We live in a chaotic world, filled with stressors, rules and obligations...

These are challenging and forceful.
They can exert on us great forces that lead us to shrink, mold and adapt ourselves to mitigate and alleviate this pressure.

This is normal; however, not necessarily healthy.

Let me give you an example:

Say as a child you loved to sing ...
You sang every day, expressing your joy through melody ...

Then, one day, your mother told you to stop singing! Maybe she was mad, maybe she was busy, but ultimately she impressed upon you that something about your act of singing was bad.

This, while ultimately not true, can have lasting and tangible affects on your behavior and even your health!!

Unfortunately, the majority of us experienced various forms of trauma like this during our childhood. These, in turn, form into our belief systems about our selves and the world around us which then lead to our behavioral patterns.

What song are you not singing?

What dance do you dance when no one is around?

These are the things that we truly are meant to share with the world but so rarely have the space to do so.

That is why we must intentional create the space to allow this kind of behavior to emerge from us.
Now that we are adults we are strong and capable, able to understand and choose which motifs and ideas we believe in and adopt.

Try this exercise to increase your ability to express yourself without judgement.

Imagine yourself in an empty room.
The walls are white and the room is totally expansive.
In this room there is nothing.
It's just you, nothing to bother you, nothing to be bothered by you.

Hold this image in your mind.
What arises along side you?
What do you begin to do?

Notice anything and everything that arises .
These are things that you have hidden away from the world.
These are the things that you need to help uncover.

Write down as many things as you can remember on a list.
Take that list with you for the next day, looking at it from time to time.

After a whole day of embracing these things, choose 1 item from the list.
1 item at a time, intentionally and consciously give yourself permission to express yourself in that way.

Maybe it begins in your room, maybe you begin by dancing down the street (it's ok ... weird looks are a reaffirmation that you are doing it right) ...

Take your time but be persistent ...

You are investing in yourself.

You are investing in your future.

With this space that you are creating you are giving yourself permission to be who you truly are ...
Without judgment, complete acceptance.