Wednesday 4 October 2017

WHO ARE YOU


WHO ARE YOU


A Paper Presented By High Chief Osaro Ollorwi on the Occasion of Egbalor Cultural Day Celebration on Sunday 1st October, 2017 at Egbalor Civic Center, Egbalor Ebubu Eleme

“In vain do we build the city if we do not first build the man”, Edwin Markham.


You Are Not A Name But Divine Personality


Mastering who we are has been one of the most difficult tasks facing mankind. In battling to find out who and what we are, many have been misled, destroyed and even killed. Knowing who you are begins with knowing the difference and similarity between your physical body and spiritual you; it means knowing the composition of your body, soul and spirit; the trinity you and properly applying this knowledge for the betterment of humanity. It enables you to distinguish between your NAME (the mere means of physical identification) and your Divine PERSONALITY (the totality of your INNER SELF, the spirit of man which is the lamp of God that searches all the inner depths of his heart).

In attempting to find out who you are, it is necessary you first and foremost KNOW YOUR SELF. You must master, explore and utilize your MIND POWERS in a manner that pleases God. God expects each and every one of us to use the powers of his mind to advance the frontier of creation, add to human comfort and pleasure. Think what the world would have been like in the absence of Light, Motor Vehicles, Aeroplanes, Ships, Information and Communication Technology and other notable discoveries that have dismantle space, subdue distance, overcome time and made the world a global village, advance the frontier of civilization and make life more lovely, enjoyable and pleasurable. It is the human mind that drives those great achievements and breakthroughs. The human mind still holds great opportunities and possibilities for mankind. Join the train! You can be next to be admitted into the Hall of Fame and celebrated!

Dominate Your World


Moses in his narration of creation said rightly that God directed man to fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over everything .Solomon was emphatic when he held that God takes glory in concealing things but it is to our own glory to search things out. A man’s mind plans his way and God directs his steps. Therefore the mastering of our mind is the first step towards knowing our SELF.

The Human Mind


The Mind is the greatest storehouse and workshop of all discoveries and development of man. Yet the human mind remains one of the greatest challenges facing man as he sojourn through life searching for who he is. This quest had led to the discovery of several religions, believes and what is popularly known now as “path”. From the cave of the early man in prehistoric age, through the Greek world, Egyptian civilisation, Babylon, Rome, the Moors, Athens, Ancient Ebubu Kingdom, the Judea-Christian tradition, and down to the present information and communication technology age the urge to Know Thyself had been on.

Know Your Self


As an individual, have you ever ask yourself who you are? Have you ever ponder who people say you are? How do the society, your friends, parents and siblings see you? Above all, who does God say you are? Have you ever taken the time and necessary efforts to synchronize all these views and perceptions to arrive at who really you are? Are you comfortable with your concept of you? Are you happy with your present state of life? Time may not permit us to answer all these questions, but we will endeavour to deliberate on one or two of them.

To know yourself means to discover your inner self, the God Within You, through reprogramming your consciousness for excellence and success in life. It refers to listening to your innermost vibrations that can help you discover your potentials. It is what David Oyedepo described as “Productive engagements that excite you and pointers to the kind of divine deposits that are on your inside”.   Every man and woman is naturally endowed by God. He did not create any one without a natural talent. Everyone has been provided for. Right from inception man has been given all he would need to succeed in life. No wonder the Scripture says, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat”. The Scripture equally enjoined “That you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you. That you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing”.  

In his book, “In Search Of Ancient Gods”, Erich Von Daniken said, “When a man has a brilliant idea today he has not discovered or invented it himself. He has dredged up basic information from the primordial memory to the surface of consciousness. The creative man of today must summon up knowledge from the punched holes of the remote past at the right moment. Past, present and future are united in an exhilarating way in the memory and mind of man”.

 

Learn from Others


The struggle to discover who you are is a tedious one. Many have been lured into crimes and life of deception and make-believe all in the name of finding meaning to life. Learn from the mistakes of others. When you learn from the mistakes of others and avoid it; you are wise.

Many have renewed their lives and become great achievers that the world not only celebrate but adored. A glance at the story of the Phoenix, the bird in Greek Mythology will suffice here.

According to the tale, it was a rare species, only one of its kind. After living for about half a millennium, the bird set itself ablaze and got burnt to ashes. And from the ashes it emerged again, younger and renewed. It flew away.

This story ought to stir something in the depth of your consciousness. There is an inexplicable affinity between you and the bird. Let us briefly analyse the story. The bird is like to you. The ashes are the pains, loss, defeat, sadness and failure you have or are going through. Many people undergo this phase of life once in a while.

One experiences the ash phase of life when he begins to experience some reverse of fortune. That is when the world seems cruel and lonely. It never rains but pours. At one time or the other, one faces a reverse of fortunes. Problems, challenges and other woes don’t leave in a hurry. They come like interminable down pours. Everything you clutch at to get out of the drowning pool turns out to be a straw. It is like falling down from a mountain peak; every boulder you clutch at gives way, leaving you crashing further down. Every foothold gives way, and you continue to crash down. And the sky is far away, seeming indifferent and mocking at your efforts.

When things get really bad, the first casualty is your ego and personality. Nothing hurts a man’s image and self-pride more than serious reverse of fortunes that leaves him feeling down and out. Everything seems to be squeezing and snuffing out your life. Are you currently passing through such situation? You feel the world is against you, snuffing life out of you? You feel like you are taking a lonely walk through the valley of the shadow of death?  Thank God, it is only a shadow, and not death itself. Robert Schuller observed that, “Every valley has its low point. Reach it and there’s only one way to go from that point, and that’s upwards”. You can always use that fall to gather momentum to bounce up again. Let your desire to be a great achiever be spiced with work. Avoid the desire of the lazy man that kills him because his hands refuse to labour.

In You Lies Latent Powers


In you lies a latent power capable of propelling you to achieve what you hitherto termed difficult or impossible.  The inner self provides the freshness in our journey through life in a manner that brings success and great achievements to the doorsteps of every person who discovers its potentials and utilises it. This power has been variously described. The Mystics call it “Cosmic Consciousness”, the Psychics and Metaphysicians refer to it as the “Great Within” or the “Inner Being”. Moses knows it as “Breath of Life”. Elijah denotes it as “A Still Small Voice”. Prophet Isaiah terms it “My Spirit”. In one place Jesus Christ described this POWER as “Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven”, in another he refers to it as the “Gift of God” and yet in another as the “Wisdom of God”. Apostle James defines it as “Spirit Who Dwells in Us”. Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians describes it as “Christ in You”. Harold Sherman names it “God Consciousness”, and says, “You can, through intelligently directed meditation awaken higher sensory powers within you which will make it increasingly possible for the God Power within to offer guidance and protection to you through the faculty of your intuition”.

David Oyedepo recognises it as “The Supernatural” and stressed in the introduction to his book, “Releasing The Supernatural” that his aim is “to provoke you to a rediscovery of your roots in God and how you can unlock the vast potential of the supernatural for your welfare in life. From the days of the patriarchs until now, those who have ‘reigned in life’ have been those who were adept at harnessing the forces of the supernatural”. We live in a world of choices and not chances. Your lot in life is determined by your choice. God reaffirmed that you and I are in His class of Being. ‘I said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High”’. You are spirit and you belong to the class of God. One of the greatest discoveries you can make about yourself is to know that you are a SPIRIT after the order of God.

Problem Confronting Youths Today


The greatest problems confronting our youths today is not unemployment, poverty or illiteracy, as many of us would want to postulate, but mind-set that turns our youths into mediocre and failures, or into monsters and makes their dream success like Hitler’s, become nightmare to others.  “Down the ages”, says Etin-osa S. Omuemu, “this has become the root cause of man’s chaos, oppression and wars”. In her book, “Battlefield of the Mind”, Joyce Meyer cautioned that “People living in the vanity of their own mind not only destroy themselves, but far too often, they bring destruction to others around them”. She urged us to gain control over our mind and you will find freedom and peace.

You Are What You Think and Do


No identical twins have identical “self”. It is the “Self” that makes us individual and unique and relates us to God. The Inner Self or Spirit is the SPARK of God that takes up the case which we call body to express the Self that either redefines the world, advance the frontier of creations and makes life comfortable for all; or brings about war to destroy, enslave, exploit or take that which is the possession of other men.

The expression “image and likeness of God” doesn’t refer to your physical body but that “breathe” of God or the “Christ” in you which has the capacity to lift you from nothingness to significance. That accounts for why a little child, a blind, lame, deaf or any physically or mentally challenged person can express and demonstrate God to the surprise of many.

This is the time for you to have a change of mind-set, to receive mind empowerment to live and overcome to become who God wants you to become, a great achiever with all the powers to explore and dominate the universe, subdue and overcome all obstacles and hindrances.   

Challenges Are the Flavours of Life


In every man and woman’s life there comes a time of ultimate challenge, a time when every resources you have is tested; a time when your faith, your values, patient, ability to persist and persevere are all pushed to the limit and beyond. Some people use such tests as opportunities to become better people; others allow these experiences of life to destroy them.

Instances abound in the Bible where challenges made people to revert to the Inner Self to bring out the best. Joseph who dreamt of the Moon and Stars and rose to become a Prime Minister in Egypt discovered the secret of his success inside the pit where his brother threw him. Moses was one of the most remarkable characters in the Bible. He had a mandate from God to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Trapped between the Egyptian Army and the Red Sea the secret was revealed to him.

Abraham had a great assignment to bring out a Covenant Child through whom the whole would be blessed. But the fact on ground was bad enough. The wife was too old and so was Abraham. Yet he has expected to be a father of many nations. When God asked him to count the stars, there was something Abraham saw in those stars. That was the secret. It still remains till this day as one of the principles of success if you apply it.

Love Transforms Fortunes


When hunger made Esau to sell his birth-right to his brother Jacob, he did not dwell on his mistakes for too long, but rather, he pardoned himself, reprogrammed his mind, changed his attitude, launched himself on the path of success and became a great achiever. There reunification was famous. Their successes were celebrated. Esau showed love to Jacob not hatred. He embraced and kissed him and they expressed joy of brotherhood. Jacob confession that he had seen the face of Esau as though he had “seen the face of God” also reveals the power of love in transforming fortunes.    Success is never in isolation of the will of God and the general welfare of every other man. Esau did not look at the shadows. He knew that there is no substance there.

You Are Solution to the World


There is a potential in you which represents a solution to the world. The proper exercise and channelling of this potential is what makes a man rise from obscurity to prominence. You are limited by your mind. Believe you can win all the time. Focus on victory in your mind ahead of time. Your level of consciousness, your character, attitude, and behavioural pattern determine what you attract to yourself. Consequently, let all your thinking, feelings, gestures, expressions and actions reflect positive attitude, and you will go on winning and succeeding.

Any battle can be won in the mind. Edward Hilary said, “It’s not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves”. You have a responsibility to break away from that self-limitation. Unchain the imagination and let it breath with vibrant colours of multiple opportunities, break loose from the fetters of limited experience and unproductivity. The earlier the better! There is danger in delay because the more you continue seeing things from the wrong attitudinal point, the more you get to firmly accepting it as the right way.

Don’t Underestimate the Potency of Your Mind


Do not underestimate the power of your mind.  Dr. Lao Russell declared that, “There is nothing else to know for the mind is the seed of creation from which all things unfold from invisibility”. Stair up your faith and pursue your set goal today; search your life, explore your mind, harness your supernatural resources to solve life problems. Trace out what you must do and go into it with boldness. Release the supernatural and live life to the fullest. “The supernatural is not reserve for us till we get to heaven. It is to be manifested here on earth”, David Oyedepo pointed out.  Walter and Lao Russell observe in their book, Atomic Suicide, that there is height you reach and you will comprehend your omnipotence and work knowingly with the divine Mind-power which is within you”. The wealth and power of the world lies inside you. Stop REMEMBERING and REPEATING and begin to THINK and KNOW.

Connect With the Universe


Avoid selfishness and self-centeredness. Give to the services of mankind and the world will reward you abundantly. Self-centeredness is an attitude of the mind, and like love, it is an emotion. Neither can be seen, but both are demonstrated by our actions. Self-indulgence can be overcome and replaced by love. The table below is a description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. It also contrasts love and selfishness.

Table 1: Characteristics of Selfishness and Love


SELFISHNESS                                LOVE
Impatient                                                         Patient
Unkind                                                            Kind
Proud                                                              Sincere
Suspicious                                                       Generous
Self-seeking                                                    Polite
Inconsiderate                                                  Trusting
Demanding                                                     Gracious
                                                                        Unselfish
 




   

 

 

 

 

Advices


1.        There is potential in you which represent a solution to the world.

2.        Picture what you want and you capture it. Desire and visualization are forces that drive the ether. You cannot go beyond what your mind (inner self) can see.

3.        Rise from your ashes and fly. Like our story of Esau reprogramme your mind, change your attitude, launch yourself on the path of success and became a great achiever.

4.        See problems as opportunity for growth and self-mastery. Know that you will find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer, goals to achieve, and a purpose to accomplish. Challenges leave us better and richer in experience. If you look at problems with the possibility attitude you will benefit from it.

5.        Value the powers of your mind. Do not underestimate the powers of your mind. Your mind or Inner Self is the God or Christ in you. You can be confident about the future if you walk with God in the present.

6.        Your dreams can be likening to a wheel barrow, if you don’t move it forward; it remains on the same spot. Take the first step and doors all over begins to open.  You can’t watch destiny come through to you, you have to work it out! Destiny does not fall down from the sky, rather it starts from that thing you are meditating over and appreciating always concerning your life and future. Solve a problem for the world and the world will reward you for it.

7.        Concentration and focus entail the coordination of all the energy of thought, action, and purpose to one point of vision. “To finish the race, stay on the track”, says John Mason.

8.        Change does not start from the outside unless it comes from the inside. If you can change your attitude, then you can change your life.

9.        What you SEE is what you GET and is also what you will BE. See yourself a failure and you will be one. See yourself a success and you are one. The power of your imagination is your most precious gift. It is what you choose to see that matters not the resources and life experiences.

10.   Success is being in position to help others. “If you eat all your food and drink all your waters alone, it will soon dry up. But if it flows out to others you will stay refreshed. Stagnant water stinks”, posited David Oyedepo. Solomon also admonishes that, “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty”.

11.   Clarify your desire and you will discover your destiny. What are the things you want? Desire is a positive power. Desire when released into the universe links you to your destiny.

12.   Love attracts good; love propels desire and desire fires imagination, the audio and visual channel that God uses to communicate His dream to your consciousness. Love revitalises and recreates the universe. Love what you do, do what you love. Passion kindles enthusiasm and ecstasy. Love recognises no barrier or obstacle on its way to success.

Conclusion


From the foregoing it is clear that we think in mental pictures, not words. Associated with every mental image of a life experience is the feeling you had at the time. Today, you are the sum total of your mental and emotional reactions to whatever has happened to you, up to the present moment. What you are is represented by the mental image you have of yourself and your attitude toward life and others. You are dominated, at any given moment, by what you think and how you feel. If you think good thoughts, you will eventually attract good things and vice versa.

You are a far greater and better person than you have ever thought yourself to be. Irrespective of your time in life, the kind of body or mind with which you came into this world or have developed, the experiences you have had to date, you possess unlimited possibilities for development. 

 

Finally, if you haven’t known your SELF, then you haven’t started living. The supernatural is not reserve for us till we get to heaven. It is to be manifested here on earth. Arise and shine!

 

High Chief Osaro Ollorwi