HELLO, some of my favorite people!
Let me start off with a nugget of TRUTH:
The more WE question OUR fears, the less power they have over us.
I was introduced to Byron Katie many years ago, and her book and work changed my life. Since then, whenever I have felt down in the dumps, I’ve used The Work to investigate my thinking.
Our suffering- our anxiety, depression, overwhelm, and utter confusion, is caused by what we are believing.
As Byron Katie says, A thought is harmless unless we believe it. It’s not our thoughts, but our attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering. Attaching to a thought means believing that it’s true, without inquiring. A belief is a thought that we’ve been attaching to, often for years.
Here are a few of my limiting beliefs:
“You’re not doing enough, you will never amount to anything, you need to be doing more to reach true success.”
I want to share a story with you.
This morning as I was in my bathroom, getting ready for the day, I felt a limiting belief creep into my mind. The sign that I am believing a limiting belief is when I begin to feel physical sensations in my body. It shows up as resistance, which feels like two bulls fighting each other inside my chest. It’s intense and scary.
The thought that started to gain momentum this morning began as a small voice inside my head. It told me that I needed to know exactly what I was going to do today, which felt like PRESSURE in my body.
And then it went on to say: “You need to be MORE productive. You need to get MORE shit done. You better not waste this day.”
Not very nice, right?
And here is the thing: We would never allow our friends to speak to us like that so why on earth do we except this type of talk from ourselves?
Why do we BELIEVE everything we think, especially the beliefs that are so nasty and mean!?
The first answer that comes to me is this: We've NEVER been taught to question our beliefs. We didn’t receive that type of education growing up. How are we to know that if a thought causes SUFFERING, IT ISN’T TRUE?
We don’t.
And there is another way. A way in which will free us from the misery of our anxiety, depression, confusion, overwhelm, etc.
This leads me back to this mornings story….
Usually, when my inner mean girl comes out to play (THE FEAR), I have a few techniques I use to defuse her power, and most of the time it works, lately however, she’s been kicking my ass a bit.
But something different happened this morning. I felt a new energy emerge from my body. It was open and loving. It felt like two open and loving arms reaching out and welcoming the fear. There was no fight and no fleeing.
“Wow. That’s what it feels like to not resist a thought.” I thought to myself.
And then this nugget of gold came to me: The more we question our beliefs, the less scary they are.
I have practiced many tools to help me DISBELIEVE the limiting beliefs that make me feel small, insecure, lost, depressed, confused, anxious, etc. It isn’t always easy, but it’s paying off, because there is a new energy emerging from within me.
To be able to see my fear and react to it with loving and open arms, is one of the best feelings and gifts in the world. Why? Because there is no fight. What a relief.
The more we fight or flee from our fears, the louder and more savage they become.
“What we resist, persists.”
The more willing we are to investigate our thinking, the thinking which causes us to feel unhappy, the happier we become and the more connected and confident we feel.
As Martha Beck told me yesterday: You can't be guided if you're afraid.
Our fears block us from feeling the love and seeing the truth from the Universe, ourselves, and others.
There is nothing that isn’t happening for us. We live in a loving and kind Universe. The Universe is on our side and it has our backs.
Let us start believing that and see how it carries us through the rest of the day and our lives.
If you are interested in knowing more about The Work, you can visit http://www.thework.com or reach out to me. It's one of my favorite tools I practice on both myself and clients.
Remember, you matter and you're doing enough.
Love, Sarah