Trust
"Trust: the iron string that vibrates in every heart" Emerson to know yourself is only just the start...I added my own phrase to Emerson's in a Lit. class in the 10th grade, Whetstone High School, 1973. The assignment was to write prose or a poem from an essay, so I chose Emerson's essay on Self-Reliance. I remember it well. Mr. Langham was quite a character, and had the class memorize Jabborwocky from Alice in Wonderland. "Twas brillig and the slithy troves did gire and mimbel in the gabe. All mimsy were the burrogroves and the momeraths outgabe."
Self-reliance has been a major theme in my life, and because of the the Trager approach and nursing fit well with my values. In both those area, empowerment becomes possible as I teach a client/student/patient self care. I will spare you the entire 2 page prose I wrote on self-reliance, and return to the second opening statement: "to know yourself is only just the start".
How well do I know myself? I travel around the world. I raised my kids alone, I sit in silence a lot, watching, listening to the earth, to everyone, and to my deep inner voice. In addition, having a career in Peace, (as in Trager: Creating peace in the world, one person at a time) lends itself to acting from a place of peace within, and that leads me back to trust: trusting myself. It takes practice.
As similar as we all are, the underlying cultural and familial differences often take over when we are in unfamiliar territory. A new relationship, confusion, stress or fear of loss, often trigger the ego to go into action, and often that action is not even needed in the moment. The action response may be from an earlier time, when something similar happened, when there really was a threat of some kind. What if I sat still for a moment, breathed, listened, and TRUSTED the process? Yes, now another response is available. Another breath, and another creative idea comes up...now I have choices. I do not need to do the same thing I have always done.
Meeting resistance in the tissue during a session, gives me an opportunity to practice this. If I am committed to "Knowing what to do" then I may stop the process of being in the moment. If I let go into "not-knowing" as Milton Trager suggests, new creative options for change occur. My ego, thinks I know what to do. My soul-self knows, the person I am with knows what is best for them, and I, as a practitioner, (and as a human being in any relationship) just need to support their awareness and their choices.
Self-reliance and Trust go hand in hand. If you need a refresher course, come and renew your "relationship with you" in a Trager session. You will leave empowered and enlivened!
In Inspiration