A friend recently posted this on Facebook. Here was my comment to the post…

Word.

In my view, it is time for each of us to see and hear how many times a day the world around us — as my friend, Barb With calls them, the voices of culture — is telling us we’re not enough. “They” get rich when we believe them. Each of us is enough!

…which inspired further thoughts.

There are so many things in our world, in our lives, convincing us that we don’t have value just as we are and that we are not the creators of our own lives. I believe that this is inaccurate and that only self-awareness will remedy the situation.

Just look at advertising. How many times a day and in how many ways in a day are you bombarded with advertising? TV, billboards, radio, internet ads on nearly every site, magazines. Even talking coupon dispensers at WalMart for Pete’s sake. And on the whole, the message is saying you lack something and need what they have to sell or a service they offer. Hear that…you lack…you’re not enough…something about you is wrong and needs changing… We hear these messages all day long without even realizing it. And that’s the point. It’s like a form of hypnosis. And the only way to counter any effects from it is to be aware, be conscious.

I’m not saying advertising is evil. I’m saying we get to choose who we are, what we believe, what we let into our lives. That means not being susceptible to things that may have an effect on you even if you don’t realize it. I’m saying it’s time to pay attention. It’s time to look and feel and hear and listen and sense your life, your relationships, your world. Is it filled with what you like, want, desire, choose?

If it were up to me to prescribe a remedy, I would offer this:

Get alone, get quiet.
Turn off everything outside of you…the tv, the radio, your phone, the internet/computer. These things are not bad. You just need a break from them. You can’t have this important experience of being you with you if they are blasting away at you. It needs to be quiet so you can hear YOUR OWN voice.

Be still and listen.
Tune into the inside of you…lie down, sit down, be comfortable, breathe, close your eyes. Or take a walk in nature, gently, quietly, not a power walk to get exercise. Listen, feel, sense…what do you observe, notice? What’s happening in your body? Your mind? Your feelings and emotions? What do you hear?

Connect.
Remind yourself who you are. Get clear about who you are not. Stay here as long as you can. It may be challenging or uncomfortable at first. Even just a few minutes, at first. Eventually, stay here as long as feels appropriate. You’ll begin to rely on it and miss it when you don’t make time for it.

Repeat.
This isn’t a one time thing. This is a way of being. In fact, it’s our natural way of being. It’s what the bigger you is craving from you, for you. To be with you. To connect with you. There is wisdom here. Life gets more in the flow here. There is balance here. YOU are here.

That’s my two cents worth.
Peace.

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Header Image:  The Favorite Flower by Christian Schloe