dailydatewithgod

From what I can tell so far there is a distinction between who we think and believe we are and who we actually are.  There is the facade we present to the outside world.  There is the internal experience we have of what it means to be us.  There are the ideas provided by family and culture about who we are supposed to be.  In other words, there is no shortage of opinions about what it means to be us. We tend to define ourselves by our labels which encompass everything from our physical characteristics to our station and role in life. So many of those labels are ensconced in our definition of ourselves because that is what is modeled to us about how to be.  When we take the time to get quiet and spend time with the basic element of what gives us life, our breath, we open up the door to a different lens.  On my daily dates with God, starting with my breath, there is a pause in which there is time to consider the possibility of looking at my ensconced ideas about myself.  God does not hold the same labels I do.  God holds the space for who I am as is present in my heart.  Learning how to connect with the internal awareness beyond our ensconced sense of ourselves is a gift if we choose to see it that way.  When we come face to face with an ensconced idea we are often startled and become defensive.  Whether it is another person or situation which makes it known to us we take it personally as an affront to our being.  God invites us to take the experience of our ensconced self and hold it up to the light of our hearts. With the space of our core, we can see clearly if it is congruent with who we truly are or something we took on due to a circumstance or a label provided by someone else.  God wants us to know ourselves as God knows us. We can start with the ensconced ideas as an opening to meet ourselves with love.