Most people think they are truthful. In this case I'm not asking about how you relay facts or discern fact from opinion; I'm asking you about a verifiable feeling inside. Unless you live in a cave you've likely heard the phrase "speak your truth" or something similar. Well, I want to ask you: How do you know what your truth is?
If you have ever struggled with making a decision or enforcing your boundaries, knowing how to tell what your truth is will go a long way to resolving the problem of inner conflict. You see, we have inner conflict when we are fighting against our truth and misaligned with our values. The Hawaiians say we are not "pono" or right inside.
For example, suppose you receive a call from your mother. She says "your sister is coming into town in two weeks and we'd like you to come to our house for brunch." You haven't seen your sister for 6 years and you would really love to see her. The only problem is every time you visit your parents it feels like an ordeal. It's a long drive often fraught with traffic, the meal never begins or ends when you were told it would, your parents seem to forget you are an adult and it inevitably ends in an argument about something with both sides saying angry words they wished they hadn't. You end up telling yourself, "I'm not going back for another year." Then mom calls with the invitation. You are torn inside between wanting to see your sister whom you dearly love and putting yourself in a situation where who knows what will happen, but you figure it won't be good.
Now, there may be several solutions but let's stay focused on "your truth." How do you know what your truth is?
Because your truth comes from your feelings, the first place to start is to understand how to identify your feelings and where they lie in your body. We go to the body because as humans we are equipped with a sensory system. It is this sensory system that teaches us how to identify feelings or experiences that are either helpful or harmful to us. Here is an exercise to begin this process.
~~Think of something you know to be the absolute truth about you, like
the year you were born. Repeat the phrase "I was born in _________" several times slowly until you can identify a place in your body that is connected to this phrase. Most people will find they feel a connection in their solar plexus (chakra) or in their heart (chakra). If you think you feel it in your head, then find a quiet place where you can really tune into your body and try the exercise again.
~~If you find you still cannot identify a location...keep at it until you can. More than likely you are used to being in your head and will need to practice being in your body and feeling connected to it. This exercise is a great way to do this.
~~Next, use the same phrase as above only this time insert an untrue year (such as 100 years in the past or future) and repeat it several times until you notice the location of this sensation. It will be in a different place from the true statement.
~~If you want you can experiment with different phrases, just remember they need to be absolutely true and then absolutely untrue.
The sensations you feel may be subtle or bold and it could take several attempts to discern the difference between them. Once you have the location of your truth you will have the foundation from which to make truthful decisions that feel pono or right and good for you.
Julie Hawkins has been working with individuals for years to breakthrough their emotional obstacles. She makes it easy for you to breakthrough your obstacles with a free, quick and powerful Hawaiian shamanic ritual http://www.spiritualandnoeticstudies.com/. What obstacle would you like to break through today?