Expression

Let's talk about expression. You know all the things that you say and all the things that you don't say. Most people tend not to think about this until a moment comes when they feel the impulse to say something, and then they don't. Now there are many reasons why people choose NOT to express when they feel the urge to "go ahead and SAY IT!" And that is not the point of this article. What this is all about is how EXPRESSION serves to support you in your growth and self-development, and how NON-EXPRESSION, although it appears to support self, actually has the opposite effect, i.e., non-support.

When a person expresses, the first thing that happens within self is the movement of energy. Just as you need to have movement in a pond of water to keep it from becoming stagnant, you need to have energetic movement inside of self to vibrate your life force, and expression creates just that. Now it doesn't matter what TYPE of expression it is - loving, questioning, judgmental, whatever. The TYPE doesn't matter, only the fact that you express. The more that you express, the more alive you will feel, regardless of what type of expression you play with, for it is not the effects of the expression on others that matters, but more the willingness to allow the expression, within yourself.

This is hard for many people to receive, because they are so concerned about "protecting" others from what they believe to be "harmful" expressions. Yet, an expression cannot in truth hurt another. What hurts is what the person receiving the expression chooses to do with that. An example would be that the crying of one baby does not "hurt" another baby. What creates hurt is how one "takes" the expression of another - and that is where the "story of expression" begins. What is your story about your expression? Many people use their story about their expression to justify their choice to repress their expression. They believe that if they "speak their truth" they will hurt another. That if they speak their opinion that is different from others', that this will cause pain and suffering. Many people believe that if they express the rage that has been created from eons of suppression of expression, that they will destroy another's life. There is an interesting "thought" in the mass consciousness that one can actually make another's choices for them, despite the growing awareness that such actions constitute "co-dependent" patterns.

And there are even some souls arrogant enough to believe that their expression controls the destiny of their loved ones around them. It is amazing how such convoluted points of suppression become, in the psyche, aggrandized points of power in the stories that are woven about the "valor" or "sacrifice" of suppression of oneself and one's expression.

The second thing that expression does is that it supports the energetic creation of space inside you. If you are desiring to bring forth your purpose, or seeking to expand your creativity, or even seeking to expand your consciousness, one of the first requirements for internal expansion is space. Without space, you cannot grow. If you are seeking change in your life, you require space internally to do so. With expression comes the creation of space. This is the reason why, when you are frustrated or upset, a "good cry" makes you feel better. When you express your feelings - which is what is happening when you cry - space is opened up, and you can feel the difference inside. When you open space, you become more relaxed, more balanced, and problems do not look as big or feel so monstrous. With the creation of space comes an influx of self-support. Another effect of expression is the expansion of courage. Courage allows one to become more comfortable in embracing the "unknown-ness" of creation. Courage is a major support energy, and without it, the illusion of fear can paralyze you. Expression shows you that the world doesn't come to an end just because you said something you felt or thought. When you express, you create for yourself the opportunity to discover that you are not alone in the world of feelings, and you create the opportunity to welcome others' expression. For expression supports connection - an experience which most people desire intensely.

The effects of non-expression are isolation, fear, contraction and non-reception of self. Non-expression comes from the unwillingness to give any space for what is desiring to be expressed inside to come out. With this choice not to allow space, the space for self actually shrinks a little with each instance of non-expression.

Likewise with courage - non-expression does not support the growth of courage within self. With so many people desiring and seeking more support in their lives, it is surprising that the commonly-held beliefs about expression are not given more serious analysis, for when that does occur, it becomes clear that the expansion of self cannot take place outside of a corresponding expansion of expression.

So why not take the plunge today? Try expressing yourself in an area where you have been holding back, and be willing to have a different experience than your story tells you that you are bound to have. One easy way to do this is with a method we call "reality testing." This is when you say to another person, "I've been thinking that . . . yada, yada, yada (insert your story about that person here), and I want to know - is that really true for you?" When you do this, you open space for an experience to occur which supports you differently than your story. And that is a truly transformational opportunity.