Understand Your True Nature
“Just because you can’t express your feelings it doesn’t mean they’re not deep.” ― John Fowles
When did you last get in touch with your deepest feelings without the chaos of life dictating you? We seldom notice our deepest feelings when we’re consumed by chaos or raging thoughts. Yet, this is what many people experience because we’ve become accustomed to distractions and find it difficult to be in silence. I say this based on the many hundreds of people I’ve worked with over the past decade who echo this sentiment and look for ways to connect with their deeper self.
Our deepest feelings reveal a lot about us, but we must get quiet enough to discern the silent inner voice that speaks through impulses and sensations. Mindfulness and meditation practices have become popular in recent times because they help us quiet the muddied waters of an overactive mind. Now more than ever, it is important we carve out time to sit in silence and connect with ourselves without electronic devices vying for our attention.
Sure I understand, retreating into silence means giving up time spent doing something else. Yet, what is more important than coming home to yourself and understanding your true nature? Skimming through Instagram feeds, checking our Facebook updates or watching cute cat videos on YouTube? This is not entertainment but escapism. These habits steal away important time that is better spent focusing on our personal growth.
Author Matt Kahn explains in Whatever Arises, Love That: A Love Revolution That Begins with You how we are addicted to certain feelings to maintain order and this habit creates an unhealthy co-dependency: “Addiction is a habitual need for certain experiences or feelings in order to maintain a perceived sense of control in your life. The degree to which you build co-dependent relationships or exist in addictive behaviours suggests how overstimulated your nervous system may be.”
Cracks In The Window Of Time
“We destroy ourselves when we stop feeling. If you bury your feelings within you, you become a graveyard.” — Bernie S. Siegel
It’s no secret, you are reading this article for a reason because you value your personal growth, whether you intentionally landed on this article or it was forwarded to you. Part of you recognises there’s more to life than what you’re experiencing. Stealing time by checking social media sites is exciting and keeps us engaged momentarily but at a cost to our peace of mind.
For example, how many people carve out time in the morning or before the end of the day to journal in their diary or sit with their thoughts? What I’m saying is, it is easy to find five minutes throughout the day to invest in ourselves because it is worth it in the long run. It was the late American motivational speaker Jim Rohn who once remarked: “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
My intention is to draw awareness to the importance of creating quality time to focus on ourselves, instead of being distracted by addictive visual media. Our deepest feelings are messages from our soul that lead us toward our dreams and highest aspirations, like a compass directs a hiker lost in the wilderness. It is our roadmap and guide, our GPS system that never leaves our side or runs out of batteries. Its only requirement is that we turn it on and engage it often to notice the messages. We needn’t learn a particular language to listen to our soul but make time in our day or week to listen to the impulses and sensations that arise.
Our deepest feelings reveal themselves through moments of silence because they are cracks in the window of time and leave an impressionable mark on us. Our deepest feelings are our calling card aligned with our highest truth. They will not desert us when we need them most, yet we need them most if we are to unite with the deepest wisdom of our soul. It is what author Neale Donald Walsch means when he writes: “Feelings are sometimes difficult to discover, and even more difficult to acknowledge. Yet, hidden in your deepest feelings is your highest truth.”
So, I invite you to begin a regular practice of coming home to yourself through silence. Start with as little as one minute as often as you can and gradually build until you are comfortable sitting alone with your thoughts. Make it a habit and one you will look forward to. I assure you, getting in touch with your deepest feelings trumps any high that a social media post can deliver.
Originally published at Medium