| Note – Because Paul has been so unwell, we are writing these articles from the hundreds of thousands of pages of transcripts of our Lighthouse research, in order to share with you—the reader—what Paul has learned and taught over the last twenty one years. In 2021-2022, the BBC unlawfully obtained highly sensitive and personal data through criminally stolen transcripts of personal and group counselling sessions and misrepresented them to the public in their docu-myth. An act of diabolical pride in and of itself! They will never live it down. They tried to decimate the public’s perception of Paul and all of us at Lighthouse Global, and have only succeeded in making us stronger, Glory to God! They know they wilfully deceived the British and global citizens. Repent! |
An exploration of the third problem from The Sum of All Problems: Why our awareness of self must begin with awareness of God
Part of a Series: The Primary Problems
This article is the third in a series exploring the foundational problems outlined in Paul S. Waugh’s forthcoming book, The Sum of All Problems: The Alchemy of Turning Problems Into Value. The book presents a comprehensive framework for understanding how human problems originate and how they can be transformed into opportunities for growth and value creation.
In the first two articles, we examined:
Problem 1: Separation — How humanity’s fundamental separation from God, reality, and one another creates the root condition from which all other problems flow. Read “Diabolical Pride and the Problem of Separateness” onpaulswaugh.com
Problem 2: Imperfection and Sin — How our fallen nature and tendency to “miss the mark” compound the problem of separation, leaving us disconnected not only from God but from our true potential. Read “The Disease of Sin” onpaulswaugh.com
Now, in this third article, we turn to a problem that is both a consequence of the first two and a critical barrier in its own right: Low Connection With The Self. This problem addresses why so many people struggle to know themselves, trust themselves, and live authentically—and why the solution begins not with introspection alone, but with God Awareness.
The Starting Point: God Awareness as the Foundation of All Consciousness
When we speak of “Low Connection With The Self,” we are addressing perhaps the most overlooked yet foundational problem in human development. Yet before we can even begin to understand what it means to be disconnected from ourselves, we must first establish where true self-awareness begins. And the answer, both theologically and experientially, is this: all genuine awareness begins with God Awareness.
This is not religious sentimentality. This is the very structure of reality itself.
“For in him we live and move and have our being.” — Acts 17:28
Before you were conscious of yourself, God was conscious of you. Before you could think, God thought of you. Before you drew your first breath, you existed in the mind of God. The starting point of all awareness, therefore, is not your awareness—it is God’s awareness of you, which then awakens your awareness of Him, which then enables your awareness of yourself.
The Consciousness Phenomenon: A Christian and Secular Understanding
The Christian Perspective
From a Christian standpoint, consciousness is not an accident of evolution or a fortunate byproduct of complex neural networks. Consciousness is the image of God (imago Dei) in us. When God created humanity, He breathed into us His own life, His own awareness, His own capacity for self-reflection and choice.
“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” — Genesis 2:7
This “breath of life” is more than biological function—it is the spark of divine consciousness, the capacity to know, to choose, to create, to love. Without this divine origin, consciousness makes no sense. Why should matter suddenly “wake up” and observe itself? Why should we possess an inner life at all?
The answer: because we are made in the image of a God who is eternally, infinitely conscious.
The Secular Perspective
Even from a purely secular standpoint, consciousness remains one of the greatest mysteries of human existence. Neuroscientists, philosophers, and psychologists have long grappled with what is called “the hard problem of consciousness while trying to avoid God”—how and why physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience.
Some scientists and researchers are now proposing that consciousness may not originate solely in the human brain but may exist as a fundamental feature of reality itself. This perspective, sometimes called “panpsychism” or explored through quantum consciousness theories, suggests that the brain might act more as a receiver or filter of consciousness rather than its generator—much like a radio receives signals that exist independently of the device itself.
What is undeniable, regardless of one’s metaphysical commitments, is that human beings possess a unique capacity for self-awareness. We do not merely exist; we know that we exist. We do not merely think; we think about our thinking. We possess what philosophers call “meta-consciousness”—the ability to observe ourselves from a distance, to reflect, to evaluate, to change.
Yet here is where the secular perspective reveals its limitations: if consciousness is merely the product of material processes, why do we experience such profound disconnection from ourselves? Why do millions struggle with identity, purpose, meaning? Why does the existential crisis exist at all?
The Christian answer is clear: we are disconnected from ourselves because we are disconnected from our Source.
The Four Human Endowments: Gifts Rooted in Divine Consciousness
The third problem—Low Connection With The Self—is specifically tied to what we call the Four Human Endowments. These are the unique capacities that distinguish human beings from all other creatures:
1. Self-Awareness
The ability to observe yourself, to step outside your own experience and evaluate it. This is the foundation of all growth, change, and transformation.
2. Conscience
The inner moral compass, the sense of right and wrong, the “still small voice” that bears witness to the law of God written on our hearts (Romans 2:15).
3. Independent Will
The power to choose, to act, to respond to circumstances not merely by instinct or conditioning but by deliberate decision.
4. Creative Imagination
The capacity to conceive of things that do not yet exist, to envision possibilities, to create mental models of reality and test them against experience.
These four endowments are not random evolutionary quirks. They are the direct reflection of God’s nature in us:
- Self-Awareness reflects God’s eternal knowledge of Himself
- Conscience reflects God’s holiness and moral perfection
- Independent Will reflects God’s sovereignty and freedom
- Creative Imagination reflects God’s creative power
When we are disconnected from God, we inevitably become disconnected from these endowments. We lose touch with who we truly are because we have lost touch with whose we are.
The Cascade of Disconnection
Here is the tragic sequence:
1. Separation from God (Problem 1) leads to
2. Sin and Imperfection (Problem 2), which leads to
3. Low Connection With The Self (Problem 3)
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, the first thing they did was hide—not only from God but from themselves. They covered themselves. They made excuses. They deflected responsibility. This is the pattern of all human sin: it separates us from God and, in so doing, separates us from our own true nature.
“I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” — Genesis 3:10
Fear. Shame. Hiding. These are the marks of low connection with the self. And they all stem from low connection with God.
The Path to Reconnection: Awakening Through God Awareness
If the problem begins with separation from God, the solution must begin with reconnection to God. This is not a theoretical exercise. This is the daily, moment-by-moment practice of turning our attention toward the divine presence that sustains us.
God Awareness means:
- Recognising that every breath, every heartbeat, every thought originates in Him
- Acknowledging His presence in every circumstance, every challenge, every opportunity
- Submitting our will to His will, our plans to His purposes
- Listening for His voice in Scripture, in prayer, in the counsel of wise mentors
- Responding to His love with gratitude, obedience, and worship
As we cultivate God Awareness, something miraculous happens: we begin to see ourselves clearly for the first time. Not through the distorted lens of pride or shame, not through the false narratives of culture or the accusations of the enemy, but through the eyes of the One who made us, who knows us, who loves us.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” — Psalm 139:23-24
This is the prayer of a person reconnecting with the self through reconnection with God. David is not asking to discover himself in isolation. He is inviting God to illuminate who he truly is—the good, the bad, the broken, the redeemable.
Conclusion: The Glory of God-Rooted Self-Knowledge
Low Connection With The Self is not a problem that can be solved through more self-help books, more therapy (though therapy has its place), or more introspection alone. It is a spiritual problem that requires a spiritual solution.
The pathway to knowing yourself runs directly through knowing God. The more you grow in God Awareness—the more you see Him, hear Him, love Him, obey Him—the more you will discover the person He created you to be. Not the false self constructed by fear, pride, or people-pleasing. Not the damaged self warped by sin and suffering. But the true self, the eternal self, the self that will stand before God one day and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
This is not narcissism. This is the proper order of reality:
God first. Self second. Others third. World fourth.
When we get the order right, everything else begins to align. When we get the order wrong, everything falls apart.
The journey begins here: with the simple, profound acknowledgment that before you can truly know yourself, you must know your Source.
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12
Until that day, let us press forward in faith, cultivating God Awareness as the foundation of all true self-awareness, and allowing the Four Human Endowments—Self-Awareness, Conscience, Independent Will, and Creative Imagination—to flourish as they were always meant to: as reflections of the divine image in us.
By Paul S. Waugh
Paul S. Waugh is the founder of Lighthouse Global and author of The Sum of All Problems: The Alchemy of Turning Problems Into Value. This article is part of a series exploring the foundational problems that limit human potential and the God-centered solutions that unlock it.
©️2025 Paul S Waugh. All Rights Reserved.
Related articles:
Humanity’s Problem with Problems by Paul S. Waugh
The Strategic Wind-Up: Understanding Value, Control, and the Kingdom of God, 22nd Nov 2025
Why Catrin Nye and the BBC Miss the Real Crisis: A Response to the Forever Chemicals Narrative – By Paul. S Waugh
Problem 1: Diabolical Pride and the Problem of Separateness by Paul S. Waugh
Coming up to Christmas, this is so timely personally. It’s been a heck of a year with so many challenges, opportunities, problems, graces, blessings and insights. To use this time building up to the new year to be more intimate, personal, private and aware of my Father, His Will, my identity as His child and creation, is essential. This article is a big blessing to me to steer me into this December. Thank you Paul and everyone involved in weaving this together. God bless, strengthen, protect all of you.
God bless you, Paulie, for putting this profound wisdom together and sharing it with those who are open— the body of Christ. Such deep insight into us as human beings, into God as our eternal and infinite Creator and Father, and into how we relate to ourselves, to Him, to others, and to this world. God bless you, and thank you. 🙏 Lots of love, x x Jess
What is a human being? What differentiates us from animals?
It’s questions like this that help us to expand our self-awareness. Yet there are many who see such questions as pointless… the same many who struggle with a profound lack of meaning and purpose.
I appreciate Paul laying out the syntax of life and what it means to be human in an increasingly soulless and inhumane world.
At a primary level we see spiritual problems and so logically this means we absolutely need spiritual solutions…
See I always thought that self came third, at minimum (“Joy-Jesus, Others, You”). Or that’s how I was taught. But then there’s the earthly phrase that runs true “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. We were made to only handle so much, and not say “yes” to everything and everyone. If we don’t see ourselves (as I have struggled with) as loved by God, or haven’t come to Christ yet, we truly are missing that biggest part of knowing that we were not made to run ourselves down to nothing. This is so needed in America’s version of who we are, because it’s easy to be seen as just another “cog in the machine”. That’s one reason I want to go into social work as a therapist-to help others see that they truly matter.
Thank you Beth. I can relate to what you’ve expressed here. I’ve seen that self-neglect in the name of helping others doesn’t actually help anyone. The more we increase our capability to help others, the more we can help. Where can we find the wisdom and strength to make that possible? That’s where our relationship with Christ can start or go to a new level.
Well said and felt Beth. Our identity in Christ is so critical. The moment that’s lost, or to the degree that’s lost, then we fall into the constant satanic trappings of this world. Going into social work and being a source of comfort is from my perspective, a powerful form of evangelism. In actually caring for others, and showing them their inherent value by the way you treat them, that is the equivalent, or a form of “washing their feet” as Jesus literally commanded us to do. They will know the love of Christ, and then if you’re given the opportunity to share about Him, it won’t be contradictory. They will see Him in you… God bless you Beth. I pray this winter is a restorative one ahead of your pursuit of becoming the servant of Jesus you wish to be.
Such a gem of an article, you are centring on the key challenges we face. I have been wrestling with something deep in my mind and heart, and it is truly uncomfortable, but the self-awareness that comes with it is definitely freeing. These things are not commonly discussed, not even as a critical part of our upbringing. Bless you for your gift.
Another excellent body of work that has been lovingly brought together through decades of prayer, feeling, thinking, observation. You cannot just come up with these distinctions, and Paul has shown us through his understanding of the human condition, that his connection with God is strong and therefore strong with himself.
We have a right to know what our human endowments are, we cannot hone these endowments when we do not know they even exist and we certainly cannot experience connection with God, with ourselves and with each other or produce value, in any meaningful way much to say optimise or maximise value.
My return to God, my surrender, is my main focus and priority 🙏
There is a great deal to process in regards to how deep my disconnection and I am very grateful that I can have the hard truth rather than remain delusional about where I really am!
Thank you wow! I don’t think I realised how disconnected I can be from my own heart — always moving, doing, pushing, without stopping to notice what’s actually happening inside. The idea that low self-connection can block my awareness of God feels so true. Thank you for naming this so clearly. It’s challenging me to slow down, be honest with myself, and let God meet me in the places I usually ignore.
God Bless you Mel. As we know, how disabling and devastating it is when we don’t listen to our own needs and when we’re so consumed by doing all the time. This Christmas / Advent period is certainly a time to restore and renew, in our Lord.
Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Bless you Sukh, you’re absolutely right – God is dispensing so many blessings to us at the moment so that our cups can be truly filled through resting in Him. My word, is it humbling!
Thank you so much! I have a deep resonance for this work because I spent the majority of my childhood, unknowingly, idolising my mum or other people who seemed intelligent and confident. I spent so many years, emotionally fraught and unstable, disappointed, resentful and lost! So many years of life spent oblivious to who my ultimate trust ought to be in and during those years, I was encouraged and supported by family, peers, institutionally evil organisations like the BBC and so on, to deny God and to listen to mere mortals exalting them to a position that was never theirs.
Since my heart has started to transform in Christ and I am starting to feel not just mentally understand what it means in Psalms 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,” the instability and high levels of anxiety, are starting to dissipate. Praise God, thank you Paul, we must know and get this reality and act on it, we must urgently help our children too 🙏
Thank you for these articles on Problems 1-3 that underline our human conditioning. We are human beings and not human doings, however so often we get lost in doing and forget who we really are and what is really important. At least that’s what I have done most of my life.
This here really nails it: God first. Self second. Others third. World fourth.
Thank you for that!
It helps me to question where I spend most of my attention during the day, what my focus is and what it ought to be 🙏
Well said brother. God bless you.
There is so much that is not learnt at an early age, that would truly revolutionise everyone’s life! Just understanding the reality of the 4 human endowments and that these were endowed to us by God, would reshape so many lives for the better and help us to know what order to live our lives in.
By separating from God (as I did as a child) then for the most formative years I am unguided and lost as to what to hold close and what to let drift away. So holding onto idols or various levels of addictions and sin become the norm, while what is truly important in terms of meaning, purpose and direction seem further away than ever.
Doing the work of self reflection and understanding more about how life is supposed to work and operate has been hugely reassuring.
What a powerful and logical argument that we have self-awareness because God have it to us and the extent to which we aren’t self aware derives because we aren’t connected to the source of our awareness that made us in his image which is pure consciousness. This article certainly helps me appreciate why we are so different to animals.
Therefore why this work is so so critical, why it is and will be such a threat to the kingdom of darkness / Satan’s system, and why it’s essential for the Body of Our Lord. God bless and strengthen you brother.
What a profound article. This means so much to me because of what it is stirring inside me, what it is revealing. I have and do deny so much in my life (not getting into too much), and this article helped me to be honest and see the lies I tell myself.
Being aware of our Father, for without Him, I wouldn’t have been born. He is our Father, our creator and loves us all so much.
Once again, thank you Paul, for taking the time to write these articles on problems, splitting them up into sections so that we can understand them and then be in a position to bring them all together.
God bless you and all of us x x
This is an incredible piece of profound reflection, insight and knowledge, as all the pieces in this series are. What strikes me again and again is Paul’s ability to ask such profound and also logical questions that reveal and bring to the surface so much insight and distinction to understand God, His design for us and ourselves. One of the most powerful things that brought me to faith was realising that secularism and any other worldview outside of Christianity just did not have any acceptable and meaningful answers with regards to the fundamentals of our lives, such as consciousness, morality, the existence of goodness and evil. The Bible for me explains and answers it all. How does evolution explain consciousness from the idea that we all just randomly evolved from a primordial pool or swamp? Where does that consciousness come from without a conscious source? And if there is a conscious source then there must be an intent, a design that comes out of that awareness. Then to take that further as Paul is doing here, how the secular perspective “reveals its limitations” because then it also cannot explain the identity crisis that exits today, especially young people who — let’s face it —have grown up in the most secular society to have existed for nearly 2 millennia. I think this line from the above says and touches on so much: “We lose touch with who we truly are because we have lost touch with whose we are.” Wow. There is our world as it is right now in a nutshell. These lessons and teachings could not have come at a more important and pertinent time. God bless all who receive them and I pray this is spread far and wide for God’s glory.