Confession time: I’m a hippy and I hate it.

I’ve been struggling to write this post. For there is something I want to admit, but haven’t been able to find the seamless thoughts or words to articulate it. But then they came.

So here goes, I’m a hippy and I’m not sure I’m 100% proud of it. There, I’ve said it.

My question of late: Is all this self help stuff really necessary? (I’m sure you realise the impact this question might have on a self help practitioner like myself!)

I had a moment a few weekends ago where I was taken out of my comfort zone, in that I was surrounded by people dear to my heart who are not into what I’m into. They perceive the world in a different way. AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY I wasn’t judging them, rather I was intensely judging myself because of it. I started to question the way I see the world, the depths I tend to go to, the intense curiosity I have with myself and human nature in general. And the awarenesses hurt. My head started to spin and at a core level I could feel myself being torn apart.

Feeling separate to the people around me kills me. This is for obvious reasons. I crave people’s approval. I want to be accepted by the tribe – EVERY tribe. I want to be heard and acknowledged. I want to be reassured that I’m OK, that there’s nothing wrong with me. BUT I realised that in wanting this outside of myself I was/ am ultimately denying my greatest power. To be just me. To stand tall. To accept myself that little bit more. To be proud that I am exactly as I am – which happens to be someone who loves everything self help/ hippy/ metaphysical/ emotional. I am a curious being of human nature.

As we all know, this journey – is a journey. Which means in order for us to move along the journey as opposed to sitting idle, things need to surface, things need to stir and shift and at times we need to be made to feel uncomfortable. In order to understand our truth that little bit more we have to move away from it temporarily. I’m not saying we need to analyse it but, but we do need to be aware of it. For it is through the awareness that the potent information comes.

Upon my realisation of not being so very proud of my way of being, I came across a great blog post from Danielle LaPorte in which she talks about Accessing your Innate Power vs Improving your Sorry Self. http://www.positivelypositive.com/2013/06/06/why-self-improvement-makes-you-neurotic/

Divine timing as always.

She says the following;

‘You may feel broken, screwed up, neurotic, defective, sub par—take a number. You may be afraid—so very natural. You may just be really, really excited, and you’re labelling it as anxious—easy mistake.

Rather than doing whatever it is that you do to ease, you mitigate and transform those states of being as acts of “self improvement” and “getting fixed” or “making better.” What if you approached those rituals and remedies as ways of getting to your power? No fixing and no anxiety, rather, a trip to the Limitless Well of Knowing and Reliable Awareness.’

Perspective. Thanks to Danielle and my recent awareness I’m opting to view things a little differently. I’m choosing to not look down on my self help tendencies but instead to see them as opportunities to access my innate power.

When I choose to see it from this perspective it makes me sit up straight and want to be the best version of myself. It makes my desire to have courage and break through comfort zones so much more powerful. To develop a stronger sense of self, to connect with my truth, my essence. To expand my consciousness. To be of service to more people. Because when I think about not doing it I literally experience pain. I move away from my essence, and that’s crap.

So – self help, hippy, metaphysical, complicated emotions … whatever the label – it’s not overindulgent. It’s not weird. It’s not anything. It just is. And that ‘just is’ is something I’m proud of.

Clare Woodward is a Sydney-based transformational coach and kinesiologist who believes that really knowing yourself is the key to a happy, self-loving life. Using a combination of powerful techniques, Clare empowers people to lead the kind of authentic, fulfilling lives they want and deserve. She peels back the layers to help them let go and live (consciously and) with intention, and in doing so, steers them towards their very best self – emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. In a nutshell, Clare helps her clients to realise and live their potential, every day.