Explore the power of Story to transform who you believe yourself to be, how you experience the world, and to shift your place within it.
My book, Love Lies Beneath: How Reclaiming My Soul Through Story Became The Secret To Healing My Heart is available in paperback and as a Kindle at Amazon.
I’m your host and story guide, Zette Harbour. Over the course of this podcast, we’ll dive deeply into the rich soil of our lives, connecting to those places that have been calling you home.
Transcript
0:02
Welcome to Love Lies Beneath. I’m Zette Harbour. I’m glad to have you here. Do you feel like stress, fear or pain take up way too much of your energy? Have you wondered if you’ll ever be free of that heaviness of your past? Do you long to feel as good on the inside as your life looks on the outside?
0:44
In this podcast, you’ll discover the story of who you really are, and how to set yourself free. Together, we’re going to travel into those wild spaces of our inner landscapes, and dive deeply into the rich soil of our lives, reclaiming Soul through Story and healing our Hearts. My book, Love Lies Beneath is the map. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss any of this enriching journey. And now, let the adventure begin.
1:46
In this first episode, we’ll begin the exploration of how our beliefs about who we think we are, far too often limit who we can be. And that these beliefs keep us from connecting to the love that lies beneath. So what do I mean when I say Love lies Beneath? This is the idea that if we dive deeply enough into those things that cause us that stress, fear and pain, if we dive deeply enough, and connect to the origin of those stories, that we will always find that those stories were created out of love. They were created from a place that wanted to protect us, keep us safe, and willingly took pieces of us and saved them so that later on as adults with support, and resources and wisdom, we would be able to dive back in and reconnect to them and bring them home.
2:53
There are signs that will tell you that you have parts of yourself locked away, buried in some dark corner of your Soul, waiting for you to come see, greet, embrace, appreciate and love them. Those signs are that on the outside, you probably look like a successful, positive person, 0n the inside, though, you’ve got self-doubt, self-criticism. And you know that if other people knew what you know about you, that they would not think of you the same way.
3:31
Some of the signs that you have these parts of yourself buried waiting for you to come and greet them, see them, embrace them, appreciate and love them are that on the outside, you look like an accomplished positive person. You are committed to making an impact in the world in a really good way despite the fact that inside you carry this burden of self-doubt, self-criticism. You have a really hard time prioritizing, taking care of yourself, nurturing yourself, and loving yourself.
4:11
This means that you end up coping, just trying to get by, trying not to let the stress, the fear, and the pain stop you. And yet the entire time, it’s as if you are dragging heavy weights along behind you. So in this podcast, we’re gonna explore ways to help you make the person you project to the world. match what’s inside you, or really to take what’s inside you and have it match who you believe yourself to be, who you want the world to think you are, and who you know you are capable of being.
4:53
You’re not alone. You know, we all have a story about who we are, about the world, and our place in it. Those stories come over our lifetime. It’s as if the events of our lives are stones, and the emotions we have about those events are like the mortar that we use to take those stones and build walls. And those walls can be something that lifts you up and let you see greater beauty. Or they can be something behind which you hide, afraid, not wanting to let anyone get closer.
5:29
As we begin our journey, there’s three things I want you to think about and carry with you. The first is kind curiosity. And this phrase really speaks to you being willing to be as kind toward yourself, as you are to so many others, and to approach the stories that you find within yourself with a kind curiosity. Meaning that you want to learn what it is that the story is trying to tell you. What richness what wisdom lies within it.
6:03
And that leads to the second thing. That’s Story Wisdom. This is the idea that every story no matter how simple, no matter how mundane, in fact, no matter how ugly, a story is, it has within it great wisdom, it is rich with this wisdom. And in order to receive it, all you have to do is grow a new way of seeing.
6:30
And then the third thing, I want to talk about the word Soul. I use the word Soul a lot. This is the ‘I am’ that existed before the world had a chance to impact you. It’s found deep down in the soil of your life. And that’s where the richness of who you are lives.
6:59
So now, let me read a section from my book. It’s the Introduction. It’s called Story & Misdirection.
7:07
in Buddhist lore, there is a story about Mara and his followers seeing a man who had just experienced a moment of awa kening and wonder. As Mara’s role is to create disharmony and deception, it surprised the disciples to see their leader walk on without disturbing the joyous man. They wanted to know what it was that held that man so rapturously.
7:33
“Mara replied, A piece of truth.
7:37
Doesn’t this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, oh, evil one? his attendants asked.
7:43
No , Mara replied, Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it.”
7:50
This delightful story from the Buddhist tradition illuminates instantly the question of enlightenment versus belief. This story shines a light so thoroughly, yet in such an unassuming m anner. This may be the greatest gift that Story itself holds for us. It is like a magician who tells us to look one way while switching cards with the other hand. Story can offer us the perfect amount of misdirection until the trick is revealed. We are educated about our assumptions, and the opposite and complimentary truth in one Swift, jovial blow.
8:29
Here, we are initiated into the truth that where there is light, there is an accompanying darkness. There is balance in all things. Often, our cultural paradigm tells us there is only Yang, only light, only striving, only creating, even such things as beliefs. This story points to the shadow realm of ideas without dogma and moments of insight without a concrete story to which they become anchored. We all know what happens when we anchor something. It doesn’t move with the currents, providing safety and stagnation at the same time.
9:10
As you enter the world of story within this book, take these questions with you. They are invitations to a new way of seeing your inner and outer worlds. What is it like to live a life where we may carry a look of wonder on our face without creating a belief about it to explain or justify its value? Can we live freely upon the currents? If we must anchor for a time, will we remember how to become released.
9:59
I discovered this story in one of my all time favorite books, called Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart, edited by Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield. When I read this story, it made me laugh out loud. I r ecognize myself immediately, I too have had those moments where I went from an awareness, a discovery, an enlightenment, a piece of joy, to creating some sort of concrete structure that helped explain what it was I had been feeling.
10:34
And we can do this, not just with those moments of enlightenment and joy, we also do it with those moments of pain, stress and fear. In fact, when we do it in response to those negative feelings, it’s really to help ourselves, stay safe to protect us. So the thing that I have discovered, and that I want to explore here in this podcast is, are these three questions.
11:05
What is it like to live a life and to feel those feelings, whether positive or negative, without creating a belief to explain or justify its value?
11:19
And what what is it like to live freely on the currents of my own life?
11:25
And if I must anchor for a time, how do I remember to become released?
11:33
So that’s where we’re headed with this podcast. I am really excited that you have joined me and I look forward to future episodes. I hope to actually speak to many of you and have you on the show. sharing your story, sharing stories about how you also dove down into the rich soil of your life, connecting to the Love that lies beneath.
12:02
I’m Zette Harbour. Don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast. You don’t want to miss any bit of this adventure. I look forward to seeing you next time. Go raibh míle maith agat!