The truth will set you free. John, Chapter 8, Verse 32, of the most popularly read book in history, the Bible. This declaration is true for me, and my proof is how I feel in my body. My body reflects freedom, and activates my sufficiency.
I wonder, how many people today feel free, or perhaps even fewer, feel free in their body?
The context for this month’s article is money, of course, yet there are plenty of applications. Please allow the message to serve you best in whatever way supports you to the fullest.
In my over thirty years of working with individuals and their finances, I’ve seen that more often than not, there are deeper truths, white lies, bold falsehoods, and unintended distortions, festering within our money experience. Money, like all aspects of life, cannot easily flow or grow in contaminated conditions. If a lie persists, results and progress will resist. Lies arise from fear, scarcity and greed.
Have you ever noticed what happens when a lie becomes revealed? Initially, there is shock, anger, fear, shame, or despair (name your favorite reaction). As the lie unravels and responses to it are released, the exposure of truth to light and air creates space for healing. Healing may look like reconciliation, more truths, and closer connection, or, it may look like separation, clarity and new direction. Whatever the outcome, the truth always opens the gateway for nourishment: clarity, cleansing, intimacy, energy, wisdom, and compassion. This is how the truth sets you free. This is where sufficiency abides.
Return to the question: what do you notice when truth exists?
This is my experience. My whole body responds with a shimmering tingle, more intense in front of my spine radiating out through my finger-tips from my heart. This feeling provides me strength, energy and confidence. Yes, this feels like freedom.
Recently a client shared a current money issue which contained a history of falsehoods. Her breathing was shallow and she struggled to convey her point. She was noticeably uncomfortable. There were aspects of her spending behavior which she was unwilling to accept.
When I reflected her statements and offered curiosity in a few areas – giving space for discovery – she settled, a little. Reflecting and exploring further, an insight emerged that exposed the lie and self-deception. It was not a “significant” lie; however,false is false, there are no “little lies.” The tools for clear decisions about what’s next cannot be seen through an opaque window.
Clarity revealed a simple next step toward 100% responsibility, serving her deeper longings well. Initially she reacted with feelings of shame and sadness. When those feelings – fully experienced – ceased, she sat more upright, with color in her face, and confidence in her voice. I stated, you look aligned and present. What do you feel in your body? Calm, she said, more centered, confident, and optimistic.
A lethal lie that most of us bury under the surface and delay facing, is “not enough.” Not being enough. Not having enough. Not doing enough. I say lethal because there are times when we feel like we are dying. The embodied scarcity we carry is too much. So we stay on the hamster wheel of being/having/doing – the balance weight for our hidden belief that we are not enough.
The antidote for the pendulum swing from not enough to too much is Sufficiency. We access sufficiency through truth. The truth of our enough-ness is right here. Truth allows us to feel free. The truth of our sufficiency is freedom.
Embodying Sufficiency as a state of being transforms money confusion and fear
into clarity, well-being, and generosity.
Where is your truth hiding?
What have you not spoken out loud?
How do money issues get clouded and hinder your truth of okay-ness?
When money is the subject, how does your body respond? What sensations do you notice? (Temperature, movement, pressure?)
What is your body saying to you?
Only from a place of sufficiency,
a visceral felt sense, and pure knowing that “I am OK,”
can we experience our optimal meaningful life.
Experiment with truth-telling, on any topic. Expressing truth is simple. There are two parts: 1) expressing the truth, and 2) recognizing how truth feels in your body. For example:
- Today is Tuesday. I am wearing a blue skirt. I feel a tingle pinch in my left shoulder, cotton ball tension in my jaw, and a soft buzz in my chest.
- Truth in my body right now feels welcoming. The sensations I just articulated feel more spacious and included.
Sufficiency is present. I feel my enoughness and okay-ness by expressing what is.
With intentional practice, you can experiment in bringing your money clouds to the surface. Is there a conversation with yourself, a loved one, or a professional you have avoided? Here are money examples of truth-telling. Pick one that strikes a chord and try it. Let your body communicate with you.
- I spend more money than I bring in each month.
- I avoid reading my financial documents.
- I feel angry when I face money issues.
- I blame others for my lack of money savvy.
- I buy things to feel better about myself.
- I repel others who have financial success.
- I work really hard and can’t get “ahead.”
- Money scares me.
- I delegate financial matters to someone else.
- I don’t want to learn about money.
- I want someone else to take care of me.
- Add your own truth. No blaming or shaming or judgment.
State your truth a few times out loud.
Now: feel the sensations in your body. What do you notice?
If your body could talk to you, what would the sensations be saying to you? [Note: your body loves you and is your ally. You can trust your body.] Continue this practice and build your truth-telling muscles. These experiences are the path to embodied sufficiency.
Savoring Sufficiency,
