The Born Aware Phenomenon or Spiritually Aware Since Birth -- Quite Literally

What is your earliest memory?  Do you remember anything before the age of 1 – or 2 – or 3 – or 4?  Most people don’t.  However, some of us do.

I have always remembered what I thought when I was born.  I kept these thoughts to myself and never knew that this was unusual.  This was my norm and I never even wondered whether others had similar memories or not.

What I thought when I was born were spiritual thoughts (for example remembering being with God before coming here) and the knowledge that being here was both temporary and necessary.  In other words, I was spiritually aware from the moment I was born in a clear manner and with a mature awareness and consciousness.  This is the Born Aware phenomenon.

It wasn't until much later in life that I began to realize that my at-birth memories were unusual.  I later encountered two other people who, independently of each other, spontaneously shared their own at-birth memories with me in a short period of time.  I knew that I was being given a message to write about this phenomenon and began to embark upon a journey of investigation into this phenomenon.

This was the seed for my book, Born Aware:  Stories & Insights from Those Spiritually Aware Since Birth.  I have found several other people with memories like these and know that there are more of us out there.

So what is "The Born Aware Phenomenon"?  And why should we pay attention to it?

The Born Aware Phenomenon refers to people who have literally been spiritually aware from the moment they were born.  We remember what we thought when we were born and our thoughts were typically spiritual ones:  knowing that we’re here on this planet temporarily and that it’s not our true home; remembering the other side to varying degrees; and a whole range of spiritual, non-earth-bound thoughts and perceptions.

Our memories of our at-birth thoughts are spontaneous.  We have never forgotten what we thought when we were born – and we never needed to resort to external or artificial means or modalities in order to uncover our at-birth thoughts.  In other words, we didn’t need to use regression, rebirthing, hypnotherapy, or any other modality in order to uncover or discover our natal awareness.  We have simply never forgotten that awareness and those thoughts.

Some people may confuse being born aware with being psychic or intuitive, because they may assume that if one is highly intuitive or can see or speak to spirits that one must have been born aware.  This is simply not true.  Psychic and intuitive gifts are a faculty or ability of the consciousness and neither depend upon nor a priori include nor spring from a spiritual awareness (or memories of the other side or spiritual advancement).

The same is true of children who remember past lives.  A great deal of research has been conducted over the years into children who spontaneously remember their past lives and may, at times, continue to feel that they are still the same person from a recent past life.  Children who remember past lives are not necessarily born aware nor necessarily spiritually aware.  They simply have a memory of their previous lifetime and may still be in the persona of that lifetime.

The born aware phenomenon is also distinct from the phenomenon of those who are innately spiritually oriented.  By spiritually oriented, I am referring to people who have always felt a spiritual orientation and/or awareness that this earthly reality was not the only reality.  They tend to have a subtle awareness that this planet is not their true home.  There are many, many people who are innately spiritually oriented.  They tend to take quite naturally to spiritual topics as soon as they are exposed to them.  They tend to feel like outsiders or like strangers in a strange land.  They often become spiritual healers or intuitives or spiritual practitioners or work in helping professions as adults.  Many also typically feel that they are lightworkers who are here on a mission and/or to heal others. 

However, they typically lack the at-birth awareness that those born aware have, as well as some of the attributes that born awares share.

The born aware phenomenon refers to those people who have always remembered what they thought when they were born and their spiritual awareness at birth – pure and simple.  The awareness we have at birth is clear and mature.  It is not at all infantile or undeveloped or whatever one may consider the awareness of a baby to be.  It is also devoid of a human personality – which, of course, has not yet developed.

I use the term Higher Soul Awareness to refer to our at-birth consciousness.  It’s the awareness that we have as souls when we’re not here on this planet – or incarnated elsewhere -- and that we had on the other side before being born.  It’s distinctly different from our human persona, which it transcends.  Those of us born aware flit back and forth throughout our lives between our human side and our Higher Soul Awareness.  We’re hybrids, neither completely here nor there (on the other side).  (I discuss the Higher Soul Awareness more extensively in my book and share some recommendations on how to groom that awareness.)

There are many attributes that those born aware tend to have in common, such as our innate spiritual awareness that is a split awareness, an innate awareness of and trust in spiritual agency and protection, an innate awareness (and memory) of the inter-connectedness of everything and everyone, an implicit awareness that we’re here to do or accomplish specific tasks, an innate and deep sense of integrity and ethics – and more.  (These are shared and discussed in my book.)

There are also many lessons to be learned from the born aware phenomenon.  First of all would be the acknowledgment that there are different types of human consciousness, which don’t emanate solely from our physical brains or physiology.  Babies can indeed be aware and, at times, may have an awareness that is more mature than that of their parents or adults around them (if the latter are primarily in their human personas). 

The phenomenon definitely shows us that this reality on earth is not the only reality and that consciousness does indeed transcend the physical.  It teaches us that there is indeed another “side” or “heaven” – a “place” that exists outside of our earthly reality that is quite real, irrespective of the terms we used to refer to it.  We indeed don’t die when our bodies die.  We indeed, as well, existed before we were physically born on earth into a human body.

There are many spiritual lessons and implications from the born aware phenomenon as well, which I detail in my book, Born Aware.

This is what the born aware phenomenon is and the benefits that learning about it can bring us.  It’s a very real phenomenon, as I well know, and deserving of wider knowledge.

A Blog Tour:  On Intuitive Understanding

Diane Brandon

I was flattered when Fran Kramer asked me to participate in a blog tour.  Fran is currently writing Too Much of a Good Thing, a sequel to her book, Dead Men Do Tell Tales, a teen mystery novel that came out last year.  I feel that writing about our work and reading about others' work is a wonderful way not just to share information, but also be inspired.

For this blog tour, each of us has been asked to answer four questions. Here they are, as well as my answers to them:

1) What Am I Working On? 

I'm presently working on two different books.  The first one, Spiritually Aware Since Birth, is about those of us who have always remembered what we thought when we were born.  It's near and dear to my heart because I have always had that memory, which has never dimmed over time.  I'm presently conducting interviews with people who have those memories and have been fascinated by other people's accounts and both the variations and commonalities among our experiences.

I'm also working on 100 Dreams Interpreted, which will be a follow-up book to my book, Dream Interpretation for Beginners -- Understand the Wisdom of Your Sleeping Mind, which will be published in March 2015.  I'm presently collecting dreams from people for that book.  My hands are quite full right now!

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

This is an excellent question.  I tend to combine the left brain, more logical approach, with my right brain, more creative and intuitive side.  As a result, my books are in that gray area that represents the confluence of these two, seemingly opposed modes.  (Of course, they're neither opposed nor mutually exclusive.  Many of us are whole brained.)  I have always been driven to understand things and have never been content to just look at the surface appearance.  Thus, in my books I work at sharing with my readers what's behind the subject material I'm writing about and I like to share as many ins and outs of a topic as possible.  One reviewer wrote that my book, Intuition for Beginners, would make a wonderful textbook for people.  I'm also an armchair philosopher, so my natural bent is to share concepts in my writing as well.  Many of these deal with personal development, metaphysics, and cosmology.

3) How does my writing process work?

Well, I'll admit that I never used to see myself as a writer.  It came out of left field for me, just as working with my intuition did.  As a result, I don't have a burning need to write every day.  I write primarily when I have something to say.

Once I identify a topic that I feel driven to write about and communicate information on to others, I start making notes of points I want to cover.  That's a major part of the creative process for me, when the ideas are popping in.  Once that faucet appears to be turned off and the stream ends, I then sit down to start writing.  Sometimes I may do any necessary research in advance or perhaps during the writing process when I need to document a point I'm making.  Once I make a draft, I walk away from it for a while, so that I can come back to it fresh and edit and proof.

Once I sit down and start writing, most of the time it just flows -- sometimes so quickly that I work at typing quickly enough.  I love it when it just flows.  If I hit a snag and feel blocked, I walk away.  (This is similar to how I wrote papers in high school, college, and grad school, except when I hit mental blocks then I would turn around and play a few hands of solitaire until the blocks evaporated.)  Once my mind has cleared, I go back to writing.  I do tend to go back and reread what I wrote and tweak and make little edits.  If I have been away from the project for a while, I always need to go back and reread from the beginning, so as to get back into the flow of the work again.

4)  Why Do I Write What I Do?

That's an easy question to answer.  I write about subjects that have fascinated me for years and which I've often researched over the years and sometimes for decades.  I write about what intrigues me and that which I feel others may find of interest.  I am deeply spiritual -- and have been so since birth (viz., that book I'm working on now) -- and am driven to share that passion, knowledge, and awareness with others.  My writing is probably a form of teaching that which I know and feel that I have considerable expertise about.  Receiving positive feedback about how my writing has helped others is certainly a positive motivation.

Two excellent writers and wonderful women will continue this blog tour, and they are the following writers:

Peggy Payne

Peggy Payne

Travel writer and TV reporter turned novelist, Peggy Payne is author of three novels and two nonfiction books. Her writing has taken her to more than 25 countries, including three months in India researching her novel Sister India.  She has published in magazines including More, Cosmopolitan, Travel & Leisure, Ms. Magazine, Family Circle, Coastal Living, Publishers Weekly, etc., and in most of the major American newspapers. 

Screen rights to her first novel Revelation were sold to Synergy Films. Peggy Payne has received grants or fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, and the NC Arts Council. For completion of her new novel Cobalt Blue she won the 2003 Sherwood Anderson Award. 

A native of North Carolina, she grew up in the coastal town of Wilmington and graduated from Duke University.  Peggy lives with her husband Bob Dick, a psychologist specializing in clinical hypnosis, in a log cabin by a pond in rural Chatham County, NC.  She writes and works with other writers in Raleigh’s historic Oakwood in an old Victorian called Free Range Studio. Her writing has come to range over every sort of spirituality and its expression in the physical world, particularly through sexuality.

C. A. Rowland

C. A. Rowland

C. A. Rowland  is an author, lawyer, speaker and teacher.  She is currently working on short stories and a mystery novel set in Savannah, Georgia. 

She is a regular blogger on www.mostlymystery.com and has a personal blog that features Stories Inspired by Pictures (SIPs) at www.carowland.com.  She’s a member of Sisters In Crime,  Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Virginia Writer’s Club, Inc.,  and Riverside Writers. Her short story, "The Gift,"  was a semi-finalist in the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable 2014 Short Story Contest.  Two of her other short stories, "An Interview with a Rabbit"  and "The Crock of Gold," were originally published in 2013 in the e-magazine, Kings River Life (www.kingsriverlife.com) and "An Interview with a Rabbit" was included in the anthology, Rappahannock Voices, which can be found at www.buybooksontheweb.com. 

For more information,  see her website at www.carowland.com or you can follow her on twitter as @writer4993.

Spreading the Green Word

My radio show, "Naturally Vibrant Living," is focused on green topics, something I feel is important in today's world.  I may feel like a bit of a lone wolf at times covering this topic, but there are other radio hosts whose shows also focus on green topics.  I pleased to find several other shows recently and am sharing a list of them with you, should you want to tune in.

Other shows on green topics include the following:


Title of Show:     Conscious Discussions Talk Radio Show
Name of  Host:   Lillian Brummet
Theme:    Conscious, Green, Proactive Living
Where Aired: Blog Talk Radio. Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144
Website:   http;//www.brummet.ca

Title of Show: Conscious Lifestyles

Name of Host: Ginger Leilani Chapin

Theme: How to live consciously, 100% Purely, mindfully, holistically, naturally, and "GREEN" in today's world with all the tools you need to navigate between the counterfeit information and the truth!

Where Aired: 16 stations and streaming live on www.businesstalkradio.net

Website: http://www.consciouslifestylesradio.com

http://www.wstcwnlk.com

Title of Show: The Conscious Living Guide

Name of Host: :Christine Agro
Theme: Conscious Living
Where Aired: Contact Talk Radio and in Seattle on 106.9 HD Channel 3
Website:  http://www.theconsciouslivingguide.com
http://www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/christineagro.html

Title of Show: Green Earth Radio

Name of Host: Patty Kovacs

Theme: Businesses, organizations, and individuals Making a Cleaner, Greener, Positive Difference for the Earth and All Our Inhabitants.

Where Aired:  Green Earth Radio  

Website:  http://www.GreenEarthRadio.com 

Title of Show: Green is Good
Name of Host: John Shegerian and Mike Brady
Theme:  Go-green initiatives, green-collar jobs, sustainability practices, environmental issues, recycling, reuse and more with some of the green world’s most influential people.
Where Aired:  ClearChannel Radio, iTunes, http://www.greenisgood.fm
Website: http://www.greenisgood.fm

Title of Show: The Green Majority

Name of Host: Jordan Poppenk (until Mar 2010, after which, "varies")

Theme: Canadian environmental news

Where Aired: CIUT 89.5FM, and syndicated on 13 Canadian community stations coast-to-coast

Website:  http://www.greenmajority.ca

Title of Show:     Green Sense

Name of Host: Peter Ormond

Theme: Review of current sustainable issues. Book reviews, event reviews, guests, interviews, readings of futuristic story-telling.

Where Aired:  CFMU, Hamilton, Ontario

Website:   http://www.eco5.ca

cfmu.msumcmaster.ca

Title of Show:  GreenTalk Radio

Name of Host: Sean Daily

Theme: Environment, Ecology

Where Aired: Apple iTunes, http://personallifemedia.com, http://sustainablog.org, http://greenlivingideas.com, http://bluelivingideas.com

Website:  http://greentalkradio.com

Title of Show: Hill & Dale Show 

Name of Host: Lucie Hill & Sharon Dale 

Theme: Environmental news & trends 

Where Aired:  LA Talk Radio    

Website:  http://www.latalkradio.com   http://www.latalkradio.com/Hilldale.php 

Title of Show: Moir's Environmental Dialogues, Ocean River Shields of Achilles
Name of Host: Rob Moir, Ph.D. Environmental Studies
Theme: With the knowledge of Carson and the courage of Achilles, individuals are steadfastly going the distance to defend wildlife and ecosystems from assaults of environmental degradations and destructions. Join environmental studies scientist Dr. Rob Moir for lively dialogue and revealing narrative inquiry into how individuals are overcoming the obstacles turning forlorn hope into effective actions for oceans, rivers, watersheds, wildlife and ecosystems. Discover how listening to individuals, thinking locally, and acting in concert with others, you can act to save ecosystems. Act to bring about a greener and blue Planet Earth.
Where Aired: The Green Talk Network (Voice America). For free iTunes podcast search "Moir's." 

http://www.oceanriver.org/AchillesShieldsRadio.php   

Title of Show:  Smart Green Travel 

Name of Host:  Jerry Hart

Theme:  Jerry Hart will help all of us literally go green as we learn tips to travel eco-consciously, see the planet we are working so hard to preserve, share ideas and gather ways on how to continue our green journey while at the same time learning to relax and enjoy every minute we have on this great big home we call Mother Earth.

Where Aired:  Green 960 AM and streaming at http://www.TheGreenMorning.com

Website:  http://www.thegreenmorning.com  Live

   http://www.hartofgreen.com  Previous shows

Title of Show: Your Super Natural Life

Name of Host: Beth Greer

Theme: health, green lifestyles, non-toxic living

Where Aired: Clear Channel’s Green 960 AM, airing in the SF Bay Area as well as nationally online.

Guest Profile: Authors and experts who offer insights on living a safer, less toxic and more natural life.

Email: beth@supernaturalmom.com

Website: http://www.green960.com/main.html

Best Method of Contact: Email 

Title of Show: Zentertainment Talk Radio 
Name of Host: Jo Davidson
Theme: Helping people turn challenges into opportunities.
Where Aired: Online radio podcast, shows can be listened to and downloaded for free any time of day or night at http://www.Zentertainment.org
 Website: http://www.Zentertainment.org

The above shows are excerpted from the Health and/or Enviroonment Ebooks of Talk Radio Shows compiled by “Talk Radio Advocate” Francine Silverman. To view the descriptions and prices of all 16 ebooks ranging from Animals to Sports, please visit http://www.talkradioadvocate.com

The Faith Community & Environmental Stewardship

As increasing numbers of people have become aware of environmental problems and the need to take some sort of action, some have wondered what those in the faith community may be doing.  It would appear that there has been a long-running difference of opinion, at least among the Christian community, as to whether humans are to be stewards of the environment or have dominion over the earth and its inhabitants.

I was very pleased recently to learn about some proactive environmental programs in the faith community when I interviewed two people involved in them, Richard Edens, Pastor of the United Church of Chapel Hill, and Dr. Kathy Shea, Director of the North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light on my radio show, "Naturally Vibrant Living."  North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light is a chapter of a national organization, Interfaith Power & Light, which, as it turns out, was established specifically for the purpose of engaging the faith community in environmental stewardship and assisting churches and other religious institutions in establishing such programs.  Thirty-nine states in the United States have chapters in Interfaith Power & Light.

This, to me, is a very exciting trend.  This movement is definitely interfaith, and Dr. Shea asserted that it's not just Christian churches that are participating in environmental stewardship programs, but also the Jewish, Islamic, and other faith communities.  Pastor Edens said that all religious traditions view creation as something to be protected and that humans are part of and not separate from it.

With the division and polarization we see at large in our society and, more specifically, in politics, the faith community clearly has a role to play in protecting the environment.  Pastor Edens said that members of his congregation will not only engage in environmental projects at his church, but will also write their Congressional representatives about issues.

This is wonderful to see and another aid in protecting our environment and wildlife!

Inappropriate Behavior and Toxic Chemicals?

I’ve been chewing on something that’s been on the news off and on over the past year or two — and that is the increased sexual activity and sexual exhibitionism of teens, especially in the United States. Of course, teens having intercourse may not be a new phenomenon (in spite of the fact that the percentage of them doing so has risen dramatically over the past few decades). What is new these days is “sexting” and public sexual activity.

Having sex in public would have been scandalous years ago. We now learn that not only is a large percentage of teens sexting each other (by sending nude photos of themselves to the opposite sex) but also that there is public and group sexual intercourse and penetration, as if it were a game. Needless to say, this type of overt sexual exhibitionism and promiscuity leaves many people — primarily adults — scratching their heads.

What is behind this sexed-up activity?

While I’m sure there are many contributing factors, such as absentee parents, loosening mores and values, and widespread sexual activity being increasingly portrayed overtly in media (TV, film, and print), I would wonder if there may not be an additional factor at work here — a fairly invisible factor.

This factor is that of the omnipresence and pervasiveness of toxic chemicals in our environment — in our food, air, water, clothing, furnishings, toiletries, cosmetics, etc. It’s no secret that many of these toxic chemicals are endocrine disruptors, and there are many scientific accounts of animals in the world having aberrant sexual traits. Frogs have been widely observed with sexual mutations for several years now, and these sexual mutations have been attributed to the estrogenic effects of pesticides.

So could the toxic chemicals everywhere in our world be affecting us in ways we could not have dreamed of? There have been some reports in the past few years of blood sample results showing numerous chemicals in people’s blood, the most recent showing newborn infants with over 200 chemicals (see http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=newborn-babies-chemicals-exposure-bpa and http://www.naturalnews.com/026584_chemicals_cancer_blood.html, for example).

Given the fact that some of these toxic chemicals are known to be endocrine disruptors, could chemical contamination be contributing to contemporary teens’ overtly sexed up behavior, as well as contributing, perhaps, to the increase of irrational and even deranged behavior on the part of those from all age groups?

Kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

The Hidden Toll of Lawns on "Naturally Vibrant Living"

I was really pleased to speak with Liz Primeau on "Naturally Vibrant Living," my radio show (currently on Web Talk Radio, but moving to Blog Talk Radio in March). (www.vibrantlivingradio will take you to my host page, where you can listen to the show.) Liz is a master gardener and Founding Editor of Canadian Gardening Magazine.

Liz has a wonderful book out, entitled Front Yard Gardens, and this is what we discussed.

Did you know the impact that lawns have on our environment? Well, just consider all the watering and pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals. We may not want to hear it, but lawns are generally not very good at all for the environment. They're also an example of what is called "monoculture," which has its own downside, but just listen to the show to learn about what that is.

Have you ever seen a house with a garden of some type in the front yard in place of a lawn? Well, you may have done a double-take the first time you saw one. I know I did. And, of course, a house with a garden in place of a lawn can really set the neighbors' tongues wagging. But, in spite of the unconventionality of this, you may be surprised to learn that this is a trend that has been slowly developing, at least in the United States and apparently in Canada.

Having a garden in your front yard instead of a lawn, as it turns out, benefits the environment. And, depending upon how you go about it and what you plant, you could also benefit your local ecosystem and fauna.

I love this idea and learned some useful things from Liz. Just consider this idea. If you'd like more information on it, just tune into this week's episode (by going to www.vibrantlivingradio.com) and consider getting a copy of Front Yard Gardens.

Avoiding Gluten for Diabetics Too?

It's no secret that the quality of our food supply these days isn't the greatest. There's a seeming epidemic of diabetes and increasing numbers of people with gluten intolerance. Years ago, I knew very few people with allergies or diabetes, not to mention gluten intolerance. However, these days I continually run into people with at least one of these conditions. I've had allergies myself for years, which didn't develop until I was in my twenties.

Our immune systems have certainly been stressed by the omnipresence of toxic chemicals in our environment -- in our air, water, soil, food, clothing, furniture, toiletries, cosmetics, etc. People who are informed are well aware of this problem, but are toxic chemicals the culprit in higher incidence of diabetes?

I used to read that what was implicated in Type 2 Diabetes was eating too much sugar, along with lack of exercise. Well, I was surprised to read an article also implicating wheat. As it turns out, eating wheat can raise your glycemic index more that eating sugar can. Did you know that? I just read an article, "The Wheat Belly, " at http://www.fitnessgoop.com/2011/12/the-wheat-belly-diabetes-and-accelerated-aging/

So wheat is now implicated in gluten intolerance and diabetes, as something to be avoided in one's diet.

The article cites Genetically Modified (GM) wheat as the culprit. However, I suspect that our modern version of wheat, through hybridizing, was already causing the digestibility issue -- and that GM wheat has managed to tip the scales for those sensitive to gluten -- and also for diabetics and those prone to it.

If you suffer from diabetes, it may be helpful for you now to avoid eating wheat. (Rye and barley also contain gluten.)

The good news is that there are other alternatives. For example, spelt is an ancient version of wheat that some people are now turning to. Spelt flour is fairly easy to find, especially on the internet.

Unfortunately, I've learned through the research I've done for my radio show, "Naturally Vibrant Living," that we have a lot of problems in our modern world that can pose a threat to our health. We have to take our health, including diet, into our own hands and sometimes go out of our way to find healthful food. It now looks like wheat falls into that category.