Life isn’t fun when you’re on that treadmill, too stressed to see ahead and feeling trapped. Everything seems negative. Freeing your inner self is the answer to a calmer and more positive outlook on life. I call this Self Wilding.
This article defines Self Wilding.
By connecting with your inner self, you can gain a deeper understanding of your thoughts and feelings, and learn to let go of the things that are causing you stress and anxiety.
You’ll discover your creativity, intuition, and inner wisdom, which enable you to make better decisions and live a more fulfilling life.
What Is Self Wilding?
‘Self Wilding’ means freeing your inner nature to be who you need to be you.
I’ve coined this phrase to be about feeling whole and achieving balance and connection. It’s not about remoteness in the wilderness nor any brash idea of wildness.
As Lucia Capacchione, art therapist and pioneer in expressive arts therapies, explains:
…the feeling part of us that loves to play and explore…that thrives on ‘simply’ being instead of achieving….the vulnerable, feeling, spontaneous, creative self”.
Lucia Capacchione in Recovery of Your Inner Child
Capacchione refers to it as freeing the inner child. But my take is that it is simply our inner nature.
Self Wilding is about developing ways to act out life situations true to our inner nature and in harmony with the nature around us.
Why Is Self Wilding So Important?
Self Wilding is important for liberating us from the layers imposed by society that create feelings of unhappiness and of being trapped.
These layers have a place in supporting who we are in society. They are our ego, our personas, and other people’s expectations or perspectives.
It becomes a problem when the outer layers consume our being. It comes down to balance and how much importance we give to our true self vs each or all of these layers in determining who we are, or what we do.
My article on self vs ego explains more.
Self Wilding Frees Our Inner Being
The problem is that these outer layers can take precedence in today’s world. They ride us, day in and day out.
My take is that not giving enough credence to our inner self drains us of our true essence. This inhibits our sense of purpose and happiness.
The result: we feel trapped and when we feel trapped we fail to see the opportunities for success in our current situation. We are unhappy and this can lead to feeling depressed and suffering from chronic stress symptoms.
Self Wilding supports our true essence. It’s important to reach who we need to be, to feel fulfilled.
Linking To Self Wilding
Who is this for? This is for you if you’re looking for freedom from the ordinary, from the blah! from feeling shackled. Self wilding should have a prominent place in your personal development.
What does it mean? Ideally, you should be able to connect straight from outward requirements to ‘true you’ solutions. Also, all actions about life situations should connect back to a corresponding self-wilding way, so the importance of connecting to nature within and around you is clear from your entire fabric.
As you develop, you will perform tons of new actions approaching life situations from new angles, each one linking back to your true essence.
This internal linking structure will increase your chance of reaching a wholesome and connected lifestyle and a happy you.
Ways to Link to Self Wilding
There are infinite ways of wilding yourself (or linking to your inner nature). Some may be unique to you.
I wrote an article about the 7 key ways but here is a list of simple approaches to get you started.
Incorporate nature into your daily routine
Make nature a part of your every day to harness the benefits it offers. An example: Take a walk in the park during your lunch break. Take your shoes off and go barefoot on the grass or sand.
If you’re not sure how else, have a look at my article, which has a list of 21 ways to put nature into your daily life.
Meditate
Many successful people practice meditation daily to help them in their busy lives to connect to a source of calm and insight. Examples include Oprah Winfrey and Jack Dorey of Twitter fame.
What will meditation do? Meditation benefits you by stilling the bombardment of thoughts flooding your mind. It helps to calm and pause your analytical mind and to subdue your outer layers.
Finding a comfortable position and practising meditation daily helps clear the noise and free the mind. This freedom can help with ‘just knowing’ what’s right or not in relationships, work, and life in general.
Journalling
Journalling is another way to free yourself. Jotting thoughts down helps to free the mind, just like other mindfulness practices.
It might surprise you as to what you’ll learn through reflection, and going back and reflecting on what you’ve written.
Try writing three things you are grateful for each day and see how your perspective changes.
Alpha State of Mind
In this state, your brain resonates at “a frequency of approximately 8 to 13 cycles per second that is often associated with a state of wakeful relaxation”.¹
I wrote about the science behind the alpha state and how it benefits you.
Basically, it promotes your creativity, relieves stress, and helps you to connect to inner guidance (aka intuition).
It’s a state of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’. Read my article on Alpha State of Mind: what it feels like.
Go Barefoot
Your feet are your standing foundation. They are a natural connection and give you a good hold on the earth.
Read more in my articles on Going Barefoot in Public and about Barefoot Running.
Kicking off your shoes and letting your feet ‘breathe’ does wonders for the soul. It’s a good stance that supports a calm natural you.
It’s one of those grounding practices (aka Earthing) to help you stay balanced. Going barefoot on natural surfaces is a way of earthing or grounding yourself.
Earthing (or grounding) refers to the discovery of benefits—including better sleep and reduced pain—from walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors connected to conductive systems that transfer the Earth’s electrons from the ground into the body.
Chevalier et al, in J Environ Public Health. 2012; 2012: 291541
References
- Alpha wave. 2018. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved Oct 17, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alpha%20wave/
