When people think of the higher self, they often think of something separate from the physical body, or possibly some old Indian esoteric theory or myth.
Some people don't even think about it at all. Some even confuse the higher self with the human conscious or soul. The truth is, the higher self is an elevated form of consciousness that exists whether you are aware of it or not. Being able to communicate openly with your higher self is what the true meaning of "woke" is.
According to Roxane Burnett, "Your Higher Self is, in simple terms, the highest aspect of you that can be attained and held in the physical body. It is the part of you that knows, sees, and understands at the highest level possible, while the physical part of you still continues to move around in the third dimension. Anchoring the wisdom of the Higher Self into your physicality is very much a part of our human spiritual evolution and purpose."
The process of "anchoring the wisdom of your omniscient higher self into your physicality," is called "Integration." Before completely understanding this process, one must go through the journey of spiritual Ascension. Opening, healing, tuning, and balancing your chakras will most definitely aid in this transformation.
Related: How Opening Your 7 Chakras Can Transform Your Mind, Body & Spirit
This read will list 5 universal and collective higher self truths that will help you navigate through life struggles with more clarity and ease.
1. You Are The Co-Creator Of Your Reality
When I was growing up, my mother used to always say, that "it is not up to man to direct his step." It always annoyed me because I wrote it off as some religious rhetoric that preached against having an "independent spirit" or the desire to live out your own life how you saw fit. Now that I am older, and have learned how to tap into my higher self, I finally realize the true meaning of that scripture.
It means that at a higher conscious level, we are truly creating our experience from our higher selves. This is where the ideas of "creating your own reality," "manifestation," and the "law of attraction" is powered. We have been born into a consciousness that tells us the world outside ourselves is what creates the circumstances of our lives.
In reality, everything about our existence is created from within.
Think of your higher self as a puppet master in a higher dimension, controlling your thoughts and your actions. That puppet is you. While you can't control the actions of others or the external unforeseen circumstances that affect you all the time, you can most definitely receive guidance from your puppet master, or your higher self as to what the next steps are to take in this journey called life.
When you fully become aware of your "creator consciousness," you can actively begin to change your reality. Tapping into this consciousness is tapping into the wholeness of yourself and the infinite connectedness to everyone and thing that exists in and out of your realm of awareness.
In this awareness, you go from being a victim to victor, feeling power-less to power-ful.
You truly become a free spirit.
2. Everyone You Meet Is A Reflection Of Yourself
Everyone who comes into your life does not come by chance. Think of people in your families or your circles as part of your individual human manifestation and you are part of theirs. This idea is also related to the "Six Degrees of Separation" theory. Each relationship, no matter how long, deep, or brief, is a mirror into your own soul.
On a higher level, if your spirit is wounded in any way, you will attract someone to you whose own energetic wounds will reflect yours.
For instance, I once had an old roommate who assumed that I abandoned her in the city after she had taken quite a while during a walk-in interview. I waited for some time out in the sun before I decided to go grab a slice of pizza for her and I. When I returned, she was nowhere to be found and her phone was off, so I went home. Once I got home, she went off on me for leaving her in the city. My rebuttal was that I did not leave her and that I actually was looking out for her, as I tossed her pizza on the kitchen table. She triggered me into a full-fledged panic attack.
Her fear of abandonment mirrored my frustration with feeling underappreciated and unreciprocated by my friends and family. From a higher level of awareness, I was able to understand why I was triggered in her reaction to how I triggered her.
This understanding can help you better deal with conflicts with people in your life. Using your higher self to understand arguments allows you to acknowledge your own trauma that you find in the reflection of others. It is in this moment that you can heal your own pain and empathize with the trauma of the person who pulled the trigger.
3. Everything Happens For A Reason
People have been using this saying wrong since the times of Aristotle. There is a difference between things happening as a result of cause or effect, versus as a result of something that is divinely purposed.
When an electrical fire starts in a building, killing an innocent family, the reason for this may be that there was a faulty wire within the walls that went under the radar because the landlord did not keep up with his building inspections. The term becomes true of divinely orchestrated purpose when you are walking in your truth, guided by your higher self. Every soul has a purpose.
When your soul has a purpose, you spend your lifetime, through trial and error, learning what your purpose is.
During this time, certain karmic situations and relationships happen in order for you to learn lessons that bring you closer to fulfilling your purpose. The way in which these lessons unfold, is "what happens for a reason." Since you are the co-creator of your reality, certain things happen in your experience that are most definitely orchestrated by your higher self.
This is what the saying, "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" means. If you are indeed directing your step, wouldn't you know from a higher level of awareness what you can or cannot deal with? Don't you get back up with every lesson that makes you fall, with a new awareness, understanding, motivation, or redirection?
That does not happen for no reason.
As for all the folks that lose their physical bodies along their current lifetimes, due to things beyond their control, I believe it is up to that soul to incarnate into another lifetime and continue living its soul purpose.
4. Intuition Is Direction From Your Higher Self
Your intuition acts as divine direction from your higher self. Whenever you have a gut feeling or intuitive hunch about something, you are receiving a message from a higher form of consciousness. When you get a tingle that rises up your spine, or if the hair on your arms or neck stand up, this is a physical response to intuition, and something you should pay attention to. Intuition is also known as "The Sixth Sense." It extends past our 3D physical senses of, sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.
Intuition is pure cognitive information that is not interfered by conscious reasoning. This intuitive guidance comes in the form of dreams, signs, synchronicities, clairvoyance, claircognizance, clairsentience, and clairaudience. Intuition also brings forth creativity, innovation, change, and free thinking.
Intuition connects you to the highest form of truth, which cannot come from outside of you, rather within.
The heart and the mind can both succumb to ego, which can be swayed by illusion, and 3D low vibrational energies. When you connect to your higher self, you connect to your ultimate truth, which collectively unites all humanity. This means that intuition is energetic. It is mind-blowing to understand that we have the ability to tap into something that comes directly from higher realms, connected to a field of energy or collective consciousness web, measured in vibrations and frequency.
5. Your Higher Self Doesn't Recognize Time
Your higher self exists in a space that transcends linear time tables. It doesn't have to worry about running late, or clocking in, and it doesn't place timers on when it wants to start a family, or open a new business. It exists perfectly in a higher frequency that is untouched by a three-dimensional understanding of time, or anything for that matter. I am learning that the old way of viewing time is not only toxic, but it causes panic, anxiety, unrealistic expectations, and self-doubt.
As we all begin to ascend, our attachments with time, or the expectation of when things should happen, will begin to dissolve in a very painful way, however, it will not remain painful, if you learn to replace your expectation of time with your realization of surrender. I have driven myself crazy waiting for my soulmate to show up, or waiting for a response for a new job, or waiting for other people to be ready to meet me where I am, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I have finally realized that I am causing my own demise by depending on my own 3D expectation of time.
There is divine timing and order to everything.
You must trust that you are infinitely guided by your own higher self. I will no longer ask my spirit guides how long something is going to take. I will only ask them to steer me in the right direction. The next time you feel yourself stressing over time. Just STOP. Put a middle finger up to it, breath, and just be present.
When you are so wrapped up in time, you are missing the opportunity to absorb divine information from your higher self. Be quiet and listen. If time waits for nobody, why do we wait for time?
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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I remember calling my grandmother, who has since transitioned, and hearing the passion in her voice when she explained how she’d never thought she’d see something like this happen and how much it meant to her. As I reflect, I realize it’s a combination of memories like this that undoubtedly encouraged my will to vote.
However, as an adult, my reasoning behind the practice has developed. It’s no longer just about “the right thing to do.” I feel a responsibility to myself and my future to know the issues, how they impact me, and make a difference for others.
In the times we’re in, there's so much “news” everywhere. It’s hard to distinguish fact from opinion and bias from beliefs. This is why it was such a pleasure speaking with Jara Butler, Chief Impact Officer of Supermajority. Supermajority is an organization focused on making women the most powerful voting bloc in the country. During this authentic and informal conversation, we talked about so much.
I learned about her time working with the Obama campaign and how she masterfully worked in multiple industries, and we shared some of our favorite female rap moments. However, in the snapshot you’ll read, we focused on the issues. Jara walked xoNecole through what’s most affecting women of color in this election and what we can do to be more aware. Whether you’re a politics girlie or like me, just trying to gain more insight, hopefully this convo connects with you.
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xoNecole: Let’s just jump right in. What are some of the most popular issues that you hear Black women discussing related to this election?
Jara Butler: Our sister organization, the Supermajority Education Fund, recently did some research specifically looking at young women in the age group 18 to 35, and young Black women identified their economic well-being as a priority. Right now, we're in a place where a lot of us, especially young Black women, are finding that meeting those basic needs are harder and harder.
Secondly, is Project 2025. I think Black women see it as not just something that could happen, but actively happening. For example, we’ve all been watching the case with the Fearless fund, and how it's been targeted. We know Black women are very entrepreneurial. We can go back to Madam C.J. Walker and others who have opened the door for all of us to achieve. But if those barriers are in place, we're just not going to be able to meet that.
Lastly, Repro is a very big issue. But I think looking at it holistically and not just about abortion is important. Black women are more likely to talk about this from a perspective of our reproductive health care and the lack of access due to medical racism. As a Black woman myself, who's over 40, a lot of the changes that I am making in my life are because I have to do everything I can to put myself in a position, because I know no matter what my economic status is, if I walk into a medical office, there's a good chance I'm gonna face medical discrimination. Breast cancer screenings, colon cancer screening, ovarian cancer screening, cervical cancer screenings - all of those are part of that network of reproductive health.
xoN: Another issue I’d love your insight into is our missing girls. I think it's so unbelievable how much this is swept under the rug. There are so many stories about Black women that are continuing to go missing; I don’t understand how that’s not a bigger conversation. Is this something that can be pursued on the government level and what can we do to bring more attention to this issue?
Jara: We have this list of majority rules on our website, and my favorite one is: that our government represents us. I think that we have to continue to apply pressure to our government to meet our needs. And again, women are the majority of voters. Black women, especially, are the most reliable voting bloc across all groups, and our interests right now are not being met. So yes, there is something that we can do, but I also am a big proponent of us having these conversations.
My great-grandmother was enslaved, my grandmother was born into Jim Crow, and I watched my mother face economic insecurity. I say that because, as a Black community, we have to have an internal conversation to talk about these issues, and we have to do it upfront. I think we have to get into a position of realizing that we do have power, and how we activate that power.
Our power comes from being Black folks because Black people organizing has been enough to shake up and scare people. There were laws that prevented us from congregating together, even at church, because they knew what would happen when we got together. We have to get back into that. It's not that we are not doing it, but the urgency needs to be greater. And finally, we have to get away from depending on one individual to take us there. It's gonna take all of us.
"Our power comes from being Black folks because Black people organizing has been enough to shake up and scare people. There were laws that prevented us from congregating together, even at church, because they knew what would happen when we got together. We have to get back into that. It's not that we are not doing it, but the urgency needs to be greater."
xoN: I agree completely. Now, when we started, you mentioned money. So let’s talk about it. So many of us are starting businesses and getting degrees, and I love to see it. But everyone seems to still be having a lot of the same issues around finances. What are some of the underlying reasons behind this debt that we're dealing with, and how can voting influence these challenges without getting into the individual candidates?
Jara: Hello! Let’s talk about the money! Black women have been told that if we want to move ahead, we have to have that master's degree. We have to be twice as good. So we met that measure, right? But in order to do that, we have to pay for it. Up until about the 1970s college was absolutely affordable. You could work one job and pay for college with some money left over. That has changed.
Realistically, student loans are a barrier. They are a barrier to access housing. They impact our credit, and really and truthfully, depending on how much your loans are, they could affect you paying rent. It basically creates a cycle of debt. And I have real problems with people who say, get a degree in something that's going to make money. It’s about your skills, and if you have the skills, you should be able to earn a living. That covers that.
But the fact is that student loan debt continues to increase, and there have been attempts, more than once, to try to relieve some of that pressure. The reality is that this is a squeeze. It is a conundrum, and we see efforts by the current White House administration to try to alleviate those things, even when they are stopped.
But truly, Congress needs to step in and support this, but I would take it a step further. We should be considering and looking at what it would look like if we had free community colleges. Because what we have now is two generations of borrowers, because older millennials’ children are beginning to age. Black women have the highest degree of second-degree secondary education, but we carry like 1.7 trillion in debt or something like that. I can't remember the exact number, but basically, the majority of the student loan debt is ours.
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xoN: Speaking of college, obviously there’s a lot of discussion around affirmative action in the schools and the undergoing changes. How important is it to consider this topic, and are there any new laws or policies being proposed around this that we should be aware of?
Jara: Oh my goodness, affirmative action is one of the things that we saw that our sister site, the Supermajority Education Fund, found last year as a number two issue for young women. I actually hypothesized that it was a real thing, and it was. And the reason for that is that affirmative action as a whole has been something that benefited white women more than any other group.
However, what is happening is that we’re using the word DEI in a way that is derogatory. I’ve heard people refer to it as: “didn't even earn it.” And as a Black woman who attended an amazing school, I remember being in class and having someone make that comment, knowing my grades were higher than theirs.
The fact of the matter is that we would not need these policies if we lived in an equal and equitable society. It doesn't do us any harm for us to face the facts that this country was built off the backs of enslaved people and the blood of indigenous people, and off the sweat and the tears of immigrants. But because we are unwilling to face that, we now are demonizing programs that are actually meant to create some symbol of balance.
xoN: Finally, I’ll close with this, what can we do to provide information to young people, and how do we combat all of the less than researched info?
Jara: One thing I encourage is to look at the source. At Supermajority, our social channels are information-based. We strive to provide up-to-date accurate information that is digestible to all. Media literacy is something I believe in, and unfortunately, it is something that we have a responsibility to continue to share with the community at large. So much of our world is centered on immediate info, a lie spreads faster than the truth.
We just saw that with the Olympic women's boxers, and we have to ask ourselves often: is this information accurate? Who is telling the story? Most importantly, how am I an original contributor? Not everything said needs to be shared, and not every thought needs to be public.
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