What stories do we tell ourselves? Can you identify any?
Some are more obvious. Recurring themes and messages that can be simply expressed like “I’m not good enough” or “nobody loves me”, or “I’m a failure” and so on. Some are more complex, involving the past and lots of persons, places, and things.
Many are REALLY deep in there. So deep that they are beyond our awareness. Think social conditioning. What are the “rules” and survival strategies we have developed from the moment we landed on Earth until now? They keep us feeling loved. Included. A part of society. Quell any fears we may have.
Fears are a big one. How many fears were created when you landed on Earth, and then how were they used to keep you part of society? And shaped who you are today?
Or at least, who you THINK you are today…
In Tantra Yoga*, these stories that we tell ourselves are merely mental constructs. They are NOT reality even though we think they are. We have lived with them so long that we cannot even conceive of the notion that they could not be real.
At this point, the previous declaration might alarm you. You may have some violent disbelief emerging. Sorry about that!
Tantra Yoga has been around for over 1000 years. Must be something to the “truths” they teach….?
So this post is an invitation. To explore first, what are the stories you have about yourself? How many are in your active awareness? How many are hanging off of it, but now becoming visible to you? And if you contemplate further, how many can you identify that are completely hidden** but now with my comments perhaps some of them are coming to the surface?
Then, how many can be released? How many cannot, and why?
And before I close, why the heck am I even proposing this activity? It is by taking it to its conclusions which is the release of stories within us, and enough of them so that we are liberated from the confines they create, limiting our potential to become the true beings we all are. Isn’t that worth exploring?
* I’ve been studying Non-dual Shaiva Tantra, a centuries old philosophy that is the precursor to many philosophies today like Tibetan Buddhism and Yoga. Highly recommend checking out Tantra Illuminated by Chris Wallace, as well as his excellent podcast Tantra Illuminated. Really great books too, starting with Tantra Illuminated and I am now diving into his Recognition Sutras. The text versions are great, but I would highly recommend the Audible versions as well.
** NOTE on “hidden” stories: A hint on what could cause stories to be very hard to uncover – think about something about society. Your role in your household for example. “I am the man so I need to work to make money.” “I am the woman and therefore these tasks fall to me.” Some of these are so ingrained, and so much a part of our normal every day life that we don’t even know they are stories. As you uncover the really hidden, deep ones, ask yourself, how true are they, really? Is it really necessary that I, as a man, must be the one who works and makes money? Is it really necessary, that I, as a woman, must cook dinner every night, do laundry, take care of the kids, etc. etc.?
