Even though your psyche appears to be one unified system in which “you” think all your thoughts and feel all your feelings, this is an illusion.
Our psyches are made up of many different parts, or sub personalities, if you will.
Self awareness begins with consciousness of these parts.
Without such awareness we’re victims of our unconscious processes.
We proceed through the day thinking, feeling, believing, and acting without knowing which parts of ourselves are in control; we assume it’s us but it’s not.
Identifying which part of oneself is “talking” at a given time enables one to consciously process what’s happening instead of being led by unseen forces that can cause havoc in one’s life.
Try this:
Close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths and come into the present moment.
Identify a thought, feeling, or reaction that’s bothering you.
Instead of participating in it, step back and observe it from a distance.
Listen to the voice of your thoughts and/or watch yourself having the feeling or reaction.
Take time to experience it from this detached mindset; be a silent witness of your inner life.
Then imagine/visualize “who” in you is thinking, feeling, or reacting.
Is it your mother, father, or other authority figure?
Inner child?
A part that feels unseen, unheard, hurt, judged or rejected?
A part that feels oppressed and wants to go free?
A belief of your culture/society?
Your inner rebel?
Inner wise woman/warrior?
A part that’s jealous of you? (Yup, you can have inner jealousy toward yourself!).
You might not be able to answer the question right away, and that’s okay, but with some patience and intuition you’ll be able to identify it.
Once you have a sense of which part you’re dealing with you can try various ways of processing it:
Imagine further into the story behind it, and use this to raise your self awareness.
Or dialogue with the part.
Or playact it to get to know it better.
Or express it in body movement to explore it’s physical energy.
You can even ask yourself, “What was this part before it became so obnoxious, and what changed it?! : )
Become aware of who’s thinking, feeling, and reacting in you!
