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by Diane Brandon

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

This is what I thought when I was born. I have never forgotten my awareness then or the perceptions I had—and I'm not the only one. There are people throughout the world who remember their thoughts at birth.

I call this the "Born Aware" phenomenon.

This phenomenon may seem strange; some people even consider it to be impossible. However, for those of us with these memories, it's not at all strange, and we didn't even consider that other people might think it was odd. After all, it's our norm.

I describe the Born Aware phenomenon in my book, Born Aware: Stories & Insights from Those Spiritually Aware Since Birth. Those of us spiritually aware since birth have always remembered what we thought at birth. We didn't need to recapture our awareness or memories after the fact through regression, hypnotherapy, or other methods.

Unusual, Yes, But Not Impossible
So, yes, it's unusual, but, as those of us with these memories know, it's far from impossible. It makes sense when we consider that our souls had awareness on the other side before we came into this lifetime. We carry into an incarnation on this planet the awareness we had then, which I call the Higher Soul Awareness. (There are exceptions to this, of course. Children who remember their last life are often still in the human persona from that last lifetime. This could be because many of them reincarnated so quickly that they didn't get into their Higher Soul Awareness on the other side. Ian Stevenson did extensive and groundbreaking research on children like this, and Erlendur Haraldsson and others have continued this research.)

Born Awares, however, came into the present life in their Higher Soul Awareness and thought and perceived accordingly, remembering these perceptions and thoughts. Some of us remember back to before birth (memories of being on the other side, of being in the womb, etc.). Our awareness at birth was quite clear and mature, not exactly what many people might expect a baby's awareness to be like.

This may prompt the question as to why everyone doesn't have these memories. And it's a great question. Some people may have awareness at birth, but amnesia then sets in. Pain can crowd out the Higher Soul Awareness and cause us to plummet into our human side. If your soul was already in your new body for the labor and delivery, you may have experienced pain during that process—and your spiritual awareness was likely obliterated and replaced by pain and a thrusting into your human side. Some Born Awares may not come into the new body (the baby's) until the birth itself and may have avoided any pain from the labor and delivery. I didn't come in until the birth had occurred, so my Higher Soul Awareness was intact. There are also instances of people being aware at birth, but not spiritually aware.

Different from Being Innately Spiritually Oriented
Because this phenomenon seems unusual and is relatively unknown, some people may mistake it for being somewhat aware or spiritually oriented, including those who have always felt spiritual in some way. However, it's a different phenomenon.

There are many people who have no birth memories and thus were not born aware, yet have always felt some sort of spiritual orientation or a hazy spiritual tug at themselves. They may not remember anything before the age of one or two, or even three. However, nonetheless they always felt a sense of "otherness" and that there was something more than this physical reality and that they didn't really belong here, even if they have no clear memory or idea of where they came from (on the other side). People like this are Innately Spiritually Oriented and they lift the level on this planet.

Their innate spiritual orientation may be a consistent pull, even though they may not have a conscious spiritual awareness until they are exposed to spiritual or religious material, which they then may absorb like a sponge. They may immediately feel a sort of kinship with such information and a strong sense of, "Yes, this is what I was feeling, but couldn't put into words." There are many, many Innately Spiritually Oriented people on this planet. They tend to be seekers and, at some point, find spiritual material that draws them like a magnet and which they subsequently seek out. They often want to be of service to others and help others and thus may work as teachers, healers, counselors, mediators, etc.

Those Innately Spiritually Oriented often have some of the attributes that Born Awares have in common, even if they don't have all of them. They are like gardeners on this planet, preparing the ground for light-filled energies and seeding more light and positive energy into it.

The Born Awares, on the other hand, have a conscious awareness from birth of spiritual matters and this remains intact for us. We were born with the mature, clear awareness of an adult, rather than an immature awareness. We not only know that this Earth is not our true home, but also feel like we're exiled, having to be here for some reason. The Born Awares among us long to be back home. I know that I didn't want to come here again. I have always longed to be back on the other side, which is my true home. This longing is so strong for us that some Born Awares as young children have contemplated suicide in order to go back home.

Advantages and Disadvantages
I hasten to add that being born aware is not all bad. Yes, we often don't like being here, and, yes, there are some definite, strong downsides (such as feeling different, feeling isolated, out of place, homesick, etc.). However, at the same time, our experience of being here is hugely enriched by our spiritual awareness. Our memories of the other side, no matter how vague or gauzy, feed us and inspire us. We tend to be naturally aware of spiritual agency in our lives, as well as spiritual purpose, along with other positive benefits. So being born aware is really a mixed bag. We're neither here nor there, with a foot in both worlds. In essence, we're like hybrids.

Given that this phenomenon is so different and unusual, why does it exist at all? Why are some people spiritually aware since birth?

Allowed to Be Born Aware
I strongly feel that those of us who have been spiritually aware since birth have been allowed to be this way—not just for our own experience, but also for what this phenomenon can show and teach others. This may be why we have been allowed to be this way (and we have indeed been allowed to be this way). What further illustrates this is that many of us born aware tend to feel that we're here on assignment.

Inherent Lessons
This phenomenon has inherent lessons for others. If you've ever doubted that there's another side or afterlife, or if you've ever felt down and worried about what might happen after you die, the Born Aware phenomenon can allow you to feel relief. I guarantee you that there's an afterlife. The other side is beautiful and so much nicer and more enjoyable than being here. There are many different things that we do on the other side, and it's all beneficial. There's beauty and love and purpose there. We don't feel down there. Instead, we feel inspired and loved and uplifted.

This is just one of lessons that the Born Aware phenomenon can teach us. One thing that most of us spiritually aware since birth tend to know is that there is purpose to everything that happens on this planet, the bad as well as the good. Most of us, born aware or not, tend to know that good things will often come out of difficult experiences. If you think of your own life and some of the difficult and painful experiences you have had, you will usually be able to see—in retrospect—some of the good that came out of those unpleasant experiences. You may have had new insights. You may have strengthened in some way. You may have gained more compassion. You may have had something new to then teach others. You learned—through experience—that good can come out of bad experiences. Being aware of universal purpose can help to take the pain out of some negative events. Those of us born aware innately know that everything has purpose. We tend to look for what the higher purpose is whenever we hear of difficult events on this planet, especially when there are mass negative events. We know implicitly that something good will come out of them in some way.

Whenever we hear of a terrible event, whether a huge earthquake or terrorism, those of us spiritually aware since birth automatically shift into our Higher Soul Awareness and look at the event from a higher spiritual perspective in order to chew on what its higher purpose is.

The Higher Soul Awareness
Which brings us back to the Higher Soul Awareness itself. It's vastly different from our human persona. It perceives from a higher perspective. It transcends our human side and is not weighed down or contaminated by the problematic aspects of our human side (our fears, our wants, our self-interests, our mindsets, our beliefs, our cultural conditioning, etc.), which can blind us from perceiving objectively. The Higher Soul Awareness takes us back to our soul's awareness on the other side (even if it's not completely intact) and allows us to view things from a higher and more expansive spiritual point of view.

The Higher Soul Awareness models objectivity, as well as a higher spiritual perspective. It's certainly one aspect of the Born Aware phenomenon that others can learn from, and it brings us many benefits. We can also learn how to groom the Higher Soul Awareness (which I share in Born Aware).

Everyone and Everything Is Connected
Another reason why some of us have been allowed to have these memories may be that we were born with the innate awareness that everyone and everything is connected. We remember this from the other side, so it's not just a cognitive awareness, but a memory. We tend less to see differences and tend, instead, to see kindred spirits. We view others and everything as connected to us. Our hearts are open to others—not just humans, but also animals and plants and nature. We love re-experiencing that beautiful oneness through an open heart connection to others while we're here. It reminds us of that soul-inspiring and delightful inter-connection we had on the other side. Having the awareness that everything and everyone are truly connected is an important insight, one that the world could benefit from. This awareness can serve as an excellent counter-balance to all the division and prejudice and condemnation we see in our world. We truly are all connected, in a loving, positive, mutually supportive way.

So why are some people Born Awares? It's not just for our own benefit. (And remember that there are downsides to being this way.) It's also the way we are supposed to be—at least in this lifetime—because there is purpose to it, not just for our own experience, but also for the lessons implicit in it for others.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2017. All rights reserved.