Aims Part 5
January 7, 2026
Aims Part 5
What if the truest version of you isn’t the one you’ve been refining for decades, but the one you left behind in childhood? One of the most vital aims of the spiritually conscious life is the aim to realize essence.
To realize essence is to discover and live from the fundamental Qualities of Being. Just a few of them are: Peace, Will, Presence, Loving Kindness, Joy, Spaciousness, Brilliancy, Strength, Trust, Inner Guidance, Transparency, Awareness, Alertness, Personal Essence, Alignment with the Divine, Resilience, Heart-fulness, Patience, Goodness, Restraint, Embodiment, and more. These qualities are not abstract ideals; they are the profound realities that form the true core of who we are.
Yet finding our essence can be challenging. The layers of ego do an excellent job of covering the truth beneath them. Our essential qualities may be obscured, not because they are absent, but because personality tends to captivate us. Our personality’s likes and dislikes, quirks and reactions, strengths and vulnerabilities, and all the surface expressions of our temperament naturally draw our attention. This fascination is understandable. Our personality is the part of us that interface with the world, expresses itself to others, and navigates daily life. But it is not the whole of who we are. It isn’t even the most genuine part of our being. Our Essence is.
To go into the “deep of our being” and rediscover essence requires study, devotion, relationship with the Divine within, embodiment, and consistent practice. Many of us are so busy and surface-focused that we rarely slow down enough to enter these deeper waters. The surface of life beckons constantly, by entertaining us, distracting us, and often pulling us away from the very source of our most profound healing.
But once we know our essence, once we discover the soul at our center, everything shifts. We see our personality in context and honor it for its role, but we no longer confuse it with our truest identity. We fall in love with our true nature, our essence, and refuse to settle for anything less than its disarming authenticity. How do we descend into these depths and embody this profoundly real spiritual identity? One powerful way is to form a conscious relationship with our soul child.
The soul child is our essence. It is still alive within us in its innocence, vulnerability, and pure transparency to the Divine. If we want to know the qualities of our essence, we turn toward this inner child. It will speak. It will reveal its longings, hopes, dreams, and the ways it expresses God in the world. In its presence, we feel essence emanating from within it and flowing back into our adult awareness. Our soul child reminds us of who we are.
You can take a first step in reconnecting with your soul child today. (Be aware that revisiting childhood can trigger many memories including traumatic ones. Do not do this exercise if you think that it may disturb you.)
Take a deep breath, gently close your eyes, and exhale slowly. If this is possible for you without re-experiencing unwanted trauma, let some earliest memories emerge. Re-experience the sights, sounds, smells and feelings around you then. Picture your own space in which you grew up and the people who brought you into being. Now with your eyes still closed, look at yourself as a soul child. Notice what you are wearing, what you are doing, and then look into the eyes of your soul child. You might want to talk to your soul child, embrace them, or simply be present with them. Ask yourself, “What do I feel and observe as qualities emanating from my soul child?”
The effects of regular visits with our soul child are nothing short of transformative. When essence is unleashed, it empowers, refines, guides, strengthens, and dignifies our outward personality. How is this possible? Because once the personality reconnects with its essence, we are no longer fragmented beings trying to navigate life from the surface. We become reconnected, we are home, we are whole.
Spiritual practice: Journal your responses to everyday situations. Later, reflect: Did this come from my soul or from my ego? This simple practice keeps this aim alive, gently and consistently, on your inner radar.
Self-inquiry: How do I stay sensitive to the patterns and habits of my ego? In what ways does it try to protect me, and how can I invite my soul to lead more often?
Prayer:
Dear God, For this dear one, I pray for restoration and healing. Hold them and me in Your healing light, that we may be healthy in mind, body, and soul. Amen.
