How do we know our truth?
How do we know what is true?
What if our truth isn’t everyone else’s truth?
Now more than ever the idea of truth is so illusive. What is fact and what is a lie is hard to be sure of. What is miss information and what is manipulated is hard to be sure of. But what I am confident in is our ability to listen. Listen deeply, attentively and with an open and compassionate heart. The teaching from Patajali’s Yoga Sutra of Satya asks us to explore how we express and communicate in this world, it asks us to be honest and truthful, to differentiate from truth and lies. This does not simply mean don’t lie. It is much more subtle. On the most obvious level of course, it asks us to be honest to others, discerning how we share that honesty. Does it come from a kind heart or is there some malus or negative intention behind it? Beyond this obvious level, we are asked to observe how truthful are we being to ourselves.
I would like to take you on a journey where I will guide you through 4 steps I believe will help you get to a place of deep listening and find YOUR truth. A place where you can trust your own truth and let go of the layers of perceptions, opinions, society expectations and stories that can hide the deep knowing of what is YOUR truth.
1.) Slow down to listen I can be pretty sure most of us go too fast in our day-to-day happenings, I don’t want to assume it is all of us, but it probably is! From the moment we wake up, do we take time to breath and notice how we feel? To acknowledge the beauty of waking up to another day? To tune into the myriad of opportunities we can choose for ourselves? OR do we stick to our over subscribed plan, appointments, to-do-lists, drag ourselves through the day, numb out how we feel, habitually going through our “routine” and constantly fighting against the clock?
How can we ever know our truth if we do not give it a moment to rise up to the surface? Creating space in your day to simple BE instead of doing is essential. Not just for discovering our truth, but also to regulate our nervous system, digestion and immune systems. Our pace of life often creates such a disconnect from our true nature: mind, body and spirit. So, the first step is to slow down. Walk in nature, turn off your phone, make one less appointment in your diary, meditate, light a candle, gaze out the window at the sky…anything that helps quite your mind and is not requiring you to be an active do-er.
2.) Body listening
Once we have slowed down, we can reconnect to our bodies. Whether in meditation, restorative yoga or in your day to day activities, can we drop our attention inwards. Notice, how does your body feel? What are the sensations in the body? Where are the sensations? Then can we become an attentive listener to our body by exploring the sensations. Aches, pains, tingles, numbness, heat, cold, dullness, twitches, texture and everything else in between are your physical body’s way of communicating with you. It is time to listen. To feel. To slow down.
Your body holds so much wisdom, if we can tap into the capacity to listen, we may get a honest and full picture of how we are. The truth might reveal itself as: I don’t want or need another coffee, I need extra sleep, please take care of me and let me rest, I need a stretch, I need a walk, I need to get out of this environment. How many of us have become so disconnected from our body, that sometime we might notice sensation because we are in pain, but the mind still continues doing the same thing that causes us pain or bad health? Slowing down and deep listening can reverse this habit of the mind over-riding the truth and gives us opportunity to come back to balance and good health.
3.) Heart listening
This requires even more quiet and stillness. Dedicate some time where you will be free from distractions. Laying down or be seated with eyes closed, then take your attention to the centre of your heart. Your heart of your heart. Feel your breath here. Notice any sensations, feelings, emotions, memories, thoughts that arise. Try to observe as a witness, rather than get caught in the story. Do this for a few moments. Be patient. Our hearts are generally not use to being listened too, so it can take some time for it to come out of hiding.
Take one palm flat onto your chest, your heart space. Feel the warmth of your palm and apply gentle pressure. Feel that you are supporting and holding your heart, encouraging it to speak to you. Reassuring your heart you are listening. When you feel ready, ask: What is your longing? What do you desire? What do you need? The answer may come as intuition, a deep knowing, it might come as a bodily sensation, image or a simple word. Try not to over analyse with the thinking mind, leave logic behind here and allow yourself to understand the answer from a sense of feeling and intuiting. Your truth that is revealed here is precious and may involve courage to listen to. Sometimes we don’t want to acknowledge the truth of how we feel, or how deeply our heart longs for something else. But until we can get to a place of listening and then care enough to act upon what we hear, we rob ourselves of the prospect to be fully aligned with our heart. Which is to say our sense of joy, happiness, wellness and radiance.
4.) Divine listening
Stepping into the most subtle realm. The realm of spirit, divinity, higher self, guidance, God or Goddess. The labels do not matter here, it is whatever resonates with you. This is your personal relationship to something bigger than you, your connection to something more. Be it the universe, the world, nature, your ancestral lineage, love, kindness or something else.
We need stillness, quite, space and the willingness to open. Opening your senses, your perception, your mind. Openness to receive and listen. Take some time to sit with yourself, if you can be in nature, even better! Come into a relaxed meditative state, when settled here, take your attention to the crown of your head. Feel into the space, expansiveness above you. Let your attention reach the sky and beyond if you can, to the stars, planets, universe. The endless expanse. Stay with this awareness for a few moments. When you feel ready imagine golden light coming down into your crown. Filling up your body slowly. Sense that this golden light carries love, wisdom and intelligence. Messages from a higher perspective, a view of the eagle eye vision, guidance on your purpose, a perspective of a bigger picture. Feel this light holding you, supporting you, nourishing you. An sense of unconditional love and deep connection. Here, the truth is so simple yet so profound and helps to develop a trust with your inner listening.
YOUR experience is YOUR truth. No one can take it away from you. There is no right or wrong way.
Journalling and reflecting your experiences through these 4 steps will create a thread of personal truth you can begin to become more familiar with, trusting it, feeling it.
For more guidance and support you can always get in touch for Wellness/ Spiritual coaching that I offer. I offer a 30 minute discovery call before you need to book anything in.
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