When asked about how he was able to create lifelike, detailed forms from blocks of marble, Michelangelo answered, “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
And so it is with your authentic self. You don’t need to create your personal truth; you simply need to remove everything that is standing in the way of self-expression. And the biggest obstacle is usually fear.
Rejecting Limits on Your Voice or Your Truth
When your fifth energy, the energy that corresponds to creative self expression, is unbalanced, it’s common to feel that you don’t have a right to express yourself. This lack of harmony can lead to fears about speaking up, for fear you’ll be judged, mocked, censured, or otherwise rejected.
But we cannot be totally free unless we are committed to telling the absolute truth — to others and to ourselves. And this takes courage! Often, we can be led to believe stories that it is safer to fit in, or that we have to earn our worth before we can speak up. Many people have had to fight to be heard, or maybe you were punished for telling the truth. Maybe you were, like me, taught how to fit in, and that being different was dangerous.
We’ve seen the impact of that conditioning over generations. And now, marginalized communities are finding their voice and sharing unflinching tales of the abuse and mistreatment. The result is freedom, awareness, and hopefully, change. But it all starts with the willingness to speak up.
I’m not saying this is easy! As I’ve been faced with an opportunity to speak up or be silent, the choice has not been a simple one. Many times I’ve been riveted in fear: when speaking in front of people, or setting boundaries with someone who didn’t respect mine, or making amends and taking real ownership of my part in something that caused a rift in a friendship. Sometimes I’m so afraid to disappoint someone I feel sick to my stomach. But I’ve learned the anxiety is something I inherited and over time became mine.
Bending to Fit In Stifles Your Sacred Soul
I’ve also learned that trying to live a life and a “truth” that doesn’t fit me is much more painful than trying to fit into a pair of someone else’s shoes. Our souls were not meant to conform to man made conditions and structures for acceptance. Each of our souls was created to be unique. And trying to fit in goes counter to the plans of the Universe, God, or your Higher Power.
At one point in my life, I actually tried to give up the “woo” and go straight. Can you even imagine…?? HA!
It came after I had appeared on Dr. Phil (yes, THAT Dr. Phil) and even though I was high on the success of that appearance, I came crashing down to reality when I started receiving death threats.
Really.
This shook me big time because not only was it a physical threat, it was also a threat to my very being of who I was.
It plugged right into a deeply held belief I had, that showing people my authentic self had consequences. From my earliest days, my mother had told me to hide my intuitive abilities, that I’d be judged for them. And so that instilled something in me that they were “wrong” somehow. I’d grown up believing that if people knew who I really was, or worse, showed my unique gift, I’d be rejected or threatened. And here it was happening. Horror set in. I’d shared my abilities with the world, and just like she said, I was being threatened and rejected. Total confirmation of those fears!
Joy Comes from the Freedom of Self-Expression
I won’t share all the ups and downs and ins and outs of trying to escape my true essence and how frustrating it was and how I ended up telling the Universe, “I SURRENDER! This is who I am!”
Let’s just say that it was a l-o-o-o-n-g, circuitous (and painful!) route… back to ME.
The short version is, we can’t escape who we are meant to be, and the sooner we embrace that fact, the more clear our path will be.
So what if you aren’t sure who you are under the layers of expectations, societal training, and mistruths?
Start with your imagination — which is a key concept in service to your fifth energy, and the sixth energy too!
That might sound a little counterintuitive… but your imagination can be a path to a true, pure form of self-expression. As I write in the guidebook for the Oracle of the 7 Energies, you are being invited to create, to be the artist of choreographing your life. Imagination can be the form the magic of your creativity takes. We must imagine our world before we can create it!
Here’s a little snippet about the interrelation between imagination and the material world
Learning How to Express Yourself
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to let your imagination and creativity out to play. Pull out your journal and spend some time contemplating:
- Who would I be if I had no fear?
- In what ways am I limiting all that I can be?
- What does my genius or creativity want to share with the world?
- What opportunities do I have to share my experience and voice to benefit others?
- What would I tell a loved one who feels scared to embrace themself?
When you give your voice room to play in a non-threatening environment (like the safety of your journal!) you can begin to see who you, at your core, truly are and what you have to offer. (This is one of the big takeaways of my free 7 Energies Challenge, coming your way soon!). Telling yourself the truth is the precursor to speaking authentically to others.
Sometimes the most transformative thing you can do is to accept who you are and live into that fully. When you do, not only do you set your own soul free, you serve as a model and inspiration for so many others!
