The Secret Name Game

The Secret Name Game

I’ve been thinking about about limits lately. “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” (Wittgenstein)

We get notions. We get ideas. We decide stuff about who we are, how we are, what our lives are like, what we might expect. If you hold your fingers up and almost pinch your thumb and forefinger, that’s about how much room we give ourselves to be ourselves.

We are divine and infinite beings. That sounds all romantic and pretty, but what does it mean when we get down to those shiny brass tacks? Limits. Edges. Stopping points. Can’t-do.

John Wheeler, the quantum physicist, said, “The only law is the law that there is no law.”  There are places where the laws of physics don’t hold.

Right, so, blah blah blah. Get to the point.

Okay, you infinite being, you, stop putting those constraining limits on yourself. Take some time to think about what you could accomplish if you weren’t scared.

Fear is often the thing that keeps our fingers pinched in that little allowance we give ourselves to be capable in.

How would I feel if I were unafraid? (That’s not a good Creative Question because the word “unafraid” is a negative, but I want you to see the direction we are going in.) How do I feel when I trust in me? How do I feel when I know I can? How do I feel when I level up?

When we start thinking about what we might want to accomplish or achieve beyond our current limits, we start adding wiggle room. When we decide that we want to step up our experience, to live a bigger life, we begin to make tiny changes in our choices, in our behavior, and our life starts to shift. We begin to find opportunities to challenge ourselves, a different flavor of responsibility, a new shade of commitment.

Why do I choose to be more than I think I am?

I think a big reason we stay close to where we are is being attached to the persona our name brings up for us. We ourselves become a loop of habit. So I like to disrupt that with a game I call the Secret Name of the Day.

I make up a name, and ask myself, how do I feel when I am X? I notice the differences, and if I like ‘em I push on ‘em for a while. It is amazing when I really let myself go there. I find qualities in those other names I don’t much have with this one. Once I’ve felt them, my Pam self can take them on. It’s a fascinating game, and I have found my way out from a lot of stuck places by playing it.

I used to be afraid of being responsible, being capable and competent. I thought it meant that I would never have any fun, just have to work all the time. Instead, I find that I have more fun, more joy shows up in unlikely places, I can really relax, I have a peaceful core.

How have I changed from my limited self to allowing my divine infinite being the room she wants?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 01042014