Learning to enjoy being ourselves is a marvelous adventure. For many of us, it is also quite an undertaking.  I think of my own personal journey toward feeling o.k. about who I am as a kind of "spiritual striptease."

As I've traveled down my path, I've had to drop at least seven veils of darkness. I like to imagine them littering my historical highway as I move to higher ground. They all look pretty in the distance, shimmering in the light of metaphysical wisdom. At the time I was actually wearing them, they were dark, stifling and uncomfortable.

The first dark veil I dropped was my fear of being different. I used to believe if I let people in on who I really was, they would think I was "crazy". This teaching taught me that we are all different and that was not another way of saying crazy. I have learned different is normal and that the Creative Intelligence of the Universe made each of us unique.

I have also learned to release fear. Knowing that God is all there is, that the Universe is a friendly place, and that we are eternal life certainly cuts down on fear and trembling. With God surrounding me, supporting me, and loving me, what is there to fear?

Envy dropped away when I stopped comparing myself to others and decided to focus on being the best Jane Claypool I could be. It meant a lot of attention on self-discovery and that created a pleasing focus to my life. The process also allowed me to stop trying to win an imaginary contest. That was a relief!

I also had to stop believing I had to make everyone else happy before I could be happy. I learned that I couldn't "fix" anyone but myself. That bit of wisdom was a joyous solution to the old question, "How do I love you enough so you'll be "fixed" enough so you can love me?"

I also had to release the fear of having a good time and/or being happy. The very idea that I could be all right now was such a new idea that it took some time to get used to. I was rather attached to the image of myself as a beautiful victim, coughing into her blood soaked handkerchief or sacrificing herself to the burning stake. Those stories were  dramatic but they didn't happy endings. When I stopped telling myself those tragic tales, my life became a fairly constant celebration.

Dr. Jane Claypool