walking into your own skin.
In the healing world, there's a phrase used to describe a spiritual awakening called “Walking in to Your Own Skin.”
(she puts the lotion on the skin…) Ah! No! We're talking about walking in to YOUR OWN skin.
I first heard this phrase after I got my heart smushed, which was a big enough event to wake me up out of my slumber of pretending to not know who I was or what I wanted.
One of the realizations I woke up to was the fact that I did not like and had never liked and wanted to stop being a lawyer. What I really cared about was healing, psychology, spirituality, all things woo, and helping people one-on-one with their lives.
So how did I end up in law for 6 years? How did you end up in a career you don't love or find truly meaningful?
To over-simplify it, we all have a True Self and a Social Self. Your True Self is innate and knows what you would love to be doing. Your Social Self developed in response to culture & conditioning and generally chooses the path that feels safe and accepted by culture (culture at large and your intimate culture of family and friends).
If your True Self is at odds with your Social Self, your Social Self usually wins bc it doesn't want to be “rejected” by culture or do something scary like become a psychic or painter or start a pet sanctuary for donkeys.
For a lot of people, their Social Self is running their life on autopilot. In our culture, it traditionally took a big event to shake someone out of autopilot - like a mid-life crisis, heartbreak, or loss - and make them realize they've been walking around in the wrong skin.
Today, it doesn't take a massive disruption in your daily life to figure out who you are and what your purpose is. We have people like life coaches and healers with tools and roadmaps to help you discern the difference between your True Self and your Social Self and how to start following the path of your True Self.
Where do you start? One of the first exercises I have clients do is begin to figure out their 5-10 Core Values. What do you really care about and find meaningful? Look at your values and ask yourself if your life is a reflection of those values or not.
Try it for yourself this week. Click here for a list of core values. Pick about 5-10. Use your heart to guide you. Reflect.
Happy Friday!
Love,
Jessica
