June 2021: True to Self
Life is noisy. How do we listen to ourselves? Connect with our silent insights? Be true to our self? Our quietest voices are often closest to our heart, and speak the greatest wisdom.
The wise stop to ask
and listen for the gentle voices of the self,
which speak when asked
but only softly.
voices of sense
The loud, fast voices of reason and emotion can dominate our thoughts. They shout loudest in a noisy life. In quietness, with patience, we can allow a question to ripple slowly through our feelings, our body, and brain, and listen for the small voices of insight, of desire or caution, which give wisdom.
take 5
Come into meditation. Drop a question into your consciousness. Neither look for nor expect an answer. Use the question as your anchor point, asking it again. Be keenly aware of any reaction in body, feelings or thought. Afterwards reflect on any sensations you felt.
…and an experiment!
Pose a life question, perhaps ‘what do I like..?’
As if you were going around the boardroom ask the question of different parts of your self - ask the hands what they like to do, ask the feet where they like to go, ask the eyes, the ears, the nose, the brain, the loving heart.
quotes…
We all need space. Unless we have it we cannot reach that sense of quiet in which whispers of better things come to us gently ~ Octavia Hill
No one can listen to your body for you... To grow and heal, you have to take responsibility for listening to it yourself ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become ~ Steve Jobs
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Roddy xo
Roddy Bray is a speaker & facilitator with a background in anthropology. His workshop series ‘Being for Beginners’ explores ideas for wellbeing, and is used widely at the University of Oxford. To learn more about the course contact Roddy: thrive@antidotecafe.com
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