Speaking Truth - May Blog
There is that old saying ‘truth will out’ - in these days of multiple interpretations, communications, connections, confusions, discombobulations and distractions, how do we stay tuned to truth? Unravelling some of the conditioning around truth gives us space to reclaim our voices and speak naturally.
Digging about in the roots of words always brings illumination - and we find that the roots of the word truth travel back to Old English, Norse, German and Gothic words meaning faithful and trustworthy, and further back to the Proto Indo-European ‘dru’ - meaning tree - which itself gives rise to Celtic words meaning strong, sure and true. Another root of our tree of truth come from the Old English ‘soo’ - sooth - also meaning true, which arises from Proto-Germanic words of similar sound and meaning and crosses continents to connect with the Sanskrit Sattvah. It is noticeable that there is no primary verb for the truth - we speak the truth - unlike lie. However when we unravel sooth we find it is related to the verb to be or exist (Proto-Indo-European - es-ont which gives rise to Latin sunt). Thus to be truthful is connected with our very existence. A further root links ‘sooth’ with Old English and Latin words related to sin and guilt - and the verb ‘to be’ is used here in the sense of ‘to be the one found guilty’ as used in confession.
This yields an enormous amount of insight. Firstly - truth is our inherent nature and as such it is sure, strong, trustworthy and faithful as an oak tree. Secondly - when blended with socio-religious concepts of sin/guilt our truth becomes something we confess. Which accounts for why sometimes it appears to be difficult to share - because already we have been judged guilty - either internally or externally - before we confess it.
Artists and musicians are often described as baring their souls in their poetry, song and as such are often either idolised or demonised for doing so. They may risk exile - like writer Salman Rushdie - or face loss of privacy when they allow their truth to become visible in the public domain. The fervour of a camera-clicking pack of media paparazzi tracking the scent of a celebrity exposé demonstrates just how controversial and valuable a previously unseen ‘truth’ is considered in our strange world. It is a distorted search for truth which has its roots in confession.
So is it any wonder that we both crave and fear the expression of our truth when for centuries it has been tangled up with a sense of guilt and confession - which is magnified by our media to a schizophrenic level. We are left in conflict, fearing persecution, abandonment, exile, rejection whilst longing for the embodied expression of who we really are.
Truth has also become entangled with a sense of answers. Being required as children to give ‘the right answer’ during education can condition us to feel fearful when we are asked to answer our current partner/ boss/ parent/ child. This can lead to a whole series of denials, cover-ups and compromises because we feel we cannot provide the answers others seek from us. Liberation and relief arise when we give ourselves permission to speak our truth and say ‘No’ or ‘I don’t know’. When we distinguish truth from ‘being right’ it becomes something much more wholesome than dogma.
For truth, if it is who we are and relates to our very existence, is connected to all of us - our physical, social, emotional, mental, sexual, spiritual, relational aspects. It is not a right/wrong answer and yet it is also very simple. It is the sum of all of us acting in integrity. For example, Ghandi on hunger strike used the truth of what happens to a body in deprivation as a powerful means of stating his ideological, political and spiritual truth.
The simplicity of the solution lies again at the roots of our tree. To align with our own truth is firstly to get grounded. It is to connect with the very basics of our own human reality and to do that which gives us life - breathe. All that is required to connect with the true miracle of being alive in this moment is to take one long deep breath now from the depths of the belly.
The roots of who we are is present in the amazing motion of inspiration and exhalation and breath is the vehicle on which our words and communications arise. Before we speak, we are physiologically required to breathe in - to absorb inspiration - which comes from the Latin meaning to connect with our spirit, soul, strength, courage. To breathe and connect to the miracle of life is to let go of all the mental chit-chat, conditioning, conflicts and neuroses. It is to become present to the deeper intelligence which is always speaking silently within and without. When we use our Creative Intuition as our Sat Nav (Truth Navigation system!) insights and solutions arise to the most complex of conundums. We become able to mediate the conflicting voices within and around us, to observe all and to feel for a truth which honours the wholeness of situations. The truth is no longer something to be feared, exposed, confessed or admitted - it is to be revealed, celebrated, expressed, shared as it is in service to the good of all.
We are naturally built for truth and it is therefore natural that truth will indeed out.
Wishing you the natural expression of your beautiful truth
Discover Your Natural Voice
To develop your own connection to your Natural Voice - please visit the Voice Garden - special one-to-one sessions to help you weed out inhibitions, old conditions and to grow your self-expression into full bloom.