We look into a mirror and see our physical presence with the familiar characteristics we have known since birth, including our personality, ego, emotions, and behaviors. We intuitively know there is much more to our being than can be seen or touched. Many of us feel we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. The ideas and beliefs we adopt can limit what is perceived and experienced, yet our spirit knows no boundaries. We recognize our spiritual nature as our fundamental self. With this awareness, we attempt to reach beyond ourselves for signs of the interwoven nature of spiritual and physical realms.   

 We yearn to experience all we are in the clarity of wholeness. When we are whole, we feel connected. Yet many of us know what pain is. In the stages of life, we may struggle to rise above the bonds the physical world imposes. Most of us have faced overwhelming challenges. We may struggle to get through the days. We may struggle to fulfill our needs, wants, and desires. We may struggle to feel safe. From a young age, we learn to conform to the demands of the world we perceive necessary for survival. We are all subject to the forces that can take us away from ourselves. Returning to our center is not easy. Deep down, we desire spiritual freedom to overcome the obstacles. How we free ourselves is defined by what is accepted or rejected individually. In the greatest sense, we are already there, able to acquire intuition and creativity, helping us adapt to life’s challenges by unifying with our wholeness. We are the connective tissue to worlds beyond us, where knowledge of ourselves and much more awaits.

Many of us experience glimpses of the larger reality that beckons us to know what more there is to existence. Some of us have dreams or intuitions or hear a voice in the back of our minds. We are shown signs of a larger reality beyond the conformity of our physical lives. We know or feel our potential to explore who we are and where we come from. We begin by making inquiries. We learn that answers are hard to come by. Our questions keep us curious and young, for they inspire insight and intuition through the vast creative intelligence within us. Self-awareness helps us gather a view of the road ahead.

I once fell asleep and dreamed of standing in a room with stately pillars and light that seemed to come from everywhere. I faced a judge in a white robe. I had gotten myself into serious trouble in my life. In the dream, the judge told me I could only judge myself. I felt a presence in the room. I turned and saw an orb of bright light suspended near the ceiling. I felt a profound connection to the light as if we were linked. I felt I was a part of a larger whole. For weeks, I had been wrought with anguish and despair for the problems I created. I was trying to prepare myself for any outcome, including death. I was sure I might die. As I beheld the wondrous presence in the room, all the fears and dread dissolved, replaced with a feeling of warmth, love, and self-compassion. I had encountered my higher self. I soon woke up, ready to face my life. 

The dream marked a turning point. I began on the path of learning about who I was and where I came from. My investigation led me to discover my essence. Until this point in my life, I had little awareness of my essence, even though it played the most significant role. In the drama of my life, I had overlooked the fundamental core of my being. It’s easy to do in the world in which we live.  

I learned that every human being has an essence. It’s more accurate to say that every human being is an essence. Our essence is what we seek during periods of change: to help us with fortitude when we are hurting and give us the strength to rise above the obstacles. We may also tune into our essence, discovered in simple moments. Standing in a sunset, walking in nature, feeling joy with a friend, or taking a nap to unhook from the external world. Some learn meditation to get to know their essence. We tune in to shift our awareness beyond ourselves, giving us the advantage of acquiring glimpses into the nonphysical or resources such as insight and intuition to help us rise above the noise. To be connected! I am so much more than my physical self. And so are you.

My lifetime of investigation has led me to explore the worlds people come from before life, what I call nonphysical environments, where I discovered my wholeness. Wholeness means connection to my higher self and energetic family.

That’s right; we have a physical family and a nonphysical family, an association of interrelated relationships in nonphysical environments, which I consider the vast organization and intelligence of my energetic system, of which I am a part. Brighter Realms explores the path less taken to awareness of our essence and a higher self each of us has in common. Through these unique connections, we have the potential to experience expanded awareness, insight, intuition, and creativity, offering purpose and guidance for the challenges of the physical world.

But, not having a conscious awareness of our essence and nonphysical family does not preclude us from accessing the resources of insight, intuition, and creativity. I have observed many people are unconsciously tuned into their essence and higher self, and already experience the interwoven nature of physical and nonphysical worlds expressed through their love of life, compassion, caring, and so much more.

The discovery of myself as an energetic being was among my first steps to learning about existing relationships in the nonphysical. Along this path, I learned that the dream where I encountered my higher self is one of the ways the nonphysical works, showing me what needed to be seen when I was ready to see. 

Awareness of our nonphysical identity is the first step to discovering our wholeness. As an extension of our higher self, we have the potential to access the organization and intelligence of our system. Awakening our awareness offers us the potential to unify with our higher self and, in turn, help us unify with the world in which we live. Our core higher self represents the unifying characteristic of our being. This is likely the most common feature of our humanity, and every human being has this in common.

Awareness of our core self can put us into the stream of intuition, creativity, and self-knowledge, from which the wonders and magic of life happen. Brighter Realms is my first step into the public forum, as I share my insights into unity and wholeness as a reminder of our existing connections to our higher selves, expanding our awareness and fostering independence and freedom of spirit—the ultimate foundation of wealth—the only real wealth in the universe.

 From the Larger Field and me,

Stephen Daniel