Chapter 38: Express Yourself

Dear reader

Did you know that the word "darling" derives from an Old English term meaning: "favourite minion"? In that case then, today you are indeed, my favourite minion :). Welcome back.

I recently wrote about the consumer mentality that people have in the modern world. Today I suggest that we go back to the producer mentality--to start creating. Where creation begins, emotions can  flow and then you are able to express yourself. Expression equals action. We must take action, to receive.

I suffered from depression some time ago. While there are many levels of this that people deal with, I know from experience that the best way to deal with it was expressing myself through writing. Depression equals suppression. Starting this blog last summer has helped me a tremendous deal with coping with anxiety and negative emotions. It allows me to say what I wanted to say, and to move into transparency. A place where I can see myself, understand myself and evaluate. You will find that expressing yourself is a form of self love. It reminds you of your own body, your own being, your own worth. It reminds you of the beauty of life and the possibilities that you have at your fingertips. It seizes back your individuality: your own uniqueness.

I found that I was at my happiest when I was doing something that I loved. Something that I was passionate about. I feel that one of the main causes of sadness is that sense of being lost in the world, like sheep without a shepherd. We have nothing to aim for. As consumers, we don't really have an aim, other than to survive. After we finish our favourite television show, we dread the work that follows the next day. Producers on the other hand have a new goal that arises every single day, and it excites them. You can make the best out of anything, rather like a child can when he is playing in the playground. It is this child's imagination that is the key to happiness. The alchemy of turning anything dull into something amazing.


Society has a way of killing our expression. From a young age we are told to act in a certain way, not to step out of line, not to play when we were meant to work. There is that old saying that a lot of work makes Jack a dull boy, and this couldn't be closer to the truth. People who work in jobs that they don't like are unable to express themselves. Even when talking to your colleagues it seems there's a frame that everyone is prescribing too. People get stuck in the suits that they wear and the environment that they work in. The question is quite an important one: why so serious? Again, becoming more expressive allows you to make work into play, and play into work.

Am I talking about becoming a painter, a musician or writer? Not at all. Do whatever brings out yourself. You will know what it is when you feel the passion behind it, when it calls you, when it makes you happy. If you haven't found it yet, do more things. Try everything--you only live once, now is the time. The epiphany that I stumbled across recently, and proliferated in many favourite channels of mine on Youtube, including Elliott Hulse and Infinite Waters, was this: the body equals the subconscious mind. What you feel physically, how your body reacts, what you do it your body, what you consume, your body language, your facial expressions, are your state of mind. On a shallow level this is why we are more susceptible to colds when we are in a negative state of mind, or we seem to have more energy when we receive great news. On a deeper level by connecting to our bodies, we can change the way we want to feel. This is awesome :)

In my previous post called "Elephants Never Forget" I went into how society is a "mind-based" manifestation. In tries to put us solely into this box. In reality, we are three things: the mind, the spirit and the body. Therefore we need to become more aware of our bodies, and that means using more than the neck and above. You can see it in fake smiles, you can see it in anxious people, you can see it in venues: libraries, shops, everywhere you go--people are in thought. What should be in the oven later? Do I look good in these shoes? What does that man think of me over there? They are neglecting the moment that matters the most: the present moment. 

Being present than, is reconnecting with your body. This is nothing to do with looking good, having great muscles, or a nice bum (although by all means go for them). This is about feeling great inside. Running, dancing, meditating, singing. Whatever it is that makes your personality shine. Believe me, I may not know you personally, but I know that the best of you is not when it is sitting down in front of a television screen. It might feel good to relax, but to be truly yourself, to be giving back, involves putting yourself out there. We are afraid that no-one will want to accept us, that somehow there is someone better than us for the job, but no-one is better at being you, than YOU.

Improv is a great example of an activity that can express yourself. If you happen to live in Nottingham, I run a weekly Improv workshop. There we play games, exercises and create our own stories through acting. Acting, at any higher level, is actually being. So doing Improv is a way of saying anything you want, and becoming anyone you want.  I highly recommend you give it a go. A great exercise for getting out of your head are just to scream and shout, do something that your body is not used to. Also, to go back into your body through meditation. This one changed my life.

You will find that the more you break out of your comfort zone, the more that you are able to express yourself in social situations, at parties, anywhere you want. Confident people realize that the destination doesn't matter. They realize that all that matters is that they can be themselves 100%.  Your true self is not afraid of anyone.  Remember, express your body, and you can express your true self. People will start to see you for who you really are, and believe me, everyone wants to meet that person. That is what the power of expression is all about.

Have a great week :)