Standing in Your Truth; A Feeling Body Inventory

Have you ever been told something is different than it actually is?  When you are a child and you look at the world, you see it through the lenses of a freshness and clarity that only children can see. After a while, the "grown ups" tell you how things "actually" are.  Soon your perceptions are distorted.  The world you thought you knew, is suddenly changed.

"Mommy why is that boy brown?"  A child asks the question.  It's an observation, not a judgement.  Yet given this same question in two different families, the answers could be vastly different.  What will you teach your children?

"Mommy why is there war?"  The question is deeper, yet valid.  How would you answer?  Two countries at odds?  Two leaders at odds?  Will you say it's because of the stories on the news?  Will you know the stories they have told are true?  Will it make sense when your own children go to war in your own household because they don't agree either?

The questions become, what is society teaching us?  That if we don't get what we want, we go to war and kill people?  Can we not have two leaders meet and come to an agreement?  If the same situation happened at home, would we pit our children, our families or our cities against one another?  Is control of another country worth the price we pay in humanity?

The more division, the more divides we claim, the further we separate ourselves from the rest of humanity.  One rainbow world is now divided into countries, ethnicities, religions, beliefs and all are from the same source god.  We act as if it is "us" and "them", not taking into consideration we are all the same.  If we are the same, then what do we offer to one another?  A hand to help, or words to condemn?  We have a choice.  Our words can heal or they can hurt.  Often times we only take into consideration the way we feel and look for the result that we want.  We cling to it and will not deter until we get it, not allowing ourselves to look at the other persons point of view or feelings.

If we stood in their shoes, how would we feel?  Can we place ourselves in anothers shoes long enough to understand where they are coming from and how they may feel?  Are we compassionate enough to understand that their feelings may be different than ours?  That in the end we all want the same things:  Love and acceptance.  Yet we perpetuate the patterns.  Mulling over why he did this, or she did that.  We talk about it, think about, lay blame and soon create ill feeling between ourselves, our nationalities, even our countries.  We are just people in the end.  All wanting the same thing - to be happy.  To live in harmony.  To be well cared for, to be loved.  But when we don't get what we want, when we don't get the love we need, rarely can we find it in ourselves to give to others.  The child who grows up motherless yearns for nurturing.  When the child grows up how is she expected to nurture her own child?  The cycle repeats itself until someone decides to nurture the woman or nurture her child.  We can be nurtured by another person, but in this day and age it is a rarity to find such people.  We must become our own mothers, our own fathers and become conscious of our needs.  My friend Maurie Pressman used to say some people would think it's selfish when they take the time for themselves to introspect.  Yet if we don't take the time to take care of ourselves, how do we expect to take care of anyone else?  What example are we projecting to the world and to our own children?  To lash out at the world because our needs weren't met or to take steps to find out what we need and be compassionate enough with ourselves to get it?

We have to start with ourselves.  We have to be honest about how we feel, then ask ourselves why we feel that way.  We have to think of ways to change our negative feelings into feelings of love. When you say I love you, or I know you love me, can you feel it?  If we can't feel love, we have some work to do.

Our feeling bodies are powerful.  They will dictate any given situation.  If you feel love, you will act lovingly, if you are angered, you will be short and angry with others.  If you feel powerless, you will express yourself as a powerless individual, and the list goes on.  So we have to introspect.  Where did you get the feeling?  Were you taught something by someone or made to feel that way by the words of another?

Take inventory today, paying attention to any recurring feelings and name it.  Loneliness, depression, anxiety, even joy.  Then ask yourself why you are feeling the emotion.  Then go deeper.  Ask yourself if your story is true.  Ask yourself where you heard your story.  Finally, recreate your story so it changes your emotions and your feeling body.

For example your statement may be "I'm lonely".  When you ask yourself why, you might say "because I don't have anyone".  Ask yourself is it true?  Are you all alone?  Do you have a dog, a brother, a sister, a friend, co workers, parents?  If it's that you don't have a significant other, then ask yourself to define loneliness.  Does loneliness mean you don't have a significant other or does it mean you are alone?  Which is true?  Now is your belief about you being lonely true?  If it's not, then we need to take our attention to the people whom we now realize are in our life.  They represent the "why I'm not lonely" section of your internal dictionary.  Every time you think "I'm lonely", redirect your attention on the "not lonely" section of your life.  When you can do that, you can go further and see what it is that is really bothering you, if anything at all.

When we take the time to learn the truth about ourselves and where our stories came from, we can rightfully stand in that truth.  We know what the truth is because we have traveled enough within ourselves to explore our truths first hand.  We will have asked the questions about where our truth came from and not been given it or have had it handed down.

Ultimately, standing in our truth will not only free you from the thoughts and emotions that have bound you for years, but will leave you with a sense of empowerment and strength.  When Jesus said to know yourself, this was one of his greatest gifts.  For in knowing yourself, you will also come to know him and the strength he had standing in his truth.  He knew who his father was in heaven.  It wasn't dictated to him, nor taught by any man.  Inside the truth revealed itself and the true wisdom that he taught was to also know yourself as he did.  Imagine what we could do if we all took a little time to "know ourselves" a little better.  Now our world would no longer be about "us" and "them", it would become about "we" and "I".