—video transcript—

What are your “I am” statements. What are those agreements between yourself and God? What do you say about who you are? I wanted to illuminate this point because we often say “I am” and then fill in a blank after that that is really a strong agreement that may not be accurate. A lot of us say I am and then put in an emotion, but we are not our emotions. We feel emotions, but we are not those things. Sometimes we say I am and then state something so negative about ourselves and in doing so we claim it and, sadly, we put an agreement out into the world that doesn’t fit the true I am nature of who we are. I want you to look at your I am statements, and I want to raise awareness so throughout the course of your days, you become attuned to what you’re saying about yourself.

It’s a big deal. I am happy. I am sad. I am frustrated. Again, we feel emotions. We are not our emotions. There’s great liberation in that. If you’re in a moment of inner conflict or struggle with a certain task and you are prone to utter, “I’m such a ditz; I’m so dense; I am (fill in the blank).” And it’s a negative blanket statement about who you are. And you’re presumably presenting that just as a statement of discontent and frustration in yourself, but your brain hears what you’re saying about yourself. There’s science behind this. Those negative proclamations, in those I am statements that you feel like you’re offering up, just kind of in passing in reactive mode, can actually have an impact on the wiring of your brain. There’s some neuroscience behind this, you guys, so it’s very important to pay attention.

I invite you to create a list of I am statements – the things that you know are true about you, that lift you up. There are so many courses out in the world that talk about the importance and the power of I am statements. I know I am a contributing voice among a mix, but I came to these realizations personally, and without a ton of influence from outside sources. This was a kind of a revelation that I had. And then once I started looking into it, I realized this is spoken of greatly and widely in so many places. So I felt it was worthwhile to revisit here in my own context and in my own words.

The I am statements that you live with, that are your agreements between you and the world, are so powerful, valuable, and important. I invite you sit down very soon, right after you read or watch this, and create some I am statements that you carry with you.

I am loved. I am a child of God. I am worthy. I am ingenious. I am inventive. I am imaginative. Whatever those words are for you, those positive statements. I want you to create those and claim those and offer them as agreements every day. Truly, reference your I am statements regularly and grow in your awareness, and then start paying attention to the times you flippantly say “I am” and then degrade yourself with the adjective that follows. Please, please stop doing that. You’re actually telling yourself that that is something that’s accurate. And I assure you it’s not.

I also invite you to become aware of the times that you say you are a feeling. You are not your feelings. You can be the curious and compassionate observer of your feelings and separate yourself from those so that you are cognizant, you’re intelligent, and you are informed in how you’re gonna carry out your day and how you respond to circumstances.

The I am statements matter because you matter. So create that list and decide who you are. If you wanna change and grow that list, you have the ability to do that. Those I am statements are yours to claim, to name, and to grow and change.

A final thought…

There’s immense beauty when you can come to a place where “I am” is the entire statement. I am. I just am. Nothing has to follow it.