Free your mind and your ass will follow.-George Clinton
George Clinton got it right. Once you free your mind, those parts of you that feel like an ass, that feel not worthy, that feel not good enough, all of those parts will be free, too. Here’s why.
Most of us live with part of our minds trapped within a cage. This is the part of ourselves that we reject. We have thoughts that go through our minds that we label as bad. We judge someone or feel angry or ungrateful, and we feel ashamed about it. We then reject that part of ourselves because that isn’t who we want to be.
When we reject these thoughts, we move them to a place that we can’t access. We put bars around them, label them as “bad”, and throw away the key. Yet, because we have locked these thoughts away, and haven’t let them flow through us, they are still a part of us. So, they have more power than ever!
When our mind has become a storehouse of those negative thoughts (of which we are unaware of because we have suppressed them), we will attract negative experiences to mirror those negative thoughts that we don’t realize are locked away.
So, if you have had the thought that you are not worthy but have hidden that thought within you, you will continue to attract people and situations in your life that make you feel like you are not worthy. You will blame the other people for how they have made you feel, but, actually, they are a gift. They are only reflecting the idea that you have rejected and have buried in your mind.
If you want to free your mind, you have to let those thoughts surface. When they surface, you will realize you are not those thoughts. We often have to see what we are not before we can see what we are.
You can do this by becoming mindful of your thoughts when they arise. Sit with these thoughts you have about yourself. And instead of judging them as bad, try loving yourself in spite of what you are thinking. It is the feeling of completeness that your mind is actually searching for. That is what it needs to be free. But, it can’t be free if you are keeping parts of yourself hidden.
The secret to freeing your mind is to love yourself no matter what arises. Your heart is the only thing that has the ability to free your mind. Ask yourself why the negative thoughts or emotions you are having are arising. To give you an example, I recently got really angry with someone. This person judged my anger, and the old me would have done the same. But, instead, I went deeper. I asked myself, “Why did I get so angry?” The thing that triggered my anger was this person had criticized me for something nice I had done for them, but they criticized me because, in their eyes, I hadn’t done it “right.”
When I sat with my anger, I went deeper, and realized that I had unhealed pain in my heart. I grew up in a family where I was often criticized. I had many gifts to give as a person, but according to them, there was always a way I could do things better. I realized that this place inside of me was not fully healed. I grieved and let the tears flow as I realized this and gave compassion and love to this place inside of me that felt unloved and “not enough”. In this way, I had made never being “enough” part of my truth. And, I was continuing to attract people and situations that made me feel this way.
Once I saw this, I was able to let this belief go. I knew this wasn’t really true. I began to see all the wonderful gifts I have to give to this world. I began to see my true being. I saw that I was enough and that no one else had the ability to take that away from me. I saw that my anger was a gift for revealing these truths to me. But, if I had judged and avoided the anger, I would have never seen the true cause of the anger and that part of me would have been left unhealed. Instead, I let the love in my heart unlock the bars of my mind.
I encourage you to go deeper when you experience thoughts or emotions you want to avoid. If you are experiencing fear or guilt or anxiety, sit with it. Don’t judge it. Allow it, and you will start to see what is triggering these emotions. The same is true with sadness, worry, or any other thought or emotion that you are used to judging as negative. The truth really will set you free. Let everything else that’s not truth go. Let it out. Unleash it. The kingdom of heaven really is within. We just need to use our hearts to set it free.
Okay, small example, but I want to poke holes here and see if it stands. I am VERY quiet. I use headphones in the house, practically tip toe around, close doors extremely softly, etc. A new housemate I have slams doors, stomps around, talks to himself, plays the TV loudly… I couldn’t have attracted this with a part of myself. I don’t see how. I do judge for this, well, not judge him, but maybe a little – more just that I don’t like the noise. So, does this not apply somehow? Am I missing something? I was loving this article until that example came to mind. I do see how this applies to other pieces of my life though. Thank you!
Does you housemate bring up the feeling in you that you have no control? If not, what feeling does it break down. Past the annoyance. Go deeper. That is the issue they are reflecting back to you!
And one more thing – at what point do you cut someone out because of how the treat you? I mean, if you’re being made to feel not enough by someone, how much do you say, “Oh, I need to realize I’m enough,” versus, “This person keeps saying these things to me, which shows they are ungrateful and hurtful, I don’t want them in my life?” I mean, it can’t ALWAYS just be a sign for YOU!! That’s VERY self-absorbed. Some people are just assholes. And I don’t want those types of people in my life.