Did you know that the words courage and core stem from the same root? «Cor» in latin means «heart». No wonder we listen more closely to those who honor this connection. No wonder their message is so much more powerful. Do you want to learn how?
Out of touch with your own core?
Have you ever felt that you are out of touch with your own core? Maybe you felt like you were slightly off-balance, like a dancer who lost the heel of one shoe. Maybe you felt like there was an empty jar in the pit of your stomach, like nothing would ever be enough to fill it, not completely. Maybe you felt like even though the sun was shining and the wind blew perfectly through your hair, there was just something missing. Something of substance to form a base underneath it all.
I know exactly how this feels. And now I know why. Because I didn’t fully honor my core message. I didn’t have the courage to honor my core message. Ultimately, I didn’t honor my “cor”, my heart. Do you?
The world within
I have thought a lot about this lately, as I am getting closer to the rabbit hole as we speak. My core message is now appearing, slowly crawling out of its unconscious hiding place. Even though I have been writing for years and years – articles, books, blog posts – I have just slightly avoided it, the core of everything. And it makes me long for full exposure. Do you know this feeling?
I know I am not alone in this. I have spoken to hundreds of people through my writing courses, who feel the same way. They feel confused, unhinged, empty and longing for meaning. Even though on the surface they have full, exciting and dynamic lives.
Do we have to travel the world and look for something or someone to fill us up?
So, what can we do about it? Do we have to travel the world and look for something or someone to fill us up? Or can we find what we are searching for right here, in ourselves?
Oh, we are so lucky, my friend. Because the world inside of us is so much greater than the world without. And once you start exploring it, no adventure can be more exciting.
Therefore, I have a few suggestions for the both of us. As a writer, I have experienced that writing as a tool – as a portal between the seen and the unseen world – is as powerful as a golden axe, a magic carpet, a soulful key. Let’s use it! It’s really quite simple.
How to dig for your core message
So, what is your core message in this life? Maybe you already know, or maybe you are on a path to find out. For it is often hidden underneath a lot of everything – dust, doubts, dirt, delusions. Your core message is almost always something others can learn from, but you can also learn something yourself. Sometimes you are born with it, other times it appears through the experiences you go through in life.
Maybe you are a writer, an entrepreneur, an artist, a blogger. Or maybe you are none of the above. The important thing is daring to express what you truly see or feel, from your unique position in this world, at this moment! Because we all learn from each other, every day, every moment.
Your message doesn’t have to be life-changing or huge or unheard of
Your message doesn’t have to be life-changing or huge or unheard of. It can be gently present in daily life – at the dinner table, with a friend, with a partner – or on a grander scheme. And it can change over time. Maybe something is at the forefront of your life for days, weeks, years, and then it moves over for something else, as you develop as a human. But as you contain this piece of truth within yourself, it gains a valuable point-of-view. And when you express it, other people may have an important AHA-moment!
Think about it: When you talk to someone about something that matters, do you feel something vibrating inside of you, close to your heart, like the beating of an inner drum? Or maybe it’s just barely noticeable, in the fringes of your soul. However it shows up for you, it is time to trust your message, your words, that they are true enough, good enough or just enough.
To help you do this, I will share a method I have developed to help people reach deeper and deeper into their subconscious field. All you need is a pen, a piece of paper and an open mind. Want to try it out?
Try Vivian’s method: The Spiral
Right now, I will show you how you can free write in a spiral downwards, to reach deeper and deeper into the unknown – your subconscious mind, or maybe even your soul. The important thing is to be completely open to whatever shows up, without expectations or judgements. Then you become like a portal for whatever needs to be said – or heard – right here, right now.
- Choose any picture, song lyric, excerpt from a book or your own idea/thought/feeling about something as a starting point. This gives you an initial focus, but it is only a starting point, something to connect you with your unknown thoughts, so don’t get hung up on it.
- Have a blank sheet of paper and a pen in front of you. Set a timer for 5 or 10 or even 15 minutes, depending on how used to free writing you are. You can also put on some soothing music if you wish.
- Focus on whatever you have chosen as a starting point, and write whatever comes to mind, uninterrupted, for those 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Do not let the pen leave the paper. Accept that whatever shows up may be uninteresting, bad, boring, shocking, shameful, anything. Just let it out.
- Once the timer beeps, read quickly through what you wrote, without judging. Just be open to noticing which sentence in what you wrote that speaks the most to you. Which sentence – or maybe it’s a word, or two or three sentences – makes you feel something, surprises you or makes you curious?
- Then underline these words or sentences, and write them on top of a new sheet of paper. Set the timer again, and free write in the same way as you did before, using this text as your new starting point.
- When the beeper rings, repeat: Underline the words or sentences that make the strongest impression on you, and use them as a starting point for the next free writing session.
- You can go on and on like this until you feel like you have reached deep enough on this particular thread or topic, until you feel like “Wow, this is truth for me”.
Do you see how this creates a spiral where you reach deeper and deeper into your own consciousness, and even subconsciousness? The keywords or sentences you underline are usually quite meaningful or revealing. They usually carry some kind of a message to you from you – and maybe to other people, too?
When you become aware of this and notice what rings true for you, the courage to express it tends to strengthen. Knowing what hides in your core gives courage!
The message is eternal
My students are often surprised when they try this out. They may have started out thinking “Well, what kind of hidden message could I have, who can’t even figure out what to write on my shopping list, in my diary or on a postcard from Rome?”
And then, after seeing what happens when they open up: “Was all this glimmering gold inside of ME?”
Well, yes and no. It is all there, in the collective unconscious, a field we can all reach through introspection, meditation, play and writing. It is not really inside of YOU, but beyond, below and above. You are the portal, the messenger, but the message is eternal. Words of value come through when we open up and don’t expect or judge.
The unbeatable combo
If you want to know more about the collective unconscious, you can check out Carl Gustav Jung, the legendary psychiatrist and scientist who became famous for his theories on the conscious and the subconscious, the self and the collective. He also created theories on human archetypes and synchronicity. He and I actually share the same birth date, although in different centuries, but that is not why I love him (well okay, a little bit). The theories he developed are truly shining, vibrating with this core message unique to him: We are all connected, and there are numerous treasures underneath every surface. Wow, right?
When you combine the two, the courage to speak from your heart and your core message, you are unbeatable. Your message is unbeatable. No one can push you over, not completely, because you are as hearty as a rock. You rock!
Courage + core message = your unbeatable combo
I believe you can. Do you?
Vivian Songe has been a freelance journalist and an editor for magazines and newspapers for nearly 20 years. She has an education in journalism, literature, film, social anthropology, languages, NLP and EQ, and she uses them all to teach other people how to start living their writing dream.
She has written hundreds of articles about lifestyle, psychology, travel, culture, literature, dance, yoga and health for at least 30 different magazines and newspapers. She has also cowritten two books and worked as a media consultant for publishing houses. She is now working on her own books, fiction and non-fiction.
She has founded her own online magazine journalism school, The Magazine Writer’s Academy – www.magazinewriters.academy (English) and Journalistskolen – www.journalistskolen.no (Norwegian)- where she teaches people how to get started writing professionally and earn a living from their writing. She also teaches creative writing and how to discover your unique voice. See www.viviansonge.com.
Her aim is to inspire and awaken the dormant writers of the world, who don’t dare to believe in themselves or their message. This is your time!
