This talk was delivered by Hedy Coruna, BCBP Cagayan de Oro, during the Ladies Breakout Forum at the NAC Davao, April 24, 2010. It is posted in this website due to the requests of many BCBP sisters, both those who attended and those who were unable to attend.

Let me begin my talk by telling you a short story that I have read in a book. Two babies are in their mother’s womb and they are having a conversation. Let’s call these twins EGO and Spirit.

Spirit says to Ego: “I know you will not accept this but I truly believe there is life after birth.” Ego responds. “Don’t be ridiculous. Look around you, this is all there is. Why must you think about something beyond this reality? Accept your lot in life. Go to your corner and forget this nonsense of life after birth.”

Spirit quiets down for awhile but her inner voice won’t allow her to remain silent any longer. “Please don’t get mad, Ego. I have something else to say. I also believe that there is a mother.” “A mother!” Ego laughs boisterously. “How can you be so absurd. There is no mother. You are alone here with me. Grab hold of that cord and stop being silly.”

Spirit reluctantly stops, however she insisted “Please, Ego listen to me. I think these constant pressures we both feel, the movements that make us so uncomfortable, and all that closing in that seems to be taking place as we keep growing are getting us ready to meet mother face to face and these will bring us to a new celestial light where we will know an ecstasy we have not experienced before.”

Ego answers, “All you’ve ever known is darkness. You’ve never seen light. Darkness and pressures and closed-in feeling are what life is all about. You’ll have to fight it for as long as you live. You are really crazy.”

The author of this story wants to let us know the wonder of having our Sacred Self triumph over the demands of the Ego self.

We remember in Psychology that the Ego is that false idea that we have of ourselves. When we have an absence of peace, when we worry a lot, when we rejoice in the troubles of others, the Ego is responsible. The Spirit is the one that gives peace and joy.

In medical school, our professor in neuropsychiatry would always emphasize that every person is unique and no two persons are alike. He called the human being an Individual Human Person composed of the Spirit, Psyche and the Soma (body). Our lectures then dealt more on the Psyche (mind) to which the Ego belongs.

Who are we really? Each of us is created in the image of God. May I quote our sister Nancy in her book The Evangelizing Presence: “We are created with a soul and a body. We are embodied spirits.”… “Our body is our avenue to the world and the soul is the breath of our life and the window to the Spirit of God.”

Many of us believe that who we are is the body we carry around, the profession we have, the brand of our watch, how much money we have in the bank and the religion we practice. We are just involved about externals which are always changing.

We have not looked inwards and experienced self-awareness , of trying to contact our spiritual nature, through which we can experience joy, love and bliss and radiate these qualities outward.

It is by accepting the challenge of facing inward and living by the directive of the Spiritual Self that will bring us to a level of awareness that can give us peace and inner fulfillment.

It is this self awareness that can dramatically alter our interaction with the material world. It will tell us what we really need in the physical world.

Then we will realize that there are no coincidences or accidents. Everything that shows up in our lives has something to teach us. We feel loved and therefore willingly accept His divine guidance.

In this heightened state of awareness we are able to shift from personal desire to helping others in need. We will desire less and yet feel more fulfilled. When we do this, we will see abundance flowing into our lives.

Most of all, we will not have any difficulty just being ourselves and living authentically. As we live authentically in this level of awareness, we will realize that whatever we have done in the past, even immoral or destructive acts, were just part of who we were at that time. We will be able to see mistakes as lessons for us to transcend. We can learn to forgive ourselves. Heightened awareness will make us less judgmental and more forgiving and this ability to forgive will bring new serenity to our lives

We must never doubt that the Divine Presence is with us at all times and that the divine guidance is available anytime.

When there is doubt, Fear is present. There is a saying, ”Fear knocked at the door. When Faith answered , no one was there.”

Like any poison which has an antidote, Fear has Faith as its antidote. Faith is knowing God, not just believing in God. The most common fears are fear of the unknown, and fear of death. When I was a child my greatest fear was losing my mother. She was told by a fortune teller that she was going to die at age 51. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when she was past the age of 51. She died at the age of 82. That is why in the BCBP, we are told not to believe in fortune tellers and horoscopes.

There are so many other kinds of fear. There is fear of isolation for which we have to get rid of because we are never alone. When we know this, we will never fear loneliness. The fear of suffering can be overcome if we know our Sacred Self. Our joy is divine, so is our suffering. If one has fear of success, one can replace that fear with knowing that one deserves any prosperity or abundance that comes his way. When we are in the quest of our Sacred Self, external measures of success will appear and this success is an inner matter.

It is only through surrendering our fears to God that we can overcome them. God is always with us no matter what happens. They say that what is constant is CHANGE. But God is constant and He never changes. He is always faithful and full of love for us.

My husband and I have been in the BCBP for 19 years. Before that I was concerned only with the externals. I thank the Lord for giving us the BCBP. Now I know that each and everyone of us has a Sacred Self that we can get to know intimately once we experience heightened self-awareness in the presence of God. And it is by knowing ourselves and by knowing our God that we will be able to overcome our fears and live joyfully and peacefully with ourselves and with each other.

Thank you and Good morning! God bless us all!