Self Talk #132: Building Your Foundation of Self—What is Inner Work?

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Asking yourself deeper questions opens up new ways of being in the world. It brings in a breath of fresh air. It makes life more joyful. The real trick to life is not to be in the know, but to be in the mystery.
—Fred Alan Wolf

You asked for more solo episodes, so here we go!

For the next few episodes, I'll share a deep inner work process called the Foundation of Self. In short:

When you have a strong foundation of self, you can manage life’s challenges with grace. You have the stability to know who you are, what you want, and your calling in this life. You stop doubting yourself and seeking external validation. You begin to see that your life is an essential part of the whole of existence and that all life around you is family. 

Today's talk is a brief introduction to inner work—and how your individual life plays a vital role in the well-being of all around you.

Have a question? Comment? Email me at [e-mail].

xo RA

________________________

Episode Breakdown

1. 0:00:35 Introduction to Foundation of Self
2. 0:01:02 Defining Inner Work
3. 0:01:38 Example Scenario: Dinner Party and Self-Doubt
4. 0:02:36 Benefits of a Strong Foundation of Self
5. 0:03:48 The Significance of Individual Energy
6. 0:04:59 Quantum Physics and Personal Impact on Reality
7. 0:05:30 Conclusion and Preview of Next Episode

(Courtesy of Otter.ai)

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Music:
"Ave Marimba"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Episode Transcript

Rachel Astarte (00:00):
Asking yourself deeper questions opens up new
ways of being in the world.
It brings in a breath of freshair.
It makes life more joyful.
The real trick to life is tonot be in the know, but to be in
the mystery.
" —Fred Allen Wolfe.

(00:20):
Welcome to Self Talk.
I'm Rachel Astarte.
Thank you for being here.
For the next few episodes, I'dlike to introduce you to a

(00:43):
process of deep inner workcalled the Foundation of Self.
Those of you who have workedwith me before in class or in
session know what that is, butsome of you may not.
So, let's talk about why havinga strong foundation of self is
important and how we can achieveit.
First of all, what is inner work?

(01:06):
It's the process of getting toknow your true self, not just
for the benefit of yourself, butfor the benefit of all beings.
Inner work is about learningyour patterns of thinking, of
feeling, behaving and believing,of feeling, behaving and

(01:30):
believing.
Knowing yourself fully allowsyou to make better decisions for
your life, which in turn,benefits the world around you,
because we're all connected.
I'll give you an example.
Let's say you're at a dinnerparty, and someone you've just
met gives you a backhandedcompliment about your outfit,
something like I wish I had thecourage to wear such bold colors

(01:50):
.
Now, if you haven't done innerwork, you might become
self-conscious about what you'rewearing, and those thoughts may
trigger memories of pastexperiences when you've been
judged by how you look.
As a result, you may withdrawfrom the conversation, you may
even find an excuse to leave theparty early, and even though

(02:14):
you've left the party, thosefeelings of self-doubt come home
with you and ruin your evening.
Maybe they even ruin the nextday and ruin your evening.
Maybe they even ruin the nextday.
Perhaps they even cause you tokeep yourself small at work and
miss out on a promotion or anynumber of other effects that you

(02:34):
definitely don't want.
When you have a strongfoundation of self, you can
manage life's challenges likethis one with grace.
You have the ability to knowwho you are, what you want, what
your calling is in this life,and you stop doubting yourself

(02:55):
and seeking external validation.
You see that your life is anessential part of the whole of
existence and that all lifearound you is family.
In the case of that party guest, rather than considering
whether you meet theirexpectations of what colors are

(03:16):
bold or not bold or whatever,you go inward and you consult
yourself, you confirm that thosecolors make you feel good,
which is why you chose them inthe first place.
Further, you might even findcompassion for the guest who may
not be as confident in theirclothing choices as you are.

(03:38):
That compassion that you'reexperiencing comes from
remembering that we are allfamily, so that's part of the
foundation of self.
So why all this focus on theself?
I mean, we can feel prettyinsignificant.
"iven the scope and size of thecosmos.
What's my little life?

(03:59):
In the grand scheme of things?
Simple Quantum physics hasshown us that everything is
energy.
And because everything is energy, your individual life— your
energy— contributes tocollective consciousness and the
quantum field.
That's how powerful you are.

(04:20):
Albert Einstein said,"Everything is energy, and
that's all there is to it.
Match the frequency of thereality you want, and you cannot
help but get that reality.
It can be no other way.
This is not philosophy, this isphysics.
And that quote you heard at thebeginning of the episode about

(04:42):
being in the mystery comes fromtheoretical physicist Fred Allen
Wolfe.
He talks about our interactionwith the quantum field in this

way (04:51):
"ou are changing reality simply by observing it In the
real world of quantum mechanics.
Ultimately and fundamentally,we affect the universe whenever
we observe it or anything in it.
Now do you see how powerful youare?
You shape reality.

(05:15):
In upcoming episodes, we'regoing to talk more about how to
do your bit for the universe,beginning with your very
essential self.
SelfNext time we'll cover
non-judgment, which is thelifeblood of foundation of
self-work.
Until then, be gentle withyourself.
.