The third video really expands on the idea of narrative identity and it’s relationship to emotions and our felt senses.
I call out what I see as one of the primary sicknesses of our time - unconscious consumption and unhealthy relationships. I hint to how this sickness has itself affected me, which in turn pushed me into the inquiry that lead to this series of video.
I highlight something my mentor grounded me in, which is the practice of daily devotion. Which maybe sounds a bit too spiritual and airy-fairy, but is really about the practical rituals and routines that fill up our own cup before we give ourself away to others.
When we’re sucked into the news, our work, and the drama of those around us, it’s easy to forget about and deprioritize our own needs. I deeply believe that taking care of ourselves is the work, and only from this place can we go out into the world and share our gifts with clarity and certainty.
Transcript:
When we write our own stories and create our own art and form our own narratives, it opens up the possibility for experience to unfold.
I was once hit with the concept that time is something only experienced through the flow of emotions. And then sitting with that, asking myself as a man who’s been conditioned to not feel things, what are emotions, recognizing that emotions are affectations of our body in response to our environment, recognizing that I’m deciding which environment I spend time in, whether that’s doom scrolling on my phone, consuming things that are upsetting to me, interacting with people who don’t give me the same love that I give them, opened me up to the idea that there was another way of being.
And it’s easier said than done, like many things, but it really comes down to the practice of daily devotion. And what I mean by daily devotion is protecting some part of your day as sacred and for you and for nobody else, because we are conditioned to give ourselves to the system, to others, and to the forces of other people’s stories.
So start each day before opening your phone, before opening the news, before turning on any screens, before talking to anybody. Do something for yourself. Do something that you love. Find some opportunity to breathe. Notice what it feels like to be alive in your flesh suit. That might be uncomfortable if you haven’t done it before. It can bring up a lot of things. It can be a little bit frustrating to spend time with yourself when you have not done it before, but it is the only way to step into creativity. And in stepping into creativity, you’re stepping into owning your life and owning your life story.