The Authenticity Learning Curve!
Our colleague Kristina Turner, Hendricks Leadership and Transformation Program graduate, Certified Big Leap Coach, and member of the Foundation for Conscious Living Restoring Resourcefulness Faculty, shares this story about her experience during a dental procedure. This article was originally published in Kristina’s newsletter, Spark!
WOWZA! During a long dentist appointment yesterday, I put my newly polished authenticity skills to the test.
From the moment I woke up I sensed this was going to be a big discovery day. What thoroughly surprised me was how present I was to my whole, authentic self while the dentist and his assistant worked on my teeth
for a couple hours.
In real time, I felt my whole body respond to vibrations, sensations, touch, sounds, tastes. Inwardly, I talked to my inner kid and limbic brain, reassuring myself that this was completely natural to be feeling my fight, freeze, flee and faint fear responses! I let myself imagine pushing all the equipment out of the way and bolting!
That might have been the moment when my kind and sensitive dentist asked if I wanted to take a break. I said “Yes!” then spontaneously did Fear Melters® – wiggling my whole body and oozing my arms, neck and shoulders – before I even got out of the chair! I appreciate that they both laughed with appreciation.
In my role as impatient patient, when a time-sensitive procedure was getting tricky and the dentist seemed tense and impatient, I tuned into my own heartbeat and sent waves of appreciation looping around all 3 of us. Success! The rest of the procedure went smoothly.
As I walked to my car afterwards, I realized that in all my dentist experiences as a child no one ever told me it was OK to feel how I was feeling – scared, mad, tired, cold, lonely and oh yeah, numb. Instead of reassuring hugs, I was given a coupon for a free ice-cream cone.
So, taking a sweet breath now, I celebrate how thoroughly I am unlearning that automatic reach for sugar to mask my feelings. Instead, I’m giving myself LOVE SCOOPS for feeling and expressing who I really am – especially in challenging situations.
