Be the Light

Within all of us, there's a light that shines like a lantern's bright flame. We may call it love, divine energy, or an expression of our Source. No matter what name we give it, that light never goes out.

As we go through our lives, though, our self-doubts dim the sides of that lantern. The drama in the world adds its own layers of soot. And eventually, it's easy to lose sight of the flame burning within, forget how bright it is, or believe it was never there at all.

Fortunately, our forgetting doesn't change the brilliance of the light, but it can limit our ability to claim the truth about our very existence. In fact, by starting this book with "Be the light that you are," we're beginning with one of the most challenging principles of all.

It's the only place to start, though, because every principle in this book rests on the solid foundation that you are the light. Without that, the layers of other teachings would teeter on shaky ground.

We've spent generations building our world on a fear of who we are. That's why, to build a better world, there is no place to begin but the truth.

* * *

When I was a little girl, I knew there was something more than this world of houses to live in and Monopoly games to play and bicycles to ride. On some level, even though it wasn't conscious, I knew that we each had a soul, a spirit.

Our dog, Pepper, and all her puppies had souls. The sycamore tree I climbed in the front yard had a soul. The fireflies we caught in Mason jars with holes punched in the lids had souls.

The word "soul" means different things to different people, but I mean it as a spark of light, a mysterious but animating energy that brought us to life and gave us the ability to feel, care, and experience.

I knew this light came from a source beyond me, and that we all embodied it. And it was so much more than how we looked or what we wore or how we acted.

Our gruff old neighbor across the street had it. So did my teachers — the ones I liked and the ones I didn't. So did Billy, the boy in my class who talked with a lisp and was the target of other kids' jokes.

And although I lived in a homogenous neighborhood in a homogenous state, I knew that the people of other colors and countries that I saw on TV had it, too.

Knowing there was light in everyone was not a special gift on my part. I'm guessing that as a child, you knew this as well. Hopefully you still do. But often the knowledge that we are the light — a light of goodness that's as divine as the power that created us — gets wrung out of us, and fear of not being enough takes its place.

That's why it's so important to start with this foundational belief and restore it, remember it, and embrace it — no matter how tentatively at first — so you can transform your world with the truth of the light within.

* * *

The idea that you are the light may seem radical. But references to being the light show up in every major religion and spiritual teaching.

* A Course in Miracles says we are "the light of the world."

* The Buddha said, "Be your own lamp, seek no other refuge but yourself, let truth be your light."

* Matthew 5:14 — 16 says, "You are the light of the world ... let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Each of these quotes alludes to the truth that the Spirit/Creator/Higher Power who created us is divine love, and so are we. In other words, the Spirit/Creator/Higher Power who created us is not broken, sinful, bad, evil, or incomplete. And, as Spirit's progeny, neither are we.

No matter what your life circumstances, your connection with God means you are entitled to abundance, well-being, peace, and joy. That's the starting point, not the destination. You don't have to go out and find what is already in you.

You may resist this idea. You may remember the words to an old hymn that proclaims your sinfulness or Bible verses that portray an angry and vengeful God. You may feel that you're unworthy of such a divine inheritance.

You may immediately think about all the mistakes you've made, all the ways you've hurt people or stood by and watched as others were hurt. You may point to Hitler or Stalin or school shooters as examples of evil. You may start to build a case for why you can't possibly be the light, and even why it's blasphemous to think that you are.

But that resistance, those arguments for "evidence" of brokenness, can't alter the truth.

It's like the total eclipse of the sun. For those few moments when the Earth casts a shadow and midday becomes dusk, it looks as though the sun has dimmed. But, of course, the sun is the same as ever. A momentary blockage doesn't change the fact that it's still there, as powerful and brilliant as it has always been.

We, too, have momentary blockages that seem to cast a shadow on our light. Those barriers could be fears and insecurities. Judgments of others and ourselves. Feelings of guilt and shame. Stories about hatred and war.

And then we focus on those barriers. We judge them. We think about them over and over. We listen to others who reinforce them for us. And before you know it, we've forgotten the light within and believe that our blockages define us, and there's no escaping them.

"Fear has been taught for so many centuries, by so many learned people, that it has become institutionalized."

In fact, these fears have been taught for so many centuries, by so many learned people, that they've become institutionalized in our schools, our laws, and our governments.

And it's true, there's no escape — because we don't need one. We simply need to remember our light rather than our fear, and we'll see that we've been free all along. At that point, everything else in our lives will start to align.

That's why it helps to remember when you were little and could see the pure light in yourself and others, before it became stained with fear. And if you can't recall a time of seeing the light, that's okay.

This book will help you remember.

* * *

How do you remember that you're the light? How do you take a lifetime of indoctrination to the contrary and start to embrace truth rather than falsehoods? How do you get to the point at which you can look in the mirror and say, "Yes, I am the light" as easily and naturally as you say, "I am a mother" or "I am a teacher" or "I am a social media manager"?

First, it's important to distinguish between what you are and who you are. Throughout your life, you've probably been asked the question "Who are you?" in a number of different ways — on forms, applications for school and jobs, or when you meet someone new.

The answer to "Who are you?" typically goes something like this: "I'm Marilyn Garcia, and I have two children. My husband and I have been married...