CHAPTER 1

Who Are You and WhyAre You Here?

Who Are You?

You are a spiritual energy being in a physical human body.

Just what is a "spiritual energy being"? I believe that aspiritual being is a pure, loving being of light and energy. Thisenergy is a spiritual force that connects us all. Ever hear theidea that we are all "One"? That comes from the belief that thisspiritual force is in all of us and we're all part of it.

What kind of energy is it? It's the best kind of energy! It's a pureloving energy. And we're not the only energy beings around.Everything is energy: the earth is energy, air is energy, themountains and water are energy, the animals are energy, peopleare energy, and all of Nature is energy.

What is "Source"?

We all come from a loving force of energy in the universe thatexists in all time and space. Yes, it's that big. There are manynames for this life force, but I will call it "Source." When Italk about "Source" in this book, you'll know that I mean the"Source" that is the infinite loving energy we are all made of.That makes us loving energy too.

If you want to find Source, you don't have to look far. Sourceis everywhere. Source is around you all the time, and it ispart of you. Source is in you and in me and in your pet. It isin the sky, the ocean, the air, the Earth, and everyone youknow and do not know on this planet. Source is the sameenergy that makes up the stars in the sky and runs throughthe whole universe.

Source is not something outside of you that is judging you.Source is not an authority figure that will get mad at you if youare not exactly what others say you should be. Source is notout to get you if you make a mistake; that's called "learning"and we all do it.

You do not have to prove yourself to Source or do anythingin particular to earn love. Source is just there, loving you fullyand completely, waiting for you to connect. Source is like theradio that way: always available when you tune in.

Source is loving energy you canconnect with anytime, anywhere.

Why Are You Here?

As spiritual energy beings, we have come to Earth to love, tobe loved and to learn. No matter what is going on around us,we deserve to be loved, we get to keep giving love (especiallyto ourselves) and our journey is one of continuing to learn.

Every one of us is here for a reason, and that reason is to be ourtrue, loving selves and to share our unique gifts with the world,no matter what those gifts may be.

That all sounds kind of perfect, I know. And you know what?Everyone, absolutely everyone, goes through hardship, bad times,and crappity crap crap. Everyone. There are no exceptions; ithappens to everyone, but often they keep it hidden inside.

We go through crap so that we can learn. Sure, it's no fun; butwe learn to keep being our loving selves. It sounds strange, butI've learned this is actually true: we are all students of life. Theevents in our lives—good and bad—are the teachers. We're allhere learning together in Earth school.

One thing we are all here to learn is how to take care of ourfull selves, not just our physical selves. We need to take care ofour bodies, spirits and souls. It's great to know that you are aspiritual being, because it means you get to realize that you areloved, you are powerful to make positive changes for yourself,and you are never, ever alone! Not even in the most difficultmoments of your life. Source is always with you.

We are here to love andlearn, love and learn.

What Are the Differences BetweenBody, Spirit, and Soul?

You all know you have a physical body; it is your outer shell.It is like a house for your soul. There is more to you than yourphysical body.

I want you all to know that you have a soul. You are a soul thatcomes with a physical body, not a body that comes with a soul.You were a soul first before you came to this life—and you willcontinue to be a soul after you leave this material world.

Your soul is the person on the inside. If you go to the mirroryou can see your face. This is your external shell. This worksfor some people to see their internal self: keep looking in themirror and look behind your eyes. You can see the personinside, your soul.

You all have a spirit, too. Your spirit feeds your soul and pushesyou to go as far as you can and be all that you truly are. Yourspirit is energy, like Source.

Another way to look at it is this: imagine you are a car. Theouter car or chassis is like your physical body. Your soul wouldbe the part of you that drives the car and steers you to differentplaces. Your spirit would be like the gas that fuels the car.

So What?

When I was 15 years old, I learned about my true nature asa spiritual being. My mom took me to a Spiritualist Churchin the basement of a meeting hall in my hometown. Churchwas held once a week, on Sundays. We were a small groupof about 20 people. We smiled at each other a lot. We sangsongs and listened to someone speak from their heart about lifeexperiences. There was a lot of talk about love.

There was a segment of the meeting called "proof of survival"when a psychic medium gave messages of love from dead lovedones. I think that was everyone's favourite part of church. Oncein a while, I would get a message. Yes, my mom took me tothe coolest church ever!

At 15, I was introduced to the idea that I was a spiritual beingwho chose to come to Earth to learn. I learned that I chose myparents, and the experiences I would have, so that I could learnfrom them and help others.

I learned that I was an infinite being, a soul who came to Earthnot just once, but many times. I learned that there was a lotof love for me any time I needed it—all I had to do was askSource for it. I learned that I was not alone, ever, even when Iwas feeling really crappy.

The thing that stuck with me was this: hell is not a scary placeof torture we might go to when we die. Rather, I was taughtthat hell is life on Earth when we don't know that we are connected toSource. I learned that we all have the strength we need to getthrough an awful experience, even if it feels like we do not.We can find that strength by connecting to Source.

It made me feel better to see myself as someone who was here tolearn, just like everyone else. When I thought about everyonebeing on a mission to learn, I did not feel like a loser whoalways had bad things happen to her. I did not feel like I wasthe only one who might feel really sad and scared.

I figured that if I came to Earth to have difficult experiences, thensurely I was meant to survive them. Spirituality taught me that weare all going through difficult events; everyone has the same dealthat way. It helped me see people as more alike than different.

Many years later, I learned more and more about my connectionwith Source. I began to call upon the most powerful, lovingforce in the universe to help me through everything. I toldmy mom how great it was that she took me to the SpiritualistChurch at the tender age of 15. I told her that learning about thespiritual love of Source helped me a lot. My mom is a messengerof spiritual love in my life, and now I know why I picked her!

I hope that this book gives you some new information that fitsfor you and feels so right that you carry the love with you forthe rest of your life.

Everyone goes through difficultexperiences here in Earth schoolso we can learn from them.

You Are Here to Give and Receive Love

You are here to live in love. We are taught at a young age that thereare more important things in life than living in love. That is nottrue. As a spiritual energy being in a physical body, you are hereto give and receive love. Love is the most important thing.

We all need love and acceptance, especially from ourselves. Ifyou are big and tough and you pride yourself on not crying,you still need love and acceptance. If you are sensitive and havelearned to block people out as a way to protect yourself, you stillneed love and acceptance. It stays with us our whole life.

The good news is that you can always get this love and acceptance.You can always get it from two places: Source and yourself.

Love is the most important thing in life.

What Is Unconditional Love?

The real you is a loving being living on Earth. What kind oflove is this? This is unconditional love. This is love that neverstops. It is always there.

Source looks at you with love that never stops. You are cute,you are innocent, and you are completely lovable. Sourcesends you love, love, and more love: no matter what you do,how you mess up, or what you forget. Source loves you allthe time, even if you do not always feel it or remember thatit is there.

Have you ever seen a cute puppy or kitten and found love andsweet thoughts oozing out of you without knowing wherethey were coming from or why? The automatic love that youhave for an innocent baby animal is like the love that Sourcehas for you.

My puppy taught me this. He makes mistakes and gets intotrouble all the time. He eats my furniture. He goes into thewoods on his leash and gets stuck around some trees, so I haveto go in and get all scratched up to get him untangled. He scaresmy friends with his barking, and they do not want to comeover. He eats gross things. He meets porcupines and tries to eatthem. He throws up in the car. He pulls on the leash so hard Ithink my shoulder will pop out.

No matter what he does, I feel lots of love for him. I lovehim unconditionally, and I can't help it! He is adorable. Helooks at me with all the love in the world. No matter whatmy mood, he wants to be close to me. He is a big mix oftrouble and love. I love him because he's my puppy, andthat's enough.

That strong and unshakeable love for a puppy is the kind oflove that Source has for you, all the time, no matter what. Youare an angel to Source, and you are enough, exactly as you areright this second.

There is a bonus: this is the same unconditional love you getto have for yourself. Imagine!

You are here to receive love fromSource and to send love to Source.

You are here to receive love fromyourself and to send love to yourself.

How Do You See Yourself?

Do you see yourself as a spiritual energy being? Everything youdo and create in your life depends on who you think you are.

How do you think about yourself? Do you think that you are ahuman body that can only do certain things and is fighting forsurvival in a cruel world? Do you think that because of yourpast, or your family's past, or your culture's past, that you aredoomed to a terrible and depressing life? If you see yourselfas this limited, you will live in a world where you are verylimited.

Do you think you are created to be like a powerful, whole,vibrant, healthy and infinitely loving Source? If you see yourselfas this amazing creation of a powerful force of love that is hereto express your full and true self, you will live in that worldinstead.

What is your image of yourself? Do you see yourself as adorableas a puppy, kitten, or innocent baby animal? Well you are!

At your age, you probably have an image of yourself that ismade from what other people have told you about yourself.

When I was growing up, I was told that I was stupid and ugly. Iwas told that because I was a girl, I was only good for cooking,cleaning, and serving men. I was told that I was too weak, toosensitive and that no one cared about me.

Because other people treated me like that and said mean things,did it make me stupid, ugly, and unlovable? No!

So who was the real me? The real me was a beautiful, curious,playful girl who wanted to learn everything. I was loving,compassionate, strong, and interested in animals. When I lookback, I can see the difference between who I really was andhow I was treated by others.

You are not who other people say you are. You are not whoyour family or culture is. You may have ways or looks that arethe same as them, but there is something totally unique aboutyou because you are a spiritual being. There is only one of you.You have a unique mission that no one else has and only youcan do it. No one else will have the life you have because onlyyou can make it.

No one else wants to express themselves the way you want toexpress yourself because they are not you. They have their ownsoul, their own direction to go in, their own likes and dislikes.You have your own just for you.

You are going to be good at some things and not good atothers; that's natural and that's the same deal everyone gets.You get to see your expressiveness, your likes and dislikes, yourtalents and abilities as unique to you because no one else willhave the same combination of those as you have.

You are a part of Source, and that makes you a special gift anda wonderful treasure on this planet.

Do not listen to the mean things that people say about you.They are not true. Believe in your real, capable, lovable self andknow that you get to decide who you are. No one else gets todecide who you are: that's for you and only you.

You are not who others say you are;You are an amazing gift andprecious treasure.

You Are Here to Learn Self-Care

You are here to be yourself and to take care of yourself. Thatmeans you get to love yourself; you have to if you are going tosurvive. You have to express who you truly are. It is so very,very important that you take care of yourself so that you can beokay in the world being yourself, whatever that looks like.

It would be a tragedy to lose the gift that is you. You are herefor a reason, and that reason is to be your true, loving self andshare your unique gifts with the world, no matter what thosegifts may be.

You are here to take care of yourself when others are mean ornegative around you. It is so important that you do not followtheir lead! It will not make you happy. When you take care ofyour full self, you will be happier.

This guide is about learning to loveyourself and be there for yourselfwhen it seems no one else is there.

What About Drugs and Alcohol?

Do you try to escape from your pain by using chemicalsubstances like heavy drugs, marijuana, tobacco, pills and/oralcohol? Experimenting with and using chemical substances arebig challenges for young people. You are under a lot of pressureto use them to get high, de-stress, take the edge off and forgetyour troubles.

These are harmful substances that you can get hooked onvery easily because you are a teenager and your brain is stilldeveloping. Using these substances affects your brain. Sometimesthey might seem like your only option to feel good for a changewhen your life really sucks. I want you to be careful. I wantyou to be aware of some information you've probably neverheard before.

What I have to tell you is very important and it comes from myheart: in order to take care of yourself, it's best if you stay clearof doing drugs (including pills), smoking anything, and drinkingalcohol, especially if you're mixing it with energy drinks. If youare using any other chemical substances please stop. You willhave a clearer channel to Source and be able to find your link toSource much easier and quicker if there are no chemicals in theway. These chemicals block your path to Source.

I'm sure you've heard warnings from your parents or schoolabout the dangers of drugs and alcohol to your physical health.There's another very big reason you will feel better if you stayaway from these substances: they do not help you connect to Sourceor like yourself. They can harm not only your physical health,but your spiritual health, too.

If you want to get out of pain, try to connect to Source andfind the powerful loving energy in the universe. When youconnect with Source, it's like getting a kind of "high". It's afeeling of bliss that's better than any chemical substances, andit's completely natural with no negative side effects.

You might think that there's nothing wrong with getting highfrom alcohol and drugs, including nicotine and marijuana.They might cover over or numb pain, but they do not take itaway and they do not build loving relationships that will replacethe pain. They do not help you to like or love yourself.