Dear Reader,
Last week I gave you a question to explore in your spare time: “What is true?”
This week, my mini-series on truth continues! I am going to give you a tool (in the form of another question) to help you identify what is true for you. Next week, we will consider the nature of universal truth – I know, I know, it’s a pretty big topic, but we’ll get there.
For now, let’s focus on your own experience of truth. On a surface level, truth can refer to simple facts: what’s your name, what color is your hair, do you like chocolate… those details are pretty easy to identify. But I am talking about a deeper truth here – the truth of your soul. This sense of truth, coming from so deep within, is precious to us but can sometimes be difficult to discover on a conscious, everyday level of awareness. Questions that might start to lead you there could include: What is important to me? What do I value? And a very powerful question, one I often use with my clients, is: What do I love?
But that’s not the question I want to give you as a tool today.
A very quick and powerful way to discover what is true for you is to consider the context of your life – what or who is in your life; what or who is not in your life; what you are doing or not doing in your life… After all, you are the one who created your life as it looks right now, and you created each detail based on either your deepest truth – or your deepest illusions.
One very simple question can help you identify what is true for you in your life right now. Once you know, you have great power because you can make life choices based on that knowledge.
So here we go. When you are in a situation that you may feel ambiguous about, or you’re considering an opportunity you have mixed feelings about, first see and feel yourself fully in that situation or opportunity. Then ask yourself this question:
“Is this really who I am?”
You will most likely get an immediate yes or no feeling. If you get a yes, congratulations; you are being and doing who you really are and living what is true for you in that situation. If you get a no – gotta do something about that!
Here’s an example of how it might work. You are inside doing work on a beautiful day (which I am right now) and you realize that you have been spending a lot of beautiful days inside lately. When you ask yourself “Is this really who I am,” you might get an immediate yes, because you are so committed to the work you are doing and so excited about it, you know that it expresses who you are and is worth staying inside for right now. Great; no problem there. If, however, you ask yourself the question and get a no – you might need to get off your butt and get outside, in order to be true to yourself!
This question is very closely related to the bigger question “Who am I,” but is more immediate because it calls for a simple yes or no response, often accompanied by a clear feeling. “Is this really who I am” is also very easy to practice and build proficiency using. Start with an obvious situation. For me, an example would be when I was walking near the water recently (on another beautiful day). I was walking slowly, with my head tilted back, my chest open and relaxed, and I was drinking up the sun. The question popped into my head, and my answer was an immediate and powerful yes. That response helped me learn a little bit more about how to recognize what is true for me. I am a person who loves to walk in the sunshine.
When you feel comfortable using the question in obvious situations, you can apply it to more challenging situations. Another example: recently I was worrying about a work situation, and struggling with how to respond to a collaborator. First, I asked myself about the worrying itself: “Is this who I really am?” My immediate, deep response was “Nah.” So I stopped worrying! Next, I envisioned myself following one possible path with my response and asked the same question again. This time I got a quick “yes” response – problem solved; I went with that response for my collaborator.
One tip: do allow the response to come easily and quickly. Most likely, you will simply feel it right away, so be ready. After you feel it, your mind may jump in to talk you out of your answer. Don’t listen!
Dear reader, go ahead and give that question a try. If you get stuck or struggle with it, leave a comment or send me an email and I’d be happy to help you get clarity!
I honor your loving heart,
John
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