Shields. Barriers. Armor.

Real or imagined, these are defense mechanisms we use to protect ourselves from harm. But is the fear of being hurt real? Or, perhaps, is it just a learned behavior that emanates out of our early childhood experiences?

In this episode of Soul Empowerment, Sara Jane and Kristi Borst join me once again to shed some light on the importance of recognizing our inherent and innate safety—no matter what might be going on around us.

Find out more about my guest-hosts at their websites:

• Kristi Borst: https://HealingResonance4.me
• Sara Jane: https://GiftOfHealingTV.com

In reality, our tendency to be defended is little more than a learned coping strategy to deal with the illusory fear that seems to pervade much of our thinking. As we see the illusion for what it is, we begin to recognize the associated defensiveness as unnecessary, and soon enough we can drop our shields—knowing that we are safe anyway.

• The Story. We are all born perfect, without judgment or preconceptions about life. As we grow, we witness the behaviors of those around us, and we experience feelings and sensations from things that happen to us. These become part of our story. How we react to these events influences the way we show up going forward.
• Hiding the Self. The true self can get lost behind the barriers and walls that we build to protect ourselves from further hurt and pain. Like an armadillo, we wear a protective shield which hides the more sensitive aspects of us, so that we can show a “Brave Face”, a mask to the world that we believe it wishes to see.
• Lost & Found. When you start to review your story from an adult place of greater understanding, you can unravel it and decode it in a way your younger self was not equipped to do. Love yourself enough to realize that you could only react with the knowledge you had at the time. Today you have more knowledge and understanding—you can choose which aspects to keep and which to release.
• Experience “More and Better”. It is time to “open the kimono” and present your true self to the world. It is time to be honest about who you are. It is time to choose boundaries that free you to honor yourself through authentic vulnerability.

Please watch the recording, and learn to discard your masks and protective shields so that you can rediscover and share the magnificence of your true self.