RawRealSelf
Music of the Day – Tell It Like It Is by Nina Simone
Music Link – http://www.metrolyrics.com/tell-it-like-it-is-lyrics-nina-simone.html
Honesty! We get so involved in the games we play with each other, we forget that there are hearts and spirits involved in our games. We get caught up the game of putting on our masks that we often forget our realness – our truth. We forget that it is the honesty and our Beingness that attracts our friends and relationships – those that know us raw and real.
Raw and Real! I have a question for you, my readers, what is your raw truth? Is it hidden behind an everyday mask? Or do you wear a half mask? Why do we wear masks at all? What is it about our RawRealSelves that we are afraid to show?
We all feel hurt, guilt, pain – we all feel joy, empowerment, pleasure. If we are open to showing the positive, why not the negative? Ego! Yeah, that little voice that speaks in the corners and recesses of our minds that say, “if they know the real you, they won’t like you!” Or “if you let your feelings show, you’re going to get hurt!” And you may have let you RawRealSelf show a few times only to get hurt, but you felt!
We often receive a projection from those we are with based on their perceptions of themselves. Revealing our RawRealSelves may trigger anchors for the other person with whom we are engaging and judgments ensues.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned – but yet mastered – is from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Ruiz writes about the Toltec Wisdom and the Four Agreements that, if followed, changes our perceptions and our lives. They are:
1. Be Impeccable with Your Word – Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. (“Tell it like it is!”)
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally – Nothing others do is because of you! What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions – Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. (We all know what assuming does – Makes an ASS –out of u and me – assume.)
4. Always Do Your Best – Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret (Ruiz, 1997, front cover).
Remembering these four agreements with self and spirit and putting them into practice gives a freedom to always be your RawRealSelf. So, today, tell it like it is, and be your RawRealSelf!
Resource:
Ruiz, D. M., PhD. (1997). The Four Agreements. San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing.
Dancing Naked 