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Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer                                                                                                                                            Psalm 94:19 (Living Bible)

One of the homework assignments I often give to clients is a self-awareness exercise. I ask them to spare just a few minutes during the day, and take control of their breathing (4 seconds in through the nose, hold for about 6 seconds, and breathe out slowly through the mouth for about 8 seconds). Then, having done that a few times until they feel relaxed, to ask themselves, “what am I feeling right now?”

This may take some practice for people who have not really taken time to consider their inner selves. We are so used to paying attention to the noise around us that we can lose sight of our inner being. Often, we have become used to the outer self- the face that we project to others.

This honest appraisal of our inner being is important. We need to become honest with our emotions. So often, we mislabel those feelings, and fear comes out behaviorally disguised as anger, or sadness come out as social isolation.

It is difficult to really come to grips with those inner emotions, because, once we recognize them, we become responsible to deal with them honestly. We can no longer project those feelings onto other around us and blame them for what is going on with us.

I have seen so many of my brave clients actually go through this process and grow. It is hard work, but it is worth it.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to look inside ourselves honestly, Amen