We live in a culture that often defines our worthiness by how thin or fit we are, what job we have, what kind of car we drive, how much money we make, etc. These external levels of appraisal only take into account the outer shell of who we are. They don’t recognize the inner qualities each one of us has.
Have you ever sat across the table from a really beautiful person on the outside, but on the inside they weren’t much to look at? Enhancing our inner radiance is just as important—if not more so—than focusing on our outer appearance.
Inner radiance is what is unique and true about you. Every one of us has an original combination of talents, strengths and weaknesses. The make-up of each person combined with his or her life experiences and choices creates a special, complex individual.
Outer radiance is what the world sees superficially; it includes how we carry ourselves, how we speak, how we are dressed. We can accentuate this outer picture when we allow our inner radiance and light to shine through.
The mind has a tendency to compare and/or judge our experiences. We might think that we need to be thinner, a better runner, a better student, a better public speaker, etc., but we are often exactly right where we are meant to be at that moment in time.
Another way to think about this concept: I can ONLY be Carley. I can’t be someone else because everyone else is already taken. My choice is to accept and love myself for my strengths and weaknesses, and work with what I have. Only from a place of kindness and acceptance can I move forward. Compassion, not criticism, is the best motivator towards change.
Did you know that tapping into your inner radiance is the first step toward getting or becoming what you truly want? Yes, it’s true. When we whole-heartedly commit to loving and accepting ourselves as we are, we can engage more purposefully in achieving our goals.
Sounds good, right? Here’s an exercise to connect with your inner radiance.
Daily Power Practice
- Close your eyes and let your awareness turn inside to your breathing and your body.
- Breathe deeply from your belly until you feel your body and mind relax.
- Think of a time when you felt off balance in the last day or week. See if you can tune into the emotions that you felt when this happened (fear, anger, confusion—it’s all welcome and OK).
- Ask yourself how long you’ve experienced these emotions.
- Now open your eyes and shake it off.
- Bring awareness to your belly through deep breaths. Connect to your strength by recognizing the talents that you’ve been cultivating for years. Feel the many ways that you are a powerful adult.
- Now close your eyes and feel this powerful, wise part of you. Where do you feel it?
As you move into the rest of your day, remind yourself of this wise, strong person that you are. Connect to that place in your belly and let those negative feelings go. Yes!
I’ve found this practice very effective in my life. Try it and let me know how it goes.
Want to learn more mindful practices? Sign up for Carley’s FREE Mindful Training workbook.
11 Responses
This is an amazing article. Hauck does a great job in asking good question. I felt a noticeable difference when I was asked to identify why I am a powerful adult and to remind myself of this through the day. Thank you,
Hmmm… “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16
Awesome scripture to go with this article 🙂
Thank you Joseph for bringing the true meaning of our being to light and where this inner peace truly comes from.
Those that follow Him and keep their eyes on Jesus will prevail.
Please remember to focus on Him while meditating.
God bless!!
Beautiful article
What does “Ask yourself how long you’ve experienced these emotions” mean? Does it refer to how long you were,say, angry, in the past week, or how long you have been ‘tuned in’ to that anger now, or when in your life you started experiencing that emotion?
And what does “Bring awareness to your belly through deep breaths” mean? My belly has no brain and is not self-aware. Does it mean “focus attention on the belly”? Does this mean stomach, or bowel, or…
“talents that you’ve been cultivating for years” seems to assume that one has a single, clear life path rather than changes of direction.
And just how does this tie in to “proving what you can do”, which is, after all, the promise in the title of the article.
Love your scripture Joseph. This article was just kind of out there though. Why not cultivate your inner radiance through meditation or kindness or some other action. I like the mention of compassion but it wasn’t discussed any further. Too many words and not enough meaning.
Nice article. It’s important to realize what comprises the “inner-you”, good and bad, and make adjustments where you see fault. I concentrate on temper and being critical of others where there’s no positive results from it.. Simply concentrating on the pace and depth of your own breathing can take you out of the current situation and allow you to view yourself from “with-out” Ahhh Mmmmmm.
I think it not necessarily so important as to determine if this is a “good”
or “bad” or “too out there” article but rather to pinpoint if it
resonates with you and if so then to expand upon your self-improvement work with the tips/points that do. I understood that the author was trying to
accomplish encouraging all to (as much as possible) tune out the
mental chatter and things (like self denigrating thoughts and negative
“programming”) while tuning into emotions that may need to be addressed
and working to identify negative patterns that may be more challenging
to notice (especially if we are NOT looking for these traits). It takes many,
if not most, people ongoing concerted and dedicated efforts such as: deeply
breathing (drawing attention or focus to the way the belly comfortably fills with oxygenating
breath), repeating to ourselves positive affirming statements (like “I
love myself, imperfections and all- for we all have them and they may be perceived as a reminder of the need to remain humble and our beautiful individuality”), and being will to ask questions and try new things and experiment with what works for ourselves as individuals. While stepping “back” away from oneself and trying to see our self as an observer might, we may gain some insight into ourselves as opposed to getting caught in some unproductive, unkind to self (with outward ripples) behavior. Sometimes, we may need to sort of “fib” to ourselves and tell ourselves we are beautiful or we are strong (even if we do not YET believe it). In time the new pattern may take hold and we may have “proved” to ourselves we are beautiful and strong creatures of the universe and have a right to be here! Then we can shine that positive outlook and even better help others by leading by example and BEing the change we wish to see in the world and further helping to co-create a diverse society of even healthier people…
I love this especially since it was not masking another “how to lose weight” article.
Joseph,
Thanks for this scripture reference… It’s a good one to commit to memory!!!
Isn’t it amazing that God can teach us the same thing as this entire article in one short verse!
You’ve shown me that I need to get back into my bible and read up on who God says I am, and quit worrying about what the world thinks of me.
Thank you, and may God bless all those who read this verse and praise God!