Question Everything, Defend Nothing
Defensiveness is a state of the scared ego. Your spirit needs not to defend anything because its expansiveness goes beyond human comprehension. Your spirit thrives within a state of curiosity. It dies within defensiveness. When was the last time you questioned your defenses, without judgment?
Part of our journey here as multidimensional beings is to learn how to approach life with curiosity and playfulness. We naturally question everything, but with what intention? Do you question before or after you’ve already adopted preconceived notions, assumptions, opinions and judgments? All of those things are human defenses. Questioning everything does not necessarily mean approaching new information, experiences or people with an evil eye, ready to shoot daggers of fire towards anything different or unexpected. It most certainly could, if that’s how you choose to approach it. But that’s not what I am alluding to here.
Questioning everything (through a spiritual lens) means being open to everything outside of what you’re used to, while also remaining fully attached to nothing. It means having no opinion you are so attached to that you find yourself getting frazzled when the topic comes up or you fall into a tunnel of rage, trying to prove a (your) point to someone in hopes for validation of being “correct”. What point are you trying to prove? There is no right or wrong reality. In your reality, your point is correct. In someone else’s, theirs is correct. Even if you did “win” in proving another person’s particular view to be subservient, it’s because their defense went down on their own terms, when they were ready to release attachment, bringing them a step close to their source self. So did you really win, or did they?
You’re entitled to an opinion, but where does the wall of defense in conveying it come from? Your spirit attaches to nothing because it knows its source does not live here. Its source does not live anywhere. It encompasses everything, everyone, every opinion, every energy exchange, every synchronicity, every thought, every being of existence not only on this planet now but also of past and future. Your spirit collides and understands everything because it is everything. If your spirit is everything, it does not need to defend itself because in doing so, it would be putting up defenses against itself. Keeping you even further from your own truth and spirit embodiment. Defensiveness does not keep us safe; it keeps us further from living peacefully within our authentic truth. Deep down, you know sure as shit that’s a fact. Your spirit knows its truth, but it’s inevitable as human beings that we often question ourselves.
There is a great beauty in questioning yourself because it offers the lesson of embodying truly unconditional love of self and your personal journey without the attachment to need for outside validation that you are worthy.
Photography by Garth Joseph @ oneteamnodream
Do you panic or begin to self-criticize when you do question yourself? Have other people implanted this blindly accepted belief that if you question yourself, it must mean you aren’t able to understand yourself as well as other people are convinced they know you? Does that determinedly expressed “knowing” from others plant seeds of doubt within yourself, thereby perpetuating the habit of judgmental questioning with a lack of compassion (of others and self)?
No person outside of you will ever know who you truly are as intimately as you did, do and will always know yourself to the extent you’re meant to in any given moment.
Others may see things you have yet to discover about you, but that does not justify giving your power away to anything outside of yourself or attaching to it either. Your spirit doesn’t question you with ridicule, so why would you believe you deserve to feel badly about who you are based on the judgments of others? Even more importantly, based on the judgement of yourself? (I wish I took my own advice!) When we engage in thought patterns that put ourselves down or make us feel badly about who we are, we are defending the scared ego. The goal isn’t even to defend against the scared ego with force either. That implies judgement already exists and you’re defending your internal fear of radical self-expression. The goal is to just be who you are in any given moment, and ironically enough, there’s nothing we need to actively do to achieve anything. Being still is the challenge for most of us though, isn’t it? Why are we so afraid to be intimate with ourselves? I’m constantly running from my own self-judgment. What are you running from?
Please do not interpret this post as a claim that I have mastered this concept. In honor of complete transparency, I’m exhausted with controlling, deciphering and trying to gracefully transform my own defenses. Gracefully? It’s a complete mess. But guess what? That’s a beautiful place to be in and it will unravel within itself in time. Wasting energy defending this perfectly crafted image of what society has dubbed as being a representation of someone who is “Spiritually Enlightened” takes us away from our sense of inner peace. Accept and be at peace with the fact that leading a spiritual path means that things are a complete shit show sometimes and that is part of spiritual enlightenment! Inner peace comes from honoring and being okay with where you are at, no matter what. The shadow sides are a beautiful disaster too, and I’m on this journey with you learning to accept all aspects of self, gracelessly sometimes.
You don’t get “proof points” that you know yourself better than anyone else knows themselves just because you get defensive. Other people don’t get “proof points” for shoving beliefs down your throat about who they think you are either. Stop giving other people points as a way to collect “proof” that you deserve to be criticized and shamed for being who you are and where you are along your journey. Question everything with curious intention. Defend nothing knowing you need not be attached to anything. Especially to who you may have convinced yourself you need to be. The only person your soul always wants you to be…is you. Every aspect of you craves expression. Express with intention. Express with compassion. Express authentically. Embrace the face that we are, and will always be, works in progress!
Sending you infinite love and light along your journey. <3
-Katherine