“We are all meant to shine. And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are
liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Mariane Williamson.
Finding The Inner You is a first step to giving yourself permission to shine. Once you have located your inner light then, I believe, that you actually have a responsibility to let it shine… thus encouraging others to give themselves permission to do the same. Not in any boastful or bragging way but coming from a place of humility. The Inner You understands that we are all one – that we all have a light to shine – but we lose our childlike innocence as we get older and are exposed to the things that the material world values. Our values become confused and we develop the need to conform and to fit in. The child whose vivid imagination is encouraged and who is considered both intelligent and cute at age two then goes to school and is told not to make up stories and gently, “Now, you know that isn’t really true.” How confusing is that! They learn that imagination is not true but is allowed at a specific lesson time when they are allowed to write stories to develop language skills and story lines. Thus, imagination has a box with a tight lid to keep it firmly under control.
So, what is the solution? First of all – give yourself permission. Give yourself permission to be you. Many of us spend years wondering who we really are, why we are here and what our purpose is, indeed, do we have a purpose? Maybe the ultimate purpose for all of us is to shine that light; however it is important to differentiate between purpose and process. I believe that we go though many changing processes and the purpose remains the same, but that is the substance of another article.
Who are you… and who are you giving yourself permission to be?
I have a favourite model which I have used for many years with clients and groups… I didn’t create it; I came across it many, many years ago and adapted it to work with in my own unique way. I call it the PIES model and I have found that within this model you can identify, really quite quickly, just where you fit and just how to shine your own unique light.
The basic premise of this model is that there are four pillars to a balanced life. The P(hysical), E(motional), I(ntellectual), S(piritual).
Very simply, you make a list of as many things as you can think of that you do on a daily or weekly basis to nourish yourself in these four areas. So, for example, on the Physical you would look at your diet, your house, your clothes, your car, and your sleep patterns. Exercise? What condition are they in? Is your diet healthy? Is your house in a good state of repair and is it a comfortable and supportive place to be? Are your clothes okay or do you need some new underwear? Is your car properly maintained and do you get a good undisturbed sleep every night? Do you set time aside for exercise? Be honest with yourself!
The same process for Intellectual… what books do you read? Do you read? Do you keep abreast of your career, hobbies and interests? Have meaningful conversations? Challenge your brain?
Emotional? Do you have healthy, close relationships? People who care for you and for whom you care in return? Are you a good listener? Do you support a charity? Etc. etc.
And Spiritually? Do you meditate? Read spiritual literature? Practice yoga? Have meaningful discussions? Listen to healing music? And so on.
This exercise can be done in stages… in fact, it needs to be done in stages until you are familiar with it and also it is alright to overlap. Yoga may well fit into three or four of the categories and that’s fine. But when you have done the exercise and, if you have been honest, you will have one area very depleted and probably one over stocked! So, you can identify where you need to focus in order to redress the balance. While doing the exercise allow yourself to become aware of which area you are most interested in. Which one you are most drawn to. Then give yourself permission to discover more about that area. Give yourself permission to explore that area and feel how much you enjoy and get excited about it. You may work in a physical job – like building or body training – but your inner you really enjoys reading spiritual literature and you don’t get time to do much. So, you give yourself permission and set aside time to indulge this passion. And this is how you go about finding what lights you up and then going out and sharing it with the world. This is how you Shine your Light.
Forget the thought that you are not ready or that you need to be a great prophet. You are that prophet! You are that Light! You have that Light to Shine and the most powerful thing about Shining your Light is that you encourage others to do the same. How exciting is that!
Kate McHardy is a Personal and Spiritual Counsellor.
