When things feel murky and unsure, fine tuning our hearing so as to distinguish the voice of our Innermost Self brings clarity.
~ Kristi Bowman
We’ve all heard the saying, “communication is key” but what is communication without CLARITY? Without internal clarity combined with congruence between our verbal and non-verbal communication, confusion is eminent — like a garbled voice mail message, obscured by static, the words are there but they’re not clear and the message doesn’t come through.
Clear communication is especially difficult if we are in self-doubt or unsure about what we are trying to communicate. Inevitably we end up sending ambiguous, mixed messages that hurt our relationships and leave us without the results we hoped for.
Finding clarity within is essential for expressing clarity. Like brushing the dust off a stallion’s coat or polishing fine silver, clarity can come as the result of actively undoing that which covers up the truth or it can come from focusing deep within and patiently listening to underlying messages, like turning up the volume on a faint radio signal.
Here are 5 strategies to help move towards Clarity:
Use action & stillness as tools: When the fall wind rushes through the trees and shakes their branches, dead leaves & debris fall to the ground, instantly making the view through their limbs clearer. This physical action of agitating the clutter can help to break it up and clear it away! Learn to use action to your benefit in releasing mental clutter that may be getting in the way of clear thought. Physical exercise can often help release extra energy that is taking up space within you. “Venting” your thoughts either out loud or on paper is another way of clearing out excess noise. Once you’ve actively shaken off some dust, embrace the stillness. Practice being still and just listening to what comes up. Allow any thoughts to pass you by instead of getting caught up in them and continue to embrace the stillness. Eventually, greater clarity will come.
Listen to yourself: When you speak, do you hear what you are saying? Are you saying what you mean and meaning what you say? Whether you are conscious of it or not, if you don’t actually mean what you say your tone and body language will reveal that to others. With so much stimulation and the fast paced way of life these days, sometimes words and gestures just flow out of us for a myriad of reasons, occasionally those reasons are not in alignment with our greater clarity. Taking time to pause and check in with yourself – your true self- will help you recognize what you actually want to say. Make an exercise of actively “listening” to your verbal and non-verbal communication. Are you truly being clear?
Listen to others: Actively listening to others not only improves our ability to communicate with them but it also helps us stay connected with ourselves. When we are engaged in the present moment we create a more direct connection to our authentic self and have greater access to our clarity. Listening to others also helps us gain valuable information and feedback as to whether our own communication is being understood or received in the way we mean it to be. Paying attention to non-verbal cues is an extra step into advanced listening practices that can help us recognize if there is greater need for clarity.
See the big picture: Being lost, confused or overwhelmed can make you feel seriously bogged down and unable to think clearly, make a decision, or “know what to do”. Often times, this confusion & overwhelm can come from being just that: bogged down. 
Focusing closely on minutia or trying to keep track of too many variables can lead to this “mind crowding” — hampering the brain’s ability to organize and function at its highest level. Take a moment to step back from the issue. Rather than trying to immediately “solve” it by weighing options, listing, and bringing in more thoughts; take a moment to step away from it and allow your brain a pause. Continue this respite until you feel as though you can see the bigger picture – rather than focusing on the details of the situation, notice its place within your life and desires. When you “rise above” the problem you are pulled above the fog of confusion, so you can gain greater insight & clarity into the situation.
Remember who you are: Life is busy. Often, we get so caught up in so many goings on that we forget to connect with our authentic self. When we lose connection with who we really are, deep down at the core, we tend to make choices or decisions that aren’t right for us. We aren’t clearly seeing where we’re going and all of a sudden we find ourselves in a place that we never intended to be and we’re not happy in! Make time and take time for you. Reconnecting with our true selves and our greater purpose is a key step in living a life of clarity.
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