When we find ourselves at a crossroads in our lives or confused about a decision, asking a friend to witness our story can help us hear our inner wisdom. The clarity comes in part from stepping back and opening to a broader perspective to portray the full picture and in part from the nuances of relating our story.
Rather than asking for our friend’s opinion or advice, we ask her to listen without judgment, to observe and reflect our truth revealed in the story.
A good listener can tease out the threads of truth woven into our story – the threads of truth both in word form and in energetic form. Our friend might hear a phrase we weren’t aware of saying or catch a slip of the tongue that uncovers our real truth. She may observe a stumble in our speech that indicates a hesitation.
When there’s a discrepancy between words and energy, the energy never lies, whereas sometimes we can mislead (even ourselves) with our words. Facial expressions such as a grimace and body language such as fidgeting or crossing our arms may indicate our true feelings.
Our friend might point out where our energy shifts as we relate the story – where our energy gets weighed down and sluggish or where it lightens and flows. She may pick up on other energetic clues, such as when our speech gets faster or louder or where we clear our throat, possibly indicating where we are having a hard time speaking our truth. She might also notice what we emphasize through repetition or omission – indicating energy is held there and worth examining.
Over time, through having our inner truth reflected to us in this manner, we learn to track our own energy and become more aware of where our truth is held. We open more fully to our inner wisdom.