Self mastery through ‘Inner Work’

Date: 7 January 2021 | Author: Edina de Jong – Hodžić

In each of our lives, we get confronted with different ‘external events’ that stir up different fears, emotions and thoughts within us. Those events can be personal events like a separation, loosing a job, moving to another country or collective events like a global lock-down that we all experienced in 2020. We all have a learned way of dealing with such ’emotional storms’ in order to control them and not to feel the pain and discomfort that they bring. Often our learned way of dealing with emotional external events is connected to how we solve problems. Most of the times we look for answers/solutions outside ourselves either by getting advise from a friend, an (online) teacher/guru or an expert in the field. One place we ignore to look for answers is within, though this is the only true place for answers. And this is what ‘Inner Work’ is all about.

If you have asked me five years ago about Inner Work I wouldn’t have known the true meaning of that phrase. At that time, I was focused on ‘Outer Work’ which was all about building an external identity of a successful career and family life. It wasn’t until my son was born almost five years ago that I started questioning lot of things in my life and in the outside world. Was the way I was living my life truly making me fulfilled? Was there more for me to explore?

My Inner Work really kicked in after I left my corporate career in 2017 and it has been the focus of my life ever since. I can describe it as an inner calling that prompted me to leave the comforts of my ‘external identity’ and explore myself and the world around me in a different way.

Doing Inner Work requires strength and courage because you’re crossing the world of the ‘known’ and stepping into the ‘unknown’ and that can feel very scary. It requires you to trust your intuition, to question everything you have learned and know about yourself and deep dive into the ‘hidden’ parts of your being and reconnect with your lost treasures.

In contrary to our linear world where our left brain is overused and we are addicted to having control over our lives and clarity about where we’re heading, doing Inner Work has a more mystical nature and activates your right brain which is creative and intuitive. It will deeply challenge your result-oriented left brain that will want to know when the process will be finished and results will be obtained.

If what I am writing resonates with you at some level and you feel an inner call to start doing your Inner Work, first of all there are two important questions to contemplate about:
1 – Who am I behind my ‘external identity’?
2 – Why am I here?

In addition, see below five of my personal tips as a guidance on your Inner Work journey. As I stated earlier, to manage your own expectations this is not a journey where you have a clear planning and milestones. This is a journey where you go out of your comfort zone into the unknown and grow in ways that you have never imagined. 

Tip #1: Set your intention – One thing our traditional school system hasn’t taught us is the importance of ‘intention setting’. When we set clear intentions we align our physical, emotional and mental energies towards that intention. This is the language of the universal quantum field and it will help you to manifest your intention into your material world. For example, your intention can be ‘to grow your awareness’ or ‘connect with your true self’, to ‘find your purpose’ etc.

Tip #2: Become aware of your triggers – The journey of Inner Work is often preceded by a state where you’re being provoked and triggered by external circumstances and people. Becoming aware of your triggers is an important step on your path towards personal mastery. When we get triggered by someone (e.g. spouse, child, politician) we tend to blame the trigger and project our state of feeling unto the trigger. This is what causes us to project our anger unto others and unconsciously feed conflict. The mature way of dealing with a trigger is to ‘pause the reaction’ and turn within and ask yourself how you feel. By putting what’s happening inside yourself into words and acknowledging how you feel, you take some of the pressure away from your nervous system. And it allows for answers to come through about the origin of the trigger so it can be removed from your reality.

Tip #3: See the gift in everything – While doing the Inner Work your mind will get in the way more than you want it to. It will try to analyse everything and control the events that are happening in order to experience least ‘discomfort’. In fact, every trigger and event is an opportunity for growth and expansion of your consciousness. By practicing gratitude for everything that is in your life, you move from a state of victim-hood to creator-ship. And once you become more aware of your creator-nature the universe will align it’s efforts to support you. Another reason to practice gratitude, is your health. People who have a daily gratitude practice live longer and healthier lives.

Tip #4: Connect with your Intuition – Throughout the process of navigating your Inner Work, you require a compass just like the captain who’s navigating a boat. This compass is your Intuition and it will provide you with the necessary guidance, give you clarity when you need it and bring you into the awareness of the present moment. Please note that your mind will want to keep you on your ‘known’ path because its function is simply to protect you from danger. Though there is no real danger, only feelings of discomfort and fear of the ‘unknown’.

Tip #5: Start making more powerful choices – Inner Work will ultimately always lead to more self-empowerment. It literally means to take your power back from things, people and systems to whom you’ve given your power away. Simple way to detect if you’ve given your power away is to become aware of where in your life do you blame others?
The moment that we believe that we don’t have a choice (for whatever reason), is the moment that we have given our power away (disempowered ourselves). It is often the small choices that we make every single day, that determine the quality of our lives. How do you choose to show up every day? What mental energies do you consume (thoughts) every day? Do these thoughts make you more fearful or do they empower you?

The path of the Inner Work is a path of the Hero(ine). It is not for the faint hearted though the treasures that you will receive on your journey are unique and invaluable. The gift is the gift of true freedom that many sages throughout history have talked about.
Know that by doing your own Inner Work you’re helping the whole planet Earth to shift into higher consciousness. Thank you for that!

I close this blog with the powerful words of poet Rainer Maria Rilke “Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”.