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Remember Who You Are

Updated: Jan 25

Are you feeling low, lost, and lacklustre? Remember who you are. Whatever your problem is, that is the answer. Recently, I was having a gloomy down day and my dear friend Nathalie reminded me "Remember who you are."


Charles Bukowski wrote "Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?" Cinda Williams Chima wrote "Just remember who you are... The world will try to change you into someone else. Don't let them. That's the best advice anyone can give you." Eleanor Roosevelt wrote "Remember, no-one can make you feel inferior without your consent."


Jack Kornfield, who trained as a Buddhist Monk, and is a great teacher of mindfulness meditation, wrote "The heart of most spiritual practices is simply this: Remember who you are. Remember what you love. Remember what is sacred. Remember what is true. Remember that you will die and that this day is a gift. Remember how you wish to live."


The paradox of 12 step recovery is that you have to believe in a Higher Power and by the end of the Big Book it tells you that your Higher Power is within you.


Who you are is the divine part of your subconscious psyche according to Carl Jung, who said “Remember that you can know your Self, and with that you know enough. But you cannot know others and everything else. Beware of knowing what lies beyond yourself, or else your presumed knowledge will suffocate the life of those who know themselves. A knower may know himself.” He added “Please remember, it is what you are that heals, not what you know.” He also famously said that "The world will ask who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you." Most people don’t know anything about you or who they truly are themselves: So they project what they most dislike in themselves onto you. This was described by Carl Jung as ‘projection’, which is a very real psychological phenomenon. This is the domain of internet trolls, tabloid hacks, and gossip-junkies. It impresses the importance of you finding out who you are, so that you can tell them, or even better, so that you are so Self-assured that you don’t even feel the need to tell them. What people think of you is none of their business and it’s none of your business either - simply ignore the background noise. It’s just static. The key is to take ownership of your identity and to ‘know thyself’. Take off your mask, and find your authentic voice.


Neale Donald Walsch, the author of the brilliant trilogy 'The Complete Conversations With God: An Uncommon Dialogue', which I have written an article about, and is also in my 'Suggested Reading List' that "Your job on Earth, therefore, is not to learn (because you already know), but to remember Who You Are."


Lyania Vanzant said to "Always remember who you are. Know that you are never required to apologise to anyone for being your Self."




Remember who you are


There are three parts to who you are, that must be integrated for you to become whole and authentic: Your inner child, your Higher Self, and your shadow." Carl Jung said that “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness's of other people. One does not become Enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”


Your conscious self is the domain of the ego. Your unconscious Self is where the divine in you resides - your true Self. Enlightenment consists of making you conscious of your subconscious Self. You must wake up that deepest part of you that has been sleeping. Jung said that said that “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” So why don't we all do this all the time? Jung wrote “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. They will practice Indian yoga and all its exercises, observe a strict regimen of diet, learn the literature of the whole world - all because they cannot get on with themselves and have not the slightest faith that anything useful could ever come out of their own souls.” Jung wrote that “We discover ourselves through others.” This is why human connection, therapy, Transformative Life Coaching, and Enlightened Witnesses are so crucial in healing, recovery, and personal transformation.


There is something sacred and divine that emanates and radiates effulgently from your true Self. Jung said that “I cannot prove to you that God exists, but my work has proved empirically that the pattern of God exists in every man and that this pattern in the individual has at its disposal the greatest transforming energies of which life is capable. Find this pattern in your own individual Self and life is transformed.”


Jung continued “A man likes to believe that he is the master of his soul. But as long as he is unable to control his moods and emotions, or to be conscious of the myriad secret ways in which unconscious factors insinuate themselves into his arrangements and decisions, he is certainly not his own master.”


Jung, a psychiatrist, founder of analytical psychology, and spiritual Master, wrote that “The whole point of Jesus's life was not that we should become exactly like him, but that we should become ourselves in the same way he became himself. Jesus was not the great exception but the great example.”


Jung wrote “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” This has been known for millennia - that you are free to choose your destiny. And more recently that by changing your beliefs and thinking you can completely alter your psychology. A tough childhood, a painful breakup, a setback at work - it’s easy to get stuck and define yourself by what happened. You can’t change the hand you are dealt, but can choose how to play the cards. And with a spiritual approach to life, you hold all the aces. Focus on what you can control - your thoughts, actions, and reactions. It’s a is a powerful shift in defining your true north. By challenging your negative thought patterns you can choose who to become. Or rather, you can remember who you were before your parents and society got to you with their conditioning.


In the Lion King there is a scene where Simba is reminded by the ghost of his father "You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside your Self, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.... Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are." The scene is as follows:


  • Rafiki: Look down there.

  • [Slowly Simba walks to the edge of the watering hole and peers inside. His reflection stares back at him]

  • Adult Simba: That's not my father. That's just my reflection.

  • Rafiki: No. Look harder.

  • [Rafiki touches the water which causes waves that change Simba's reflection into Mufasa]

  • Rafiki: You see? He lives in you.

  • Mufasa's Ghost: [From above] Simba.

  • Adult Simba: Father?

  • Mufasa's Ghost: [He appears in the sky as a group of stars] Simba, you have forgotten me.

  • Adult Simba: No. How could I?

  • Mufasa's Ghost: You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.

  • Adult Simba: How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be.

  • Mufasa's Ghost: [Now fully formed in the sky] Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are.

  • Adult Simba: [Mufasa's ghost begins to disappear] No! Please, don't leave me!

  • Mufasa's Ghost: Remember.

  • Adult Simba: Father!

  • Mufasa's Ghost: Remember!

  • Adult Simba: Don't leave me.

  • Mufasa's Ghost: Remember.


Mufasa's ghost in the sky scene from 'The Lion King'


Who you are is a choice that you make each morning as soon as you wake up. It is manifested during times of challenge and decision-making by simply asking your Self the question "What would love do now?" This is the same as asking "What would the divine part of do now?" Or "What would God do now?" God is just another word for love. Alan Cohen said that "Every choice before you represents the Universe inviting you to remember who you are and what you want." Christine Ebersole wrote "When barriers are put in front of you, it's God or the Universe asking you to remember who you are, and reminding you not to let your Self be defined by things outside of you."


Marianne Williamson wrote in the brilliant book 'A Return To Love', which is in my 'Suggested Reading List' that "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing Enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."


Similarly Elaine S. Dalton wrote that "The world would have you believe that you are not significant, out of touch, and out of style. But remember who you are-a child of God! You must have the courage to stand out and let your light shine like a beacon for all to see."


Lysa TerKeurst reminds us that "Remember who you are. Don't compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that Truth."


By reconnecting with the ‘Self’, an individual transcends the ego boundaries and creates an inner connection to the deepest and most timeless part of themselves. In short, by connecting with the ‘Self’ the individual can have a direct experience of God and the numinous. For Jung, this was the final stage of individuation, or the maturating of the personality.


Barbara Brennan wrote that "Illness is the result of imbalance. Imbalance is a result of forgetting who you are. Forgetting who you are creates thoughts and actions that lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and eventually to illness.... Illness can thus be understood as a lesson you have given yourself to help you remember who you are."


Julia Cameron, who wrote 'The Artist's Way', which is in my 'Suggested Reading List' wrote "Walk with me to the edge of the city,

Take off your shoes and feel the Earth.

Remember who you are: You are a star.

A mountain, that fountain in the sun.

Your heart is the velvet cave

Where birds sing."


Steve Almost wrote about the creative's challenge "But the real life of a writer resides in showing up at the keyboard every day, with the necessary patience and mercy, and making the best decisions you can on behalf of your people. It’s a slow process. It often feels hopeless, more like an affliction than an art form. Most of us will have to find our readers one by one, in other words, and against considerable resistance. If anything qualifies us as heroic, it’s that private perpetual struggle. Put down the magazine, soldier. Forget about the other guy. Remember who you are."


Kelsea Ballerini wrote "My favourite advice that I always go to is ever since I was in middle school is from my mother. Every day before I left the house, she would say "Remember who you are." Every day. So when I started getting into music, every day she sends me a text saying, "Remember who you are and remember why you're doing this." 


Be your true Self, for you. Mandy Stadtmiller wrote "The main problem is just that people think that other people care about them way more than they do. Anything that you do, that requires anyone to do an ounce of work that's about you, is a mistake. Because unless you are Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, or David Letterman, or just a really, really giant celebrity, or you're maybe at the centre of a media storm where everyone is trying to get in touch with you, people don't want to have to do any work to remember who you are, what you're selling, or what your website is." Jung said “Do not compare, do not measure. No other way is like yours. All other ways deceive and tempt you. You must fulfil the way that is in you.”


Remember that any 'difficulties' are sent by the part of you that loves you the most in order to redirect your life towards your true purpose, your true guiding North star. Jung wrote that you should “Be grateful for your difficulties and challenges, for they hold blessings. In fact... Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health, personal growth, individuation, and self-actualisation... God enters through the wound.”


Life is a game of two halves - first the ego, and then the Higher Self. Jung said that “The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.” I have found this to be so true. Let that ego go! It’s the only thing that is holding you back. And as Father Richard Rohr says, there is skill in ‘falling upward’. As life progresses, our focus changes. Our need for ego-driven pursuits may lessen. We may start questioning our priorities, seeking meaning beyond external validation. It’s about a shift in focus. You can become less concerned with external validation - promotions, possessions, status - and more focused on inner growth, connection, and contribution. You own your experience, wisdom, and accomplishments without needing external validation. By integrating your ego with your deeper Self, you create a more balanced and fulfilling life. True fulfilment is often in the second half of our lives, as we learn to let go and take ownership of who we truly are.


Lalah Deliah wrote "She remembered who she was and the game changed."


Wayne Muller wrote "The heart of most spiritual practices is simply this: Remember who you are. Remember what (and who) you love. Remember what is sacred. Remember what is true. Remember that you will die and that this day is a gift. Remember how you wish to live."


So, take a deep breath, and remember who you are...


Namaste.


Sending you love, light, and blessings brothers.


Olly



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Hello,

I am delighted and enchanted to meet you. I coach men with 'Deep Coaching', 'Supercoaching', and Transformative Life Coaching (TLC). Thank you for reading this far. I very much look forward to connecting with the highest version of you, to seeing your highest possibility, and to our conversations. Please do contact me via my email for a free connection call and a free experience of coaching on Zoom or in person. 


“Transformative life coaching uniquely creates and holds the space for you to see your self afresh, with clarity, and step into new ways of BEing, which will transform how you perceive and intuitively create your world. My work is to guide you to raise your own conscious awareness to the level that you want to achieve.”







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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have a number of other higher qualifications in science and surgery. I have published over 50 peer reviewed PubMed cited scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for over five years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.




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