When the world is loud and you feel overwhelmed, you will find the most peace when are able to stay true to yourself and in alignment with your inner being.
Why? Because thoughts and actions taken outside of this place will always be downstream. You betray yourself when you aren't in alignment, and that's why you feel so bad.
In this article, I'm going to share practical ways you can stay true to who you really are, what that looks like, and how to follow the guidance of your inner being.
What it means to stay true to yourself
Staying true to yourself means honoring what you know to be true for you, what lights you up, and following your bliss.
It means not defining yourself by what your parents, partners, friends, naysayers, the media, or any other outside influence says about you. Why? Because they can't know you. Only your inner being fully knows your heart.
If you think to yourself, "I'm a bad person," you'll likely feel discord within from that statement. That's your inner being saying:
When you are truly lit up and in alignment with your inner being, you are loving, compassionate, and open. You know it by how good you feel!
We feel bad when we misperceive reality, when we adopt a thought that doesn't serve us, or when we take action from a place of inauthenticity from what our higher selves know to be true.
Why being true to yourself is important
It's important to be true to yourself so that repressed feelings like resentment and anger do not harbor themselves in your energy field. Ignored feelings reflect themselves in the body eventually as pain and dis-ease.
We cannot betray who we are, making everyone else happy, and continue to flow forth abundant life-force energy. We do not have the luxury of denying the self, because that is not what you came here to do. Denying the self diminishes your energy.
You came here to expand, not shrink. You came here to experience joy in a way that is unique to you, not to play by someone else's rules. You came here knowing that there was not a single thing wrong about you, and your inner being is not going to let you forget it.
Living your life for others only works for so long. Until the ignored emotions begin physically hurting. Until you find yourself miserable and overwhelmed because your days are spent trying to appease others. Until you are forced to put yourself first because you must choose to either merely exist or live fully.
How to stay true
So how, in this world of constant media-induced peer pressure and the sacrificing of self being put on a pedestal, does one remain true to themselves? How do we stay real and live our lives in a way that feels authentic, joyful, and full of love?
1. Spend time alone every single day
A person who is not spending some time alone with themselves every day is going to be a disconnected person. I know for myself, when I go days without being alone, I realize I feel completely ungrounded, emotionally overwhelmed, and I don't even know what I think anymore.
That's within days, so I can't imagine the people who are going months and years. It becomes a way of life that people accept as a true reality. But it doesn't have to be. Spending time alone is one of the most therapeutic things we can do for ourselves.
The mind has a chance to relax and we can reflect on what's been coming up for ourselves without the noise of world drowning out what we intuitively know to be true.
Where in your day can you fit in 30 minutes to be alone with yourself? Those times when you go to scroll your phone, instead try to just be present in your surroundings. Meditate. Sit in silence. Listen to the birds. Watch a candle flame.
You'll be amazed at what alone time will do for you spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
2. Release emotions
We are not our emotions, but the experiencers of them. When we can step back and observe them, allow them to rise and permeate our awareness, they will dissipate.
When we ignore them, we hold them in our energy field and prolong their existence within us. This is why we get sick, because there is enough accumulated discord living within us that is trying to get our attention. The emotions need to be felt and released.
One of my favorite ways to do this is by simply sitting in a quiet place and allowing an emotion to come up within me. I learned this in Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now.
For example, if I'm having anxiety, rather than push it away and go on with my day, I will let the fearful thought or emotion be brought forward. I'll notice where I feel it in my body (usually it's in my stomach or heart) and simply let it be there.
After a few minutes or less, the emotion is gone because it was allowed to come up and be released. You come into the present moment, in mind and body, and no other emotion except peace can live there. All others are let go.
Other ways to release emotions would be to journal, going for a walk, meditation, or through things like art.
3. Follow the feeling
I liken our emotions to playing the hot and cold game with our inner beings. The bad feeling emotions let us know we're "cold", or far away from what our inner being knows to be true. The good feeling emotions let us know we're "hot", or on track with our inner beings.
When you have a thought and it feels bad, that's your inner being saying, "Cold! You've gone off in the bushes–you gotta come back over here to truth and eternal wellbeing." That's why it feels so bad! It's not grounded in any truth that the eternal You knows to be true.
I'm a huge Abraham Hicks fan, and one thing I keep sharing that I learned from them this past year is to ask myself throughout the day: what would be fun/soothing/relieving to do right now?
This will keep you in alignment with your inner being/your true self all day long. It will connect you to your intuition and the inspired action being called from you.
Sometimes you'll want to go out for drinks, call a friend, watch a funny movie, host a dinner party, etc. Other times you'll want to go for a quiet walk, take a bath, go to bed early, take a nap, meditate, journal, do yoga, etc.
When you're having to do things you don't particularly feel like doing but must, like care for children or go to a job, asking yourself this question can help you to alleviate those tasks by making it easier for yourself. Maybe listening to a podcast while you make dinner, drive, or work would help, for example.
Follow your good feelings, because they'll lead you step by step into the present moment of joy, peace, and wellbeing.
4. Be intentional with your focus
Imagine two people: one of them watches "trash tv" all day and the other watches peaceful nature shows all day. They are likely going to have two very different vibrational levels.
The light of your consciousness literally amplifies whatever you put your focus on. If you focus on bad feeling things all day long, you are actually amplifying them not only for yourself, but for the world at large.
It's one thing to stay updated, but it's entirely another to focus in on a world of negativity, sadness, and drama. It's also inaccurate, because our media focuses on the negative and rarely shares the good happening in our world.
The more you focus on the manifested in the outside world, the more you lose connection with the one that truly matters, which is the world that is pregnant inside of you. This is a concept that the majority of the world still has yet to believe, that we are creators, creating from the inside out.
You cannot focus 95% of your day on the drama of other people and manifest peace and joy within your own life. Your focus will only grow that which you place it on.
Focus on your inner being. Focus on your joy, what lights you up, what puts a smile on your face, what soothes you and brings you feelings of peace. That's where the true you is found.
5. Question everything
Most of us have beliefs we accepted as true a long time ago and don't even consciously realize we held onto.
A minor one for me is the belief that after the age of 30, the metabolism slows down and you have to watch what you eat. Isn't that kind of funny when you think about it? Science is proving more and more that it's only our beliefs that dictate these truths.
Some people's minds believe they have a fast metabolism at the age of 60, and so they do. Some believe they have good skin. A nice butt. Healthy lungs. An awesome immune system. Thick hair. Shapely legs. Athletic abilities. Flexibility. A sharp mind.
They likely picked these things up from the adults around them when they were young because it had been a truth in their family. Every single belief and perspective out there will hold a level of "truth" to it. By that I mean, anything you believe in will eventually be true for you, even if it's a false illusion.
True true things feel good. False true things feel bad. But both will reflect in your world because you are a creator. The truth can be veiled by an illusion, and you will always have the power to lift it up.
What we see in our physical world is only there because we believed it to be true. But it's not necessarily the truth. Does it feel good? Then it's in alignment with what your higher self knows to be eternally true. Does it feel bad? Then it's an illusion veiled over an eternal truth.
Question your beliefs, perspectives, and "truths". Do they serve you? If they don't, why are you buying into them? Do you realize you're a creator, making up your world as you go along? Just because it's in the physical doesn't mean it's an eternal truth. It's just a temporarily created illusion, by you and many others who share in that same line of perspective.
Check in with yourself before you buy into outside beliefs and perspectives. Feel into it. Your inner being will let you know if it's a truth that serves you by the way you feel.
6. Stay in the present moment
The more you are able to stay present, the closer you are to your true self. Your true self does not live in the past, where there is guilt, sadness, and regret. Nor does your true self live in the future, where there is anxiety, fear, and doubt.
Your true self is right here, right now. Completely at peace. Full of love. Resting in the knowledge that all is well.
Spend time in meditation. Sit quietly and observe all the beauty. Release thoughts and worries. Really taste your food and savor it. Laugh loudly and deep. Bask in the feeling of your shower water. Breathe in your children. Embrace a loved one extra tight. Take pleasure in your body. Release guilt in every moment. Forgive instantly. Smell the flowers. Let your pets heal your energy.
See through your true eyes of love, compassion, and innocence. This is where you will always find the eternal you.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this article and found something to take away with you.
To receive my weekly, self-care focused email that inspires you to go deeper inside the magic that is you, sign up for the Self-Care Sunday emails.
With love,
Jessica
Jessica Dimas is the creator of Manifesting Magic with the Moon, a holistic self-care ritual bundle.
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RF Dietz
This resonated with me on a level only a twin soul sister could understand. I love you! You are amazing!
Jessica Dimas
I am so happy to see your face around here, I love you and miss you! <3
leah
This article really enlightened me. The way you write and see the world is inspiring. Thank you for your words.
Jessica Dimas
I'm so glad you resonated with it, thank you for the feedback and comment <3
Morticia
Wow! I REALLY needed that! Thank you! Being empathic makes the world a rough and rough place at moments, but your message was the nudge in the correct direction that I am supposed to go. Thank you!
Jessica Dimas
Yes, I completely hear you! I'm glad you resonated with the article, thank you for your comment <3
Christina
Thank. you so much for this post. First time reader here and I love that you are a gem in this ROUGH WORLD. A gem, meaning you are Balanced, Grounded, Intuitive, and most of all Positive and that is RARE on the internet. We need more people like you. We need PEACE OF MIND as I already have major anxiety with this covid virus. As a major empath I really needed it. I stopped watching the news especially facebook because it was affecting my health. My intuition just by reading the news is all political agenda or in fact it is of an agenda and that is to bring forth hate within ourself and to others. To be honest, the people that can recognize that are the only ones that have PURE SELF-LOVE. Thats a deep thought so take it how you want it people. Remember, if someone or something does not NOURISH YOUR FEAR, let it go. It's all about healthy boundaries. I have been through a lot of suffering and I am not going to take anymore negativity from friends or social media. Thank you so much for your authentic blog posts. It really helps me to be at peace again.
Jessica Dimas
Thank you SO much for that very thoughtful and kind feedback! This year has really been one intense course given by the universe to all of us. Lots of deliberate intention and alignment being called forth, as well as surrender and letting go at the same time. Thank you for your comment, it made my day <3