True Self Integration pt1

 What does “True Self” even mean? Why does it matter? How do I know if I am being my True Self?

These are all valid questions and I hope to provide some clarity on each one. Note, I am only explaining from my vantage point and like yours, it is vastly different. Please take what works and discard what doesn’t. Do not take what I say 100%, break it down, try it on, see if it fits, and assemble accordingly thereafter.

What does “True Self” even mean? 

I have come to learn that our True Self is beyond the mind. Hav you ever noticed that there is a speaker and a simultaneous listener within you? How is it that you speak to yourself inwardly and also listen to what you’re saying at the same time? What allows us to do this? Consciousness and awareness. These two aspects of Self are what help create our “True Self”. From the moment we are born, our self, or our image as we come to see it is influenced heavily by the environment we live within. We are told to do certain things or not according to our initially perceived sex/gender. The list goes on. What happens is we forget our essence. We are equipped with these ideas of who we are, how we should act, etc. As a child, and if you have ever seen a child, they are living the True Self! There is no judgement, only allowance. As we age, this shifts. We become more aware and this awareness opens us up to a greater degree of critique and without proper guidance, this can take over and pull us even further away from our truth and into what society wants us to believe, be, and do. In conclusion, our True Self is the self that transcends all societal ideologies. It is the unattached experience of life. We are inevitably part of the system we operate within and through being unattached, we can shift from a self that was created for us, to our True Self.

Why does it matter?

Think about it…are you currently experiencing some disconnect in your life? Do you feel suffocated? Tired of what you are doing? Run down? Confused? Irritated? The list goes on. I know I have! I still have days where I feel all these emotions and experiences. Moving into your True Self frees us from the bondage of life which as mentioned earlier causes us a great deal of suffering. We are so connected to these constructs that we forget we are beyond that! Yes, we are part of them but we are not them…does that make sense? Becoming or rather rebecoming our True Self is of paramount importance. Life becomes enriched when we move away from the small self and move into our big Self. Ego and Soul if you will. Both are important and we tend to live in one extreme or the other. Ego is important for identity sakes and Soul reminds us that we are not just this brain and body. We are the infiniteness of the Universe. The silence and stillness within every exploding star. We are part of that! We are also thinkers and feelers. Your True Self matters because without it, we may feel lost, confused, frustrated, angry. It is okay to experience this and even when we connect deeper to our True Self, these feelings will still emerge; we will just be able to navigate them in a more aware and conscious state.

How do I know I am being my True Self?

Short answer, no one will be able to tell you expect you. I will share how I know and maybe there are some things within my story that equip you with an awareness to help realize your True Self. Life is varying, constantly in flux and we must remember that being your True Self also means experiencing the ego. Just because we are in a more ego dominant state does not mean we also are not our True Self. Both exist just like how the YING YANG has both light in darkness and darkness in light; so are we with ego and our True Self. For me, I know I am being more of my True Self when I don’t feel as influenced or moved by the external world. I have a deeper state of awareness around what is happening and how it is affecting me and most importantly taking correct right action. When I am acting more in accordance with what I say, this is an indicator for me that I am living in more of my True Self.

Everything is just the way it needs to be, remember that! Don’t be hard on yourself. Being easy on yourself is an act of the True Self. Allow yourself to feel all the things. Become keenly aware of what it is that is affecting you, how it is making you feel, and what you can do about it in that moment to potentially shift it. Maybe whatever you’re feeling is something that needs to be shifted but rather caressed, hugged, and nurtured. Maybe it is the pain of losing a loved one…who knows. Awareness helps in this journey. May you all continue to connect deeper to your True Self’s.