Iyasu's Metaphysical Cleanse

By practicing Daily mindfulness living, attending to of our mind’s incessant activity, we stay present and can watch what our mind presents as “truth.” This is the only way we can differentiate between a fear-based mind and our authentic true self. A fear-based mind creates a critical voice that tells us we are unworthy. By contrast, our authentic voice, based in self-love, self-worth, and self-compassion empowers us. When people suffer with illness or dysfunction (physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual) we can frequently trace the origin back to the critical voice echoing a deep unworthiness, expressing a self-loathing belief. 

Much suffering stems from our own thinking. Inaccurate and negative self-beliefs trigger painful, emotions such as loneliness. For example, if we believe we are unworthy of love we fear we may be alone forever. Because humans are pleasure seekers, we tend to avoid sitting with unwanted emotions or feelings. When we avoid feeling uncomfortable, we look for distractions—something most people seem to have mastered. We probably understand the difference between healthy vs. unhealthy foods; but depending on our level of discomfort at any given time, we might choose to act on or ignore this information. Many people base their food choices on emotional comfort to one degree or another (in this context, “food” also includes alcohol). Today, most people know that sugar, processed foods, unhealthy beverages, preservatives, and excessive consumption of alcohol result in a variety of health issues. However, it seems people do not realize why we continue to consume these foods, even though we know they damage us. If you have ever been on a diet where you eliminated unhealthy foods and beverages and, as a result, experienced how good your body felt, wouldn’t it stand to reason you would never choose to eat unhealthfully again? But it doesn’t really work that way. Why? Because we are not taught as children how to live with the discomfort of uncomfortable emotions and we distract ourselves with unhealthy foods. 

Life continually offers us opportunities to feel and heal, particularly in relationships with others. Think about all the uncomfortable emotions you’ve experienced in your lifetime. When someone mirrored issues back to you, what did you do? Working with clients, I notice that being willing to feel vulnerable challenges them most. I empathize: embracing vulnerability can leave us feeling weak. However, paradoxically, willingness to be vulnerable can also empower us. We get to know our authentic selves—the real self. If we stop hiding from what we fear about ourselves (our beliefs) and open up to what we truly want and need, we will begin to have honest and empowering conversations with ourselves. At the end of the day, we can reflect on our behavior and decide if we lived from our best selves. Only with mindfulness can we notice if we fail to live up to the standards of our “best selves,” and then choose to make changes accordingly.