Ep 16 Transcript_Distorted Perceptions of Reality
Tue, 10/13 9:50PM • 14:34
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
artists, truth, true, feel, inner critic, bondage, heart, peace, reality, false beliefs, issue, honest, wrong, expose, talk, affirmations, podcast, marred, acknowledge, today
SPEAKERS
Zena Dell Lowe
Zena Dell Lowe 00:03
INTRO: Hello, and welcome to the Mission with Zena Dell Lowe, a podcast for artists and storytellers about changing the world for the better through story.
Zena Dell Lowe 00:13
TOPIC INTRODUCTION: Today, we are going to be returning to one of the philosophical questions that was raised early on in this podcast. As a reminder, what we talked about in episode three was the issue of true worldview, where truth means reality. And I argued, as artists, our duty is to accurately represent reality. In other words, we're supposed to tell the truth about the way the world really, truly is. However, I also argued that many artists have a skewed perception of reality, because their worldview was formed by childhood, and their childhood was marred by trauma. So, the question I raised in episode three was that if our duty is to tell the truth about the world as it really is, but our perspective of truth is skewed or marred or distorted, well then what is the artist supposed to do? We want to represent reality, but our ability to do so is undermined by our trauma issues or our history or our false beliefs that we have acquired over our lives. And by the way, the reason why this question is so important is because of the great responsibility of the artist. We are in a very high position in our society. People look to us to know what is true, what is good, what is holy, what is beautiful, what is worthy of our attention. They're looking to us and so, woe to us if we are false teachers who lead people astray and actually cause harm.
Zena Dell Lowe 02:01
So, today I want to talk to you about the primary solutions to this dilemma. However, before I dive into this issue, if this issue is resonating with you, you're the person taking it seriously. And on some level, you're in a state of turmoil. You don't want to screw it up. You recognize the importance of truth, and so part of you feels terrified, because you feel the pressure of this great responsibility to get it right. But what if you're doing it all wrong? And this can lead us as artists to a state of paralysis. We can be so terrified of getting it wrong that we don't do anything. And that was never the way God intended it to be for us. We have the ability to live free in this area. And that's what He wants for you. He doesn't want us to be doing these mental gymnastics in our head, where we're so scared of doing the wrong thing that we don't do anything at all. That is not freedom. That is slavery. That is bondage. And I believe as artists we're called to be free. However, the only way to be free of it with a clear conscience is to have guiding principles that help us to know that we're doing our part. And therefore, we don't have to be wrecked over this. We don't have to stay in a state of turmoil. We can be at peace. We can rest assured. We can surrender and let it go, because we know we are living up to our part of the responsibility. So, again, if this is you, first of all, this reaction is normal. In fact, it's good. It's actually one of the beautiful things about people who have come out of a damaged past. Their hearts are big and their hunger for truth and justice is palpable. The downside is, we can feel like we're frauds. We can also get into perfectionism, where we put the pressure on us to get it right, to be absolutely perfect. And that is bondage. And we need to be free of bondage. We need to be at peace. So, let me just say from the get-go, you're not gonna get it all right all the time. It is okay for you to make a mistake. Right now, I just want you to be aware that if you take this issue seriously, you're going to be tempted to apply these principles in some sort of rigid, dogmatic, legalistic manner that would ultimately keep you enslaved when the whole goal here is to free you from bondage. So, in all things that you're about to receive today, receive it in peace. Receive it knowing that the goal here is to free you, not to bring a different kind of bondage.
Zena Dell Lowe 05:05
PRESENTATION: So, that said, there are principles or solutions that will help us as we grapple with this very important issue, and the very first principle is that we cannot will ourselves to believe what is true. We just can't will ourselves to believe what is true. If we could, people would believe what is true, right? But the problem is, it isn't an issue of the will. We don't believe false things because we willed ourselves, and so we can't correct our thinking simply through will alone. So, if that's the case, how do we correct false thinking? How do we correct false worldview? How do we correct false beliefs? Well, the only thing we can do is expose ourselves to the truth with the idea that the truth, when it is presented to us and we continually expose ourselves to it, will work its way into us. It will slowly but surely replace the false with the true, but we have to expose ourselves. That is an act of the will: the decision, the choice, the determination, the commitment to expose yourself to what you know to be true, but do not truly believe in your heart. See, we can believe things cerebrally to be true. We know they're true somewhere up here in our brain, but we also know that deep down in our soul, in our heart, we don't believe it. And guess what? That is where action resides. We always act in accordance with what we truly believe is true. So, cerebral truth is always trumped by heart truth, what we believe in our very inner soul. Therefore, we have to expose ourselves to what we know to be true but have not yet come to believe.
Zena Dell Lowe 07:09
Number two: we must be rigorously honest with ourselves and with others. Notice that I said rigorously honest, not ruthlessly. One of the things that bothers me is people that take pride in being ruthlessly honest. You know what? We never need to be ruthless with ourselves or with others. Truth is true. Ruthlessness is cruel. A lot of people take pride in being ruthlessly honest, when really, they're secretly gleeful at being mean. So, one of the things that we need to pay attention to is that we are actually being rigorously honest and not ruthlessly honest. To be rigorously honest means to admit and acknowledge what is true. This also means admitting and acknowledging that you may not have a corner on the truth, that your thinking may be flawed. Just being willing to acknowledge this opens the door to sanity, to peace of mind. You no longer have to be right. You can give up the fight. You can stop proving yourself. Stop trying to prove yourself. There's no peace in this. Be honest about what you really feel, what you really think .Don't deny those things. See, a lot of times, we judge ourselves for what we think or what we feel. We feel like it's wrong. For example, if you have a parent who's particularly difficult, right? They're driving you nuts, and you're angry and you're frustrated and you feel devalued, you feel unimportant, you feel belittled, and then you feel guilty for feeling those things about your elderly parent who just need you to take care of them. So, you've now shamed yourself for feeling what you really feel, but a better way is to admit and acknowledge that that's how you feel, and then surrender and accept. Our goal here is to come to trust that a) the truth is out there. It actually exists. And b) our commitment to being open-minded and to being corrected is sufficient. We don't have to know everything at once. We don't have to be absolutely certain that our particular perspective is true, because we know that if we come to find out that it isn't, we would be willing to modify it. That is sufficient. That is the purity of heart that allows you to trust yourself and allows you to trust the process.
Zena Dell Lowe 09:46
Number three: you have to live in consultation. When in doubt, talk it out. If you were trying to ascertain what is true completely on your own, you're probably going to miss. And there are a number of ways, by the way, that we live in consultation. You're living in consultation now by listening to my podcast, but you should also be talking to other people that are like-minded, that are artists who are grappling with the issue of what is true. You should ask them, "Does this ring true? Does this feel true? Do you think this character would do this?" Or whatever the situation may be. You continually check in with others. When in doubt, talk it out.
Zena Dell Lowe 10:29
Number four: tame the inner critic. This is one of the main things that you can do to free yourself up to be a creator. If you have an inner critic, and I know you do, and you hear horrible things in your head about yourself whenever you mess up, whenever you have made a mistake, and that voice berates you and shreds you and just tells you how stupid you are, how horrible you are, what a failure you are, that is your inner critic. You must tame the inner critic, because guess what? You're in an abusive relationship with yourself. The inner critic keeps us imprisoned. The inner critic holds us down. It keeps us enslaved. It keeps us in bondage. The inner critic abuses us. We have to reframe what we're hearing, because the inner critic is telling you lies. The inner critic is telling you that you're not good enough, that you're not smart enough, that you're stupid: "What's wrong with you? How could you have done that? What an idiot." Or whatever the messages may be. You must combat the lies with truth. How do you do that? Well, you consult experts if necessary. You go to a therapist. You read books. One of the best books I've ever read that has helped me so much in my trauma recovery is The Wounded Heart by Dan Allender. I strongly recommend it. The other thing that has really helped me, I write affirmations. Now, I used to think affirmations were really kind of silly, but now I see their value, because they work. And this is where we are constantly exposing ourselves to the truth. So, whenever I hear a message shaming me and telling me how bad I am, I compose an affirmation to combat it. So, if you're interested in knowing some of my affirmations that I have used in my recovery as both an artist and as a trauma survivor, I would be happy to share these with you. If you send me an email: zena@missionranchfilms.com, I will share with you a document of my affirmations.
Zena Dell Lowe 12:56
RECAP: To recap, then, what do we do if we have a distorted perception of reality? Number one: we cannot will ourselves to believe what is true. We can only expose ourselves to the truth. Number two: we must be rigorously honest. We cannot shield ourselves from what is true. Number three: we must live in consultation. We have to test it. We get feedback. We humble ourselves. We check our ego at the door. And finally, number four: you must tame the inner critic. You're in an abusive relationship with yourself. Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. You're on the right track, and the whole reason that you are concerned about this is because your heart is good. I hope that this has been helpful for you today and that it has brought you a considerable amount of peace, and also some practical steps that you can take to achieve greater freedom as an artist. I want you to live in freedom as an artist. I want you to go forth and create freely, without being in bondage to fear.
Zena Dell Lowe 14:17
OUTRO: Thank you so much for listening to the Mission with Zena Dell Lowe. May you go forth inspired to change the world for the better through story.