First I AM

Balboa Press

Contents

Introduction..............................................................xvThe Yet...................................................................xvThe Journey Is the Destination............................................xviiChapter 1 Rethinking Genesis..............................................1Sobering but Not Surprising...............................................1Got Questions?............................................................4A Young or Old Earth?.....................................................6Two Stories or One?.......................................................7Energy of Unity...........................................................8God Is Spirit.............................................................9First IAM Renewal.........................................................9Chapter 2 The First IAM Higher Self Image.................................11Who Do Men Say That I AM?.................................................11Genesis 1:27a and 1:27b...................................................13Called by God's Name......................................................16The Burning Bush of Higher Self Revelation................................17Paul's Second Man—Our First.........................................25The I AM versus the AM I..................................................27The AM I Lower Self Image.................................................28Higher Self Individuation.................................................30First IAM Amnesia.........................................................33Consequences of a Lower Self Image........................................36Our Children..............................................................41Chapter 3 The First IAM Higher Self Mind..................................43Reptiles Can and Do Speak!................................................43The Triune Brain..........................................................45The Garden of Eden and the Triune Mind of Man.............................46Anatomy of the Triune Brain Model.........................................46The Reptilian Brain—"R-Complex".....................................46God on the Brain..........................................................48Venom or Anti-Venom?......................................................49The Paleomammalian Brain—"Limbic System"............................51The Neomammalian Brain—"Neocortex"..................................55The Prefrontal Cortex—"PFC".........................................56Mind Renewal..............................................................58Chapter 4 The First IAM Higher Self Body..................................63Body Image................................................................63God's Word Says We Are Complete...........................................67God's Word Says We Are One with Spirit....................................68The Voice of God..........................................................68The Voice of the Earth....................................................70The Voice of the Body.....................................................72A Shack or a Temple?......................................................74The Voice of Energy—Mitochondria....................................75The Voice of Energy—Metabolism......................................77The Voice of Balance......................................................80The Voice of Elimination..................................................82The Law of Dieting versus the Grace of Healthy Living.....................85God's Perfect Design for the Body.........................................87Chapter 5 The First IAM Higher Self Life..................................90The First Day.............................................................90The Separation of the Higher from the Lower...............................96The Higher Life Promised..................................................100Chapter 6 Living the First IAM............................................107Following the I AM........................................................107Hearing the I AM..........................................................112Believing the I AM........................................................116Shouting at Jericho and Slaying the Giant!................................119Freedom in theChapter 7 First IAM.........................................125The Frankl Factor.........................................................125True Liberation Will Come!................................................128

Chapter One

The word Genesis means beginning or origin. The Old and New Testaments of our Bible represent the story of our spiritual beginning, just as our physical genetics tell the story of our physical origin. Consequently, both our spiritual and physical genesis are intertwined as proven by scientific and spiritual minds. Quite literally, God is in the details of all matter—materially and spiritually.

If we "believers" expect to make a dramatic impact on our world for the sake of God's overall divine plan for mankind, then we must rethink the book of Genesis and our former beliefs and interpretations. More importantly, we must be willing to rethink our own physical genesis. Materially speaking, we are a totality of our genetic ancestry. Every gene, protein, and chemical in our body tells a unique story about who we were in not only our recent past, but more significantly, our distant and ancient past.

Sobering but Not Surprising

We wish we had a nickel for every friend that has said to us, "I left the faith of my youth because ..." Most of our clients have given up on their religious beliefs because it proved to be too hard—too restrictive—too incongruent with their spirit. It appears that what we were hearing was being validated by several surveys concerning today's youth.

According to America's Research Group, Americans under thirty years of age are rejecting the Christian faith in unprecedented numbers. In fact, what the numbers suggest is not a slow move away from the Christian faith, but rather a hurried mass exodus. Ninety-five percent of those polled attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years, however, only 55 percent attended church regularly during their high school years, with only 11 percent attending church into their college years.

The ARG survey discovered the following reasons for the mass departure from faith by today's youth:

• Nearly 40 percent said they first doubted the Bible's authenticity in middle school.

• 43.7 percent said they first doubted the Bible's authenticity during their high school years.

• Only around 10 percent said they first became doubtful about Bible accounts during college.

• 61 percent said they attended Sunday school, while 39 percent said they didn't.

• Those who attended Sunday school were more likely:

* not to believe that all the accounts and stories in the Bible are true

* to doubt the Bible because it was written by men

* to defend keeping abortion legal

* to accept the legalization of...