Walt Whitman once wrote,
“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”
Whitman encapsulates this truth beautifully. Each of us is a universe unto ourselves, a multitude of thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, that often contradict each other in harmonious dissonance.
Some of our thoughts and feelings become grouped together as an often repeated inner narrative associated with the same emotional response on repeat over and over again, creating a hard wired element of our personality. We all tend to have several of these narrative patterns that play out an old story like a recording of the past.
These different parts of our personality can become triggered before we realise, and we might be completely unaware of how we are at the mercy of different narratives and emotions from moment to moment.
Our “work” is to build an awareness of how our inner state shifts so that we create for ourselves the space in which we are able to say, “I choose a new response to these old thoughts and feelings.”
“The journey to wholeness requires that you look honestly, openly, and with courage into yourself, into the dynamics that lie behind what you feel, what you perceive, what you value, and how you act.” – Gary Zukav
“The first step toward spiritual growth is to become aware of your emotions.” – Gary Zukav
“When you welcome your emotions as teachers, every emotion brings good news, even the ones that are painful.” – Gary Zukav
“Choosing to act from a loving part of your personality, while you are feeling the painful sensations of a frightened part of your personality, is the moment of traction on the spiritual path.” – Gary Zukav
The first step on our journey of personal growth is to become aware of our emotions. By welcoming our emotions, even the painful ones, we can learn to extract wisdom from how our emotions move.
When we embrace our emotions as teachers, we can begin to see beyond the surface and uncover the deeper narratives that drive our behaviour. This awareness empowers us to make conscious choices, to act from a loving part of ourselves, even when we are experiencing pain.
And this is the real magic… welcoming our emotions with open arms means that we can create a new relationship with everything that we think and feel. Instead of being controlled by our emotional state we can learn to act from love and wisdom regardless of what we think and feel.
A few affirmations to expand your sense of self:
- “I am a multifaceted being, capable of holding contradictory thoughts and feelings.”
- “I choose to observe my thoughts and feelings without judgement.”
- “I choose to embrace my emotions as teachers.”
- “I am capable of choosing a new response to old narratives.”
Today’s meditation journey is an opportunity to – in a very practical way – create an awareness of what may lie behind some of what you think and feel. Please join us.
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: A sense of self.