Uncovering Your Values

Uncovering Your Values
by Desiree Leigh, Wake Up to Live

There is always a lot of talk about values. I'm sure you have heard these words, "When you know your values and you are aligned with them, you live with harmony. Basically, what this means is that when you honor your values in your daily activities and your goals, you live with joy and peace of mind.

How do you uncover your values, though? That's the question. In my experience, I was living with a lot of baggage, and with that baggage, I had no idea what my values were. I was so afraid to be judged by others, conforming to their opinions and wants, that my values were not only unclear, they were no where to be seen. "What? Values? What the heck are they?"

I know what I 'needed' to do to survive. I lived in an 'identity' that was coming from the past. I 'thought' I had clearly defined values (whatever that meant at the time), but those values were coming from my conditioned past as well as all of societies views and what they thought I should have. My values never came from my true self.

To uncover your true values, you must begin by releasing the baggage you are carrying with you, and have been for many years. The baggage is the old resentments, the broken promises, and the hurt and pain - it is all the burden we like to load on our shoulders. We not only hold onto our own burdens but, we like to take on other people's burdens too! So how are we supposed to clearly define our "own" values?

To uncover "your" values, what is really true for you, begin with meditation. Meditation is the first and most important step to gaining clarity.

Here are some steps to begin the process:

1. Meditation will create clarity and peace of mind.
2. Notice the thoughts that flow. In the beginning, most of them are negative and recurring ones that keep you stuck and confused.
3. Meditation will naturally begin to release the stresses of these recurring negative thoughts, which are a manifestation of your current beliefs and your current environment.
4. Meditation will also raise awareness of past hurts that you have held down for so long and were hoping to forget (Nothing is ever forgotten about. It is stored in your memory bank, your sub-conscious mind!)
5. Don't judge or condemn yourself for having so many thoughts. We have to start somewhere.
6. Allow these thoughts to pass - observe them and allow them to flow, letting them go, just as you would be observing a river flow, without more chatter or input.
7. If you get feeling of elation or feelings of sadness, let it happen, allow all of it to flow through you. Embrace yourself in this process of release and awakening.

By beginning the process of releasing the guilt, the doubt, and the pain, you will begin to see more clearly, you will begin to awaken. This doesn't happen over night or even in a week. It takes a heartfelt decision to want to transform your old way of being, your old identity, to your True Self. It takes willingness and courage to face the past, to get to the source. Be compassionate with yourself and you will succeed!

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh