The Ancient Greek aphorism “know thyself” is one of the Delphic maxims and was inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo. According to Greek philosophy, knowledge of your inner nature is supposed to be one of the most important things in existence. This view also occurs in Eastern Philosophy. For example, according to the Vedanta’s teachings, the world’s primary problem is that the “Real Self” is unknown. If you were to ask a person to tell you about himself or herself, then you would notice that the introduction would likely cover the following aspects:
- Their ancestry
- Educational background
- Jobs and ambitions
- Personal appearance
- Likes and dislikes and their views and opinions about other things
- Where they live
- Loved ones, friends circle, and other stuff.
People describe themselves with respect to name-form-function. The real problem, according to the philosophy, lies in the fact that we are not taught to look beyond the sensory world.
According to Vedanta, the real problem does not lie in bodies, minds, experiences, possessions, thoughts, and appearances. The real problem lies with what they conceal—the identity of the ‘real self.’ Not having an understanding of the real self makes people feel incomplete. Incompleteness has several outward manifestations, including a permanent underlying sense of lack, missing something in their lives (people, places, things, etc.), and emptiness. This is also sometimes called spiritual restlessness.
According to Vedanta philosophy, knowledge of the true self destroys feelings of incompleteness or emptiness. The good question remains: How can we remove feelings of emptiness?
The Soul Affirmation
As we seek health, success, and happiness in the physical world, we are often oblivious to how close true health, success, and happiness are because we don’t look inward. In many cases, a reversal of fortune or tragedy that is difficult to explain, such as disastrous material loss or the death of a close one, awakens our interest in looking inwards. Regardless of how we come to this awareness, we all have this intrinsic need to “return to the source,” within us, to have contact with our Soul to access that inner peace and health.
One of the ways to experience coming home is through the powerful Soul Affirmation (or So Ham in Sanskrit) which Master Choa Kok Sui provided. This powerful affirmation constantly reminds us of our true nature, that we are beings of pure light. As we begin to realize this “truth,” we stop associating our true self with our physical body, thoughts, and emotions, helping us get rid of our pain, suffering, and chaotic thoughts and emotions.
The Soul Affirmation has three parts.
The first is a constant reminder that we are not the body, the thoughts, and the emotions. In order to understand this better, let us do some experiments:
- Move your arms. What are you doing? I AM moving my arms. What is being moved? The arms. Are you the arms? No. Who is moving the arms? I AM. I AM is the ‘mover’, the arms are the objects being ‘moved’. The body is the temple or the vehicle of the incarnated soul.
- Think of a car. What are you doing? I AM thinking of a vehicle. Who is the thinker? I AM the thinker. What was created? The thought of a car. Are you the thought itself? No.
- Think of a happy event. Feel the happiness. What are you doing? I AM feeling or creating the emotion of joy. Who made the emotion? The I (AM) have created the emotion. What emotion was created? The emotion of happiness. Are you the emotion of happiness itself? No.
In fact, the soul uses the mind as a subtle instrument to create thoughts and emotions.
So, when the body dies, what is left? I AM. When thoughts and emotions disintegrate, what is left? I AM. You are the I AM. You are the soul.
The second part is a reminder that we are made in the image of God. God has three aspects – the will aspect, the love aspect, and the intelligence aspect which in the Hindu tradition is represented as Lord Shiva (The Destroyer and Restorer), Lord Vishnu (The Preserver), and Lord Brahma (The Creator) respectively. The second part of the affirmation is a constant reminder of the truth that these qualities also exist in us, given that our soul is a being of divine intelligence, divine love, and divine power and that we are always connected and one with our divine self (or the Higher Soul).
The third part of the affirmation is a reminder that we are all children of God. Given that the Higher Soul (and the Incarnated Soul) both come from God, every person and every being is also connected and one with God. Since all souls are connected and one with God, even we are connected and one with all.
Benefits of So Ham
Regular use of this affirmation provides multiple benefits.
- This affirmation reminds us of our Divine Nature and helps us to channel our Higher Self into our daily lives
- This affirmation is effective in quickly balancing the aura and chakras
- We start recognizing other people as Souls, and each soul is at their level of evolution, so it’s normal to make mistakes. As we understand this and experience ‘spiritual oneness’ with all, it becomes easier to forgive, let go, love others and oneself, and have more mercy and compassion
- The spiritual chord becomes bigger, and there is an increased connection between the Incarnated Soul and the Higher Soul. This results in more Soul Energy coming down to the practitioner. Soul Energy, simply stated, is the energy of the Higher Soul. More Soul Energy enables the Higher Soul to maintain greater control over the Incarnated Soul. A person with higher soul contact would not struggle much to overcome negative emotions such as anger, fear, or irritability. It becomes easier to let go of vices and strengthen one’s character.
[/et_pb_code][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.3" hover_enabled="0" global_colors_info="{}" sticky_enabled="0"]
The affirmation is also a constant reminder that we are connected and one with the Supreme God. God puts everything in divine order, be it the universe, a nation, or an individual. As we gradually become aware of this truth, our lives begin to change, but God always keeps us and every moment of our lives in divine order.
We highly recommend practicing the Soul Affirmation regularly, especially when you are going through a crisis in your life, such as depression, anxiety, bad health, relationship problems, financial difficulty, and others. This will help facilitate your “coming home” process to your Eternal Self and help provide solutions for life’s challenges.
Those experiencing crisis are encouraged to recite these affirmations three times a day for as long as necessary. Afterward, once a day may be enough.
The affirmation is also available as a beautiful poster to aid daily practice and can be purchased via the Local Foundation or from our Online Pranic Healing Shop.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="3.0.106" global_module="5259" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_comments disabled_on="off|off|off" _builder_version="4.16" meta_font="PT Sans||on|on|||||" meta_font_size="12px" body_font="PT Sans||||||||" body_text_align="left" form_field_font="PT Sans||||||||" background_color="#ffffff" custom_button="on" button_text_size="16px" button_text_color="#ffffff" button_bg_color="#2ea3f2" button_border_width="3" button_border_color="#2ea3f2" button_font="||||||||" text_orientation="left" header_font_size_tablet="51" header_line_height_tablet="2" border_width_all="1px" border_color_all="#aaaaaa" global_colors_info="{}" button_text_size__hover_enabled="off" button_one_text_size__hover_enabled="off" button_two_text_size__hover_enabled="off" button_text_color__hover_enabled="off" button_one_text_color__hover_enabled="off" button_two_text_color__hover_enabled="off" button_border_width__hover_enabled="off" button_one_border_width__hover_enabled="off" button_two_border_width__hover_enabled="off" button_border_color__hover_enabled="off" button_one_border_color__hover_enabled="off" button_two_border_color__hover_enabled="off" button_border_radius__hover_enabled="off" button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled="off" button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled="off" button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled="off" button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled="off" button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled="off" button_bg_color__hover_enabled="off" button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled="off" button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled="off"][/et_pb_comments][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="section" _builder_version="3.6" background_color_gradient_direction="171deg" background_image="https://pranickolkata.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/header-background-min.jpg" custom_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px" box_shadow_style="preset1" global_module="2743" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.16" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.16" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_cta title="New To Pranic Healing? Get Started Today!" button_url="https://pranickolkata.com/start-your-journey" button_text="Start Your Journey" _builder_version="4.16" use_background_color="off" custom_margin="10px||10px|" custom_padding="10px||10px|" global_colors_info="{}" button_text_size__hover_enabled="off" button_one_text_size__hover_enabled="off" button_two_text_size__hover_enabled="off" button_text_color__hover_enabled="off" button_one_text_color__hover_enabled="off" button_two_text_color__hover_enabled="off" button_border_width__hover_enabled="off" button_one_border_width__hover_enabled="off" button_two_border_width__hover_enabled="off" button_border_color__hover_enabled="off" button_one_border_color__hover_enabled="off" button_two_border_color__hover_enabled="off" button_border_radius__hover_enabled="off" button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled="off" button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled="off" button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled="off" button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled="off" button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled="off" button_bg_color__hover_enabled="off" button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled="off" button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled="off"][/et_pb_cta][et_pb_divider show_divider="off" _builder_version="4.16" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_divider][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]