When Unleashing yourself and shining your light, the fear of being seen may well, on some level, arrive into your awareness. It’s a common trait of empaths and highly sensitive people…

I’ve known this feeling well. As a child I never ever felt fully seen or understood for being me, so I just learned to shut up, shrink into the background of life, and before long, that became my strategy. 

Here’s a personal example… I witnessed as a child, people being ridiculed for their personalities by a member of my family and I could see that it hurt them and I felt it too. I didn’t want to be the target, so I learned to tailor myself to suit the vibe of the tribe, it was the path of least resistance. However, this created upset within me because by nature I’m a rebel, a non-conformist and I simply wasn’t going to ‘fit in’.

Until as an adult, I decided it wasn’t the real me and through energy work, I took that energy out of the ruck sack on my back, left it behind, lightened my load and healed my irrational behaviour.

I didn’t consciously know that I had sensitive sensibilities, I just thought I was a pain in the arse for reacting to situations as I did because that’s what I was told I was. I’ve learned to embrace the fear of being seen and transcended the tribe way to my way, because it is who I am.

Can you see how our fears can weave many loops in all directions of our life?

It can manifest in many ways… feeling unconfident, uncertain, judged, vulnerable, a failure, stupid, ridiculed… and terrified!

It’s a self centred, internal egoic fear because the truth is… people really are rooting for you and really do appreciate your words, wisdom and energy. They value and admire you.

When we have the courage to express ourselves, it helps others become courageous. And what we share can become the source from which our dreams and desires manifest and it can become our greatest strength.

They say you teach what you’ve experienced and healed. This is leadership in this new world, particularly as women. We are unpeeling and healing layers of patriarchal, ancestral and childhood wounds and trauma to free ourselves and free the collective to be the truth of who they are and who we’ve all come here on Earth to be.

This is a big mission and and incredible journey, lucky we don’t have to do it alone. Groups just like ours here in Unleashed are creating beautiful waves together. Just having the thoughts and awareness about this part of ourselves, makes healing begin to happen.

Our deepest fears are actually activators. On a soul level, we know that the fear of being seen is by design. It exists to be overcome, so that what we do beyond it, is our greatest asset. Otherwise, why would we have the fear in the first place? Source doesn’t want us to experience over and over, what we have already learned and integrated.

How can you accept yourself, and see yourself as great?

Make a list of the incredible magic that makes you, you.

A suggestion I offer to my 1:1 clients, if they’re having trouble coming up with the words to describe them, is to ask a couple of friends/family/trusted people what they would say about you. 

Notice how your body feels as you ask the question of them, and how it feels when you receive their answers. Write it down.

Just as I shared in the example in the Riff, how can you expect anyone else to see your light, your greatness if you cannot see it?

I know that overcoming being seen can come with tons of anxiety, but you’re supported here to see the fear and take action anyway.

Note: Brene Brown has created many brilliant books on this topic.