In the early 1900's, Carl Jung discovered through his famous
word-association experiments that inner conflicts create
detectable changes in our normal physiological responses. This
pioneer work gave birth to the science of lie detection, which is
based on the simple premise that the body doesn't seem to like
it when we lie!
This is not to say that the body is concerned with 'truth' as an
abstract or philosophical concept. It is inner truth' that
seems to matter more than anything else. Are we being
true to ourselves at any given moment? This is the
crucial question. If we are, the body is relaxed and a sense of
ease, contentment and trust will be felt. If we are not, the body
will communicate this fact by way of feelings such as anxiety,
tension and other forms of discomfort.
I have learned to recognize this feeling of being true to myself
as part of a process of alignment. My impression is that when I
am in alignment - rather than in conflict - with myself, then I
seem to be in alignment with the outer world also. I meet the
right people at the right time. Things seem to take care of
themselves without any great effort on my part. Doors seem to
open where I didn't even know there were doors. I have
exactly what I need from one moment to the next.
And when I am out of alignment - the universe seems to reflect
that too. I feel stressed. There is too little or too much of
something. I seem to have difficult or impossible choices
demanding a decision. It takes a lot of effort to achieve a small
result.
How, then, can we bring ourselves into alignment whenever we
feel the need? It's a deceptively simple process. The main
requirement is that we allow the body to feel whatever it needs
to feel in a given moment. In other words, we let the body be
the guide, and simply follow the signals it provides. If there is
tension somewhere, we bring awareness to that place, and just
allow it to be as tense as it is. If there is constriction
somewhere, we let that place feel constricted.
This process is so simple that very few people can do it without
a little practice! The reason is that most of us have formed a
lifelong habit of trying to change or get rid of uncomfortable
feelings. Which has the unfortunate result of keeping them in
place..... what we resist, persists.
Accepting ourselves as we are (not as we'd like to be) is one of
the most profound self-healing principles I have come across.
Next month, I'll share some further information on the magical
relationship between feelings and unconscious beliefs.
