You have the freedom to be yourself; your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way. – Richard Bach
Hello Beautiful;
It can be a challenge to really “Know thyself”. From childhood to adulthood, we are fed so much misinformation on who we are “supposed to be” that can be a process to dig through the layers of life to unearth the Who that we wish to be underneath. Sometimes trauma, emotional or physical, prevents us from growing into our true Self. Extreme trauma can cause even those who seem to move through life with a strong sense of who they are to regress. But it doesn’t necessarily require a negative experience to keep our spirit hidden somewhere in the deepest recesses of our consciousness – sometimes it is just the day-to-day humdrum monotony or the constantly on the go business of living that causes us to forget, to get lost in the business of simply existing rather than really living.
Knowing ourselves – who we really are at our core, is also a matter of faith. Faith that we are in there, somewhere, and doing the “work” to bring that greater sense of Self to the surface is worth it. Faith that there is a higher power at work sending messages of love to our soul, wanting to draw us forward into our purpose and power rather than remain hidden in those shadowy recesses like a child too afraid to come out and play. Faith that somewhere in our being, in what sometimes feels like vast emptiness; a chasm of space that we stand teetering on the precipice of, within that gap there are entire galaxies of creativity, of joy, of love – just waiting to be birthed.
Anne Dillard wrote that it is within those gaps that the spirit’s true home can be found – “…The altitudes and latitudes so dazzlingly spare and clean that the spirit can discover itself for the first time like a once-blind man unbound.” Beautiful imagery describing something that can also feel frightening for its vastness.
But he process of becoming who you are doesn’t have to be frightening or difficult. In fact, it can be fun, joyous, and freeing in a way that will alter your mindset and ability to create – to master your own destiny – in a amazing and powerful way.
The best way to do this is to learn to really listen to your spirit; to intentionally enter that gap to tune in to what the real you is saying. Spending time in solitude and silence is a necessary part of that journey, but to those of us that spend most of our time filling that space with busyness and noise, that can be a bit challenging at first. Luckily, there are a few fun tools you can use to get you closer to accessing the stillness necessary for really listening to your inner voice and wisdom.
That a man can change himself…and master his own destiny is the conclusion of every mind who is wide-awake to the power of right thought. – Christian D. Larson
Start with writing a list of ten things that feed your spirit. By this I mean things that make you feel alive, feel at peace, feel joyful. For me it is painting, writing, reading, paddle boarding, biking, learning, hiking, trail running – well, just about anything outdoors, travel and all the adventures involved therein, spending time with people I love and ideally, spending time with them doing some of the things that feed my spirit. And about eighty other things I could put on the list that excite me. But once upon a time, I was in a place so dark that I could barely find five things to put on that list.
If finding ten genuine things that gets you excited feels difficult, go back to your childhood. What did you do for fun? What made you feel happy? Start with that and move forward, thinking about the things and events that you have experienced that really lit you up. Write them down, and try to do one thing on that list every single day. I have clients that tell me that finding ten minutes to do something that feeds them can be a challenge, but even if it’s only for five minutes at a time, it’s a start. Get up a minutes early, if you have to. You deserve to give yourself permission to do something that delights you, lovely. You really do.
Next week let’s talk about self-love and how that ties into becoming the fullest, most dynamic expression of who you are meant to be. I love you!
- Terah
This Blessed Sacred Life 