior life’s experiences to learn from them. When ready we begin the process of planning for our next experiences of life.
We have many helpers to guide us in this process. Let’s say we want to be a healer, we will then select the healer archetypal energy pattern. Then we will be drawn to the experiences that will lead us to healing. As in being ill, and needing to learn to heal our own body. We also have archetypal energies, such as angels and spirit guides to draw inspiration to assist us in our soul’s journey of life.
All of this preparation is needed for building our soul’s new body. The baby comes to be born to a particular family by the law of attraction. The stork never makes a mistake. Each one of us is born into the conditions which exactly fit our soul at the time of our birth. We do not consciously choose our parents, but we are attracted to who is going to provide the environment needed for the soul’s path. Then just before arriving we get to see an outline of our future life.
According to Jesus the Christ there are many mansions in our Father’s house. Meaning there are many dwelling places. We may return here on earth or some other place according to our consciousness and depending upon the lessons selected to be learned.
According to Corrine Heline’s 1940 book Occult Anatomy and the Bible: If in past lives the Ego has incorporated lines of discord or weakness, or tendencies to certain diseases into his body they will exist in his present archetype, and by the Law of Attraction he will gravitate to parents who will supply materials of similar nature.
Thus the Ego will fashion a body susceptible to certain specific weaknesses. This is in accordance with causes set up in past lives by himself. And not because he chanced to meet the misfortune over which he had no control.
The building of the earthly body begins with the work of the soul or EGO, preparing for incarnation in these spiritual realms is purely mental. It works in mind-substance which is far more solid and real than the dense matter familiar to our present senses in the body. By the use of the twin spirit powers of Will and Imagination mind-substance is organized along lines of force which make a definite pattern. This pattern is according to the state of life and being of the Ego which does the work.
We are today what we made ourselves yesterday. If we do not like the results we can change them by altering the pattern after which we fashioned and to which we are attuned. In other words, we can remake our lives. “Behold I make all things new,” said the Christ. This is a prerequisite for attaining the Christ consciousness.” “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
One of the most important performances of the soul during the period of prenatal development is that of fashioning the Silver Cord. This cord is one of the Ego’s principal means of linking its lower to its higher vehicles. This cord allows for the soul to temporarily venture from the physical body through the astral realms while sleeping or in an alternate state of consciousness. We can travel to the ends of the earth and beyond. We can serve as invisible helpers, and yet retain the “life line” with its physical body. But when this cord is severed from our physical body we call this death, and our soul returns its true home.
In the soul’s present state of evolution this cord is made of 3 strands. This cord’s structure is complex.
1. One end is in the heart and is made of etheric substance.
2. Another end, composed of desire stuff is rooted in the liver. When these two ends meet at the solar plexus a foetus quickens.
3. A third part is made of mind stuff, rises to the frontal sinus, seat of the Human Spirit. This part passes between the pituitary and pineal glands downward connecting with the thyroid and thymus, the spleen and adrenal before uniting with the second part of the cord in the liver.
Later in the awakening of the Christ consciousness a fourth part of the cord is developed. Giving a direct connection between the head and heart uniting the two brains. This fourth part is formed of pure spirit, and has been developed through regeneration. There are a few advanced souls who have completed the development of this fourth strand.
Again I ask, What am I? Who Am I? I am a spiritual being made in the image and likeness of God the Creator. I am an unique expression of spirit according to my soul’s consciousness. I have inherited attributes of the Creator, and therefore I have the full potential to be a Christ Being or God like.
I am both visible and invisible. As visible I learn and grow fulfilling my purpose for being here on earth. As invisible I can traverse the universe, I can be an invisible helper on earth, I am eternal.
I will close with the following poem by Angela Morgan:
“If a man would wear his heavenly birth
more grandly than the birth that seems,
bodies would mirror God’s design
mortal no longer, but divine.
Go look within some shining pool –
behold the being God hath made,
of which the flesh is but the tool;
witness the shape His hand portrayed.”