[This article is heavily influenced by Lisa Miller PhD’s chronicled story of Gary and Colleen Miller in her book “The Awakened Brain”.]
Earlier in the Toward Wellth series, a few strategies were provided on how to silence your Inner Critic and turn it into your ally.
Today we look at a different strategy, which brings an element of spirituality into breaking cycles - or in facing your Inner Critic.
The exercise is called Holding Council.
Spirituality can involve a religious deity, although one is not required. Being Religious is an expression of spirituality; spirituality does not require a religion.
To perform this exercise, you will need to have a held concept of a “higher power”, whatever that phrase may mean to you - however you feel most connected to the broader universe.
Holding Council:
This exercise requires visualization. The exercise calls upon your Inner Council - the higher selves of people who have your best interest, your higher self, and the higher power. That Council can change over time - certain people might show up to support your best interests for relationship topics, others for family topics, and perhaps even different people to give career advice. You get to pick who shows up sometimes - and sometimes the universe might send you an unexpected council member.
To perform the visualization exercise:
Sit down.
Close your eyes.
Imagine a table is in front of you and you can invite anyone, living or deceased, who truly has your best interest in mind.
With all of them there, ask them if they love you.
Next, invite your higher self. This is the version of you that is much greater than anything you have done or not done, anything you have or don’t have.
Ask your eternal, higher self if you love you.
And now invite your higher power to your table, whoever or whatever that is to you. Ask your higher power if they love you.
And with all of them sitting there, ask them “What do I need to know right now? What do you need to tell me?”
Hopefully you can experiment with Holding Council to see how it provides voices additive to your own. While your own higher self may be helpful, what positive things do the higher selves of others say? Do they promote important things you should call to mind? What about your higher power - do they give you additional insight and intuition?
The utility of this practice extends beyond Inner Critic situations - any time you need to wrestle with a situation that causes distress or uncertainty can benefit from this practice.
What about you - Do you have other practices you use to wrestle with difficult situations? Share them in the comments!
Extending this concept into Toward Wellth, it can be taught as something that can be done at home or when you have a tranquil environment. Ideally the connections you will make at Toward Wellth could become your live council.