by hontouniheart on June 19, 2015
Originally posted on clothesfreelife:
Last night I had an amazing time being out with a small group of women and sharing from the heart. Every now and then, the group of us get together and catch up on the latest changes in our lives. In the past, I have talked about some things, but last night, I really opened up and talked about things I never thought I’d confess to others in all my life.
This level of openness I credit to my clothes free life for a number of reasons. Firstly, being willing to sit with myself and see my truth, rather than run away from it or ignore it, is due in large part to my practice of being clothes free. I find healing peace is letting my truth breathe.
Secondly, seeing myself clothes free and living my daily life clothes free has boosted my confidence. You know, I used to look in the mirror and think, “Yeah, I look OK, but as soon as I get those extra few pounds off and fix my hair and suck in my gut, that’s when I’ll really be there.” Now, I don’t place conditions on my beauty or awesomeness. I am wholly and completely beautiful and awesome right now, head to toe, inside and out. And that attitude is beginning to shift how I speak and share myself with others. It’s not, “I’ll be beautiful and great when I have my life together.” No, I’m beautiful, powerful and awesome right now even if I’m a hot mess, even when I make mistakes.
Thirdly, some of the things we, as a clothes free community, talk about with regards to public nudity laws and people’s reactions to our discussions of being clothes free or naked outside are actually helping me to be more mindful about how I share myself with others. We talk about some of the negative ramifications of being caught naked, including folks who immediately turn it into sex and impose upon others their sexual comments or images; shaming from family, friends or strangers; loss of jobs; incarceration and so forth. Being naked in heart is also a huge risk. Indeed, I had, perhaps a month ago, confided something in one woman, and she betrayed my confidence. In the same way that not everyone is ready to deal with clothes free life, some people don’t know how to respect or honor a naked heart. So, while I am feeling more powerful, confident and open about myself from my clothes free life, I’m also discerning more carefully when to take my soul’s clothes off and with whom to be naked in spirit.
Finally, having been clothes free in the presence of others now and seen how it can heal and inspire (see posts where I wrote about my mom and friend for instance), I am seeing how important it is to share openly and deeply, with discernment of course. I spent a lot of this year being secretive and closed off, worried about what people would think of me with regard to many aspects of my life. I just didn’t know who I could trust. But that hiding also made me feel hopeless and alone. Last night, in this trust circle, we women opened up to each other about some very intimate things on our hearts, and it was so healing and freeing to speak about our experiences. I was so freed up once I shared about things in my life, and it moved the others to hear me share. And I was incredibly touched and inspired by their bold and honest shares. We were so supportive of each other, and I left the gathering feeling free, empowered and grateful, and the others echoed similar sentiments.
This morning I feel refreshed and renewed after a night of healthy sharing with a great group women. It felt like our naked hearts spent hours at a clothes free spa just washing out, healing and being.
Being naked brings a great feeling of power freedom & equality, contentment.
I read this article about openly sharing about this woman’s feelings about her own body with a group of other women. In that sharing she was freed to be herself as God created her. The limits of “what is proper” imposed by society and our laws were stripped away and she felt that she could openly comment and become part of the group conversation. ALL of us, male and female, need to have this open honesty about who we really are. I totally identify with this story and applaud the honesty I found in what is written. I also agree with this woman that we need to be careful who we share “soul-baring” things that we would never share with another human being. In my life, I have always been cautious in sharing. But living life has helped me to open up to others who I trust to keep a “soul confidence” knowing that that trust will never be betrayed. My trusted friends I can count on to keep what I have shared openly in confidence. Only living can give a person the confidence to be totally and completely open and let others see your open heart and realize that what is seen there will not be betrayed. I have been blessed to be trusted by total strangers to share things that they would never tell another soul. These people sought me out and just opened themselves up to me without apology. I respect each of these persons and what I have been told will never be told to another living soul. I will keep this trust until I die.
Beautiful beautiful post.. thank you so much for reblogging it <3