GUEST BLOGGER FRIDAY!
A Journey Into Authenticity
by Beth Terrence
I came across this poem
attributed to Charlie Chaplin this Saturday as I was preparing to lead a workshop
on Transforming Your Inner Critic Into Your Cheerleader at a women’s recovery
retreat. I often share on Loving
Ourselves as a key to healing and transformation - this is my personal path and one I bring into my work with
others. I googled “loving yourself
poem” and Chaplin’s poem was the first one that popped up. I was surprised as I had never seen or
heard of it before and tend to search for that topic from time to time. That’s kind of how serendipity works –
you find what you need when you need it.
I printed the poem,
intending to read it at the end of my workshop, but we ended up going a bit
over with the material – the conclusion of which is to “invite your
inner cheerleader to emerge by loving yourself! “ As I was preparing for a gathering the
next day of my writing circle, I felt a pull to bring the poem to share
there. As I read the poem, the
energy in our group was palpable.
The words really touched everyone in a deep way, reaching into to the
heart and the wisdom that comes through the journey of life.
Instantly,
it became clear that this was something we wanted to explore further and as a
group we decided to work with one stanza each week as a prompt for our writing
and for life. So here I am –
writing and exploring life! Here
is the first stanza of the poem entitled, “As I Began To Love Myself” by
Charlie Chaplin:
"As I began to love myself I
found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was
living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”. ~ Charlie Chaplin
Funny,
because at that gathering, I was sharing about an experience I have been having
come up lately. It is finding
myself somewhere or on my way to somewhere or to meet someone, when I feel my
eyes welling up with tears and my heart just melting. There’s a gentle sadness there, but as I connect with it, I
recognize it as the feeling that I am in deep alignment with my soul
purpose. At different times in my
life, I have had glimpses of this, but in some of the transitions and shifts of
the past year, I felt I was in more of a seeking place and not exactly where I
am supposed to be just yet. That’s
the feeling! When this warm, teary
feeling bubbles up in me, I see that - “I am exactly where I am supposed to be
in this moment!”
When
this feeling comes in, there is a fullness to it that moves through all levels
– physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It is an alignment within myself, my soul and the
universe. What a joy it is when that
feeling comes and I recognize it for what it is. This is part of knowing myself that comes from a willingness
to be present to the moment and to what is arising.
As
I have been sitting with Charlie Chaplin’s words, I realized there is a strong
correlation between the idea he shares about anguish and emotional suffering
being a warning sign that we are living against our truths; and
my feeling of contentment, warmth and a happy sadness that is an indicator of
alignment with our truths.
One
of the tools I work with in my practice is the Bach Flower Remedies. There are many reasons why I find them
to be one of the most potent transformational tools. A large part of that is how the remedies themselves actually
work and effect well-being, but a lot has to do with the teachings of Dr.
Edward Bach, creator of the remedies.
He speaks of illness or disease as being a sign that there is some
disharmony between our personality and our soul.
This
is not a new idea, and really, one that had been at the heart of healing for
millennia, but we seem to have lost this awareness in our modern world and
hopefully, we are slowly returning to it. The Bach System creates a strong
structure for working with this disease model, through looking at our
personality traits and emotional state to find where our healing and
transformational work lies. As we
begin to transmute those areas where we are out of alignment with our soul, we
begin to heal and return to wholeness.
This
feels very similar to what Chaplin speaks of and what I believe is at the heart
of healing. Everything we
experience is an indicator of where our consciousness lies. When we are feeling uncomfortable, out
of balance, ungrounded, discontent and so on, we are in some way out of
alignment or harmony with our truth and with our soul purpose. When we are feeling content, peaceful,
joyful, and grounded, we are in a place of greater alignment with all of who we
are.
Learning
our own personal guidance system is one of the most important things we can do
for ourselves. And, for me I have
found, this is the journey of a lifetime.
We are not static beings, but constantly changing ones and this seems to
be accelerating in our present time.
I am finding that what is emerging this week through my exploration of
the poem and my own self-reflection is a simple practice that can be a very
powerful indicator of alignment.
So
the essence of my exploration for this week is to really tune into how I am “feeling”
as I go about my day, being as conscious as I can with all of the various
experiences and people I am interacting with. The questions I am asking myself are”
Am I feeling uncomfortable, out of
balance, ungrounded, discontent?
Are difficulty feelings arising?
Am I feeling disconnected to myself? Others? The Universe?
Am I feeling content, peaceful,
joyful, and grounded? Am I feeling
balanced? Am I feeling connected to myself? Others? The Universe?
One
of things I sense about Chaplin’s poem is that he is not really talking about
changing things, but noticing. He
labels this “Authenticity”. And,
this is not about being different than who we are or where we are, but just
noticing, honoring and accepting what is arising for us in this very
moment. I find it is in this
acceptance of the truth of the moment that we become able to recognize the
vastness of our true nature and the interconnectedness of all creation.
Another
layer of this that is emerging through my own exploration relates to the choice
that comes with the awareness of what being in alignment “feels” like. Developing this awareness on a
feeling level is a process that helps us to move more fully in the truth of who
we are and our soul purpose. It is
part of the walk of being a spiritual being having a human experience. And, in some ways, it’s like working
out or building muscles – we need to practice, we need to give ourselves the
experiences that allow us to know what alignment feels like and to deepen in
that experience.
Recognizing
the experiences, connections and relationships that support alignment is a step
in choosing to be in greater authenticity and truth; this also opens the door
to create more of those experiences in our lives. Recognizing the experiences, connections and relationships
that take us out of alignment is important, too; this teaches us where our
inner work lies. We may not be
able to avoid each of certain situations, but by being open and in awareness,
we can learn how to care for ourselves and incorporate practices and tools,
which can help us to hold our truth in any moment.
I
see this as a creative exploration in living in authenticity and truth.
I
hope you will join me in this exploration as your heart guides you to. And, would love to hear thoughts,
feelings and reflections.
I’d
like to close with another poem, which is one of my all time favorites and
actually was the one I would have brought to my workshop had I not come across
Chaplin’s poem. I feel it speaks
to this topic strongly as well. It
is called by “A Ritual To Read To Each Other” by William Stafford:
A Ritual To Read To Each
Other
If
you don't know the kind of person I am
and I don't know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.
For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dyke.
And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,
but if one wanders the circus won't find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.
And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider--
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.
For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give--yes or no, or maybe--
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.
and I don't know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.
For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dyke.
And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,
but if one wanders the circus won't find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.
And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider--
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.
For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give--yes or no, or maybe--
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.
Beth Terrence is a Shaman, Facilitator & Holistic Practitioner. With over 17 years of experience in the field of holistic healing and transformation, she is leader in supporting others in living heart-centered, balanced and joyful lives through discovering the healer within. She offers Integrative Transformational Sessions for individuals, which incorporate Shamanic Healing, Bach Flower Remedies, Zero Balancing, Meditation, Holistic Self-Care and other Body/Energy Therapies. She offers classes & workshops in the MD/DC area and by teleseminar. Her story, "Lost & Found: The Birth Of A Shaman" is a part of the Heal My Voice book, Inspiring Voices: True Stories Of Visionary Women. Beth also offers online transformational resources and explorations through her blog, The Heart Of Awakening: Searching For A New Paradigm. To learn more about Beth, explore Integrative Transformational Sessions or find upcoming classes & workshops, visit www.bethterrence.com.
