So, I realize it isn't Halloween time, unless of course you are reading this in October and then, hey, Happy Halloween! But I digress, the little trickster I am talking about isn't the kid dressed up and pulling pranks, it's that little voice within us that can be so convincing of our shortcomings. Call it the critic, ego, or trickster, by any name it can be tamed.
I hope you enjoy this chapter and learn to be happy with your IT.
There is an interesting aspect to our personalities that can be invigorating as much as it can be incapacitating. This is what I have come to know as the inner trickster. It isn’t evil and it isn’t particularly bad but it is sometimes VERY annoying. Think of a child when they are being impish. That is the energy of the inner trickster. It wants attention and it is very practiced at getting it. One can look at any human and know that there is an inner trickster in there. They all have their own jobs and focuses but only because we have trained them there. It is often based on how we were raised or what we witnessed along our path as to how our trickster plays.
When we are born, there is an innate trusting to this universe and a feeling that all is in order. Why else would we come in with no teeth, not able to support ourselves and believing that whoever brought us into this world has our best interest at heart? This knowing or trusting is there from the soul level and if we would remember or were taught to listen to it as we grow, there would be no room for an inner trickster to marinate and then become active in our systems. This is often not the case though, I believe it is possible, but for most of us, this wasn’t our experience and we must learn to rewire the messages received by those that did bring us in or that raised us to where we are old enough to listen to our own messages.
If one were to be raised with this knowledge, much like the animal kingdom is, our own gps would guide us to the highest experience and it would all be utopia. That may seem like the best case scenario but we actually learn well through contrast and I, for one, am grateful for the teaching it has given me. For instance, my trickster is often caught up in what will be, imagined or otherwise, and will often tell me stories that are so creative IT should be a writer! It has taken me years and will no doubt be an ongoing process of retraining the trickster to find its attention elsewhere rather than in my ego!
It has been my experience that the ego is a representative and encourager of where we are and where we may be going individually. I believe it to be a good thing and something that should pat you on the back and not hold you back. I also see it as an effective tool in alignment. While many teachings may be about separating the ego from yourself I just don’t agree that is a good way to go as it is a part of you and if it gets separated, it creates a fear reaction and that doesn’t help any situation. I see it as the part we are to learn how to accept, appreciate and sometimes talk to like it is a five year old that needs a nap, lovingly and with a great amount of patience. This patience is what the inner trickster requires as well to quiet its comments and to redirect some of that impish energy.
One of the questions I love so much is, is it true? Is what you are talking about, complaining about, worrying about or imagining, is it true? As we learned earlier, everyone has their own inner truth and it isn’t up to us to see it from their angle, only our own but is it true or are you creating something to keep you entertained and feeling activated in your own life? Most often I find that people are so creative and don’t give themselves credit for that creativity however, it could be put to better use in being creative for the enjoyment of life rather than the drama of it.
Do you want to quiet the inner trickster and are you willing to live without the adrenaline rush of “oh, no, what do I do now?” I know the first reaction may be, who me? I don’t do that but you only have to look at social networking or any of the other blogging sites to see that there is a high propensity and desire for that feeling of fulfillment if only for just a moment. This is similar to the rush achieved when one purchases a great blouse or eats a great piece of pizza or chocolate. It’s great to admit it and even better to shift the habit of lining up with the inner trickster.
Here are a few examples of the inner tricksters work and some questions to help you identify if you are dancing with your inner trickster or if you are aware of it and able to acknowledge it as that cute little bugger that quiets down when you don’t feed it.
- What do you feel is your most creative inner trickster energy? Does it tell you you aren’t smart enough? You aren’t talented enough or that you lack abilities?
- Is there a part of you that immediately agrees with others when they give their opinion even if it is something that you don’t agree with?
- Do you feel you have to come back with an example of your own drama when someone shares their life? An example of this would be if someone were saying that they had car trouble and what a challenge it was to get the tow truck there and you jump in with an even bigger tale of how difficult it was for you to get your car serviced and the run around that ensued. Bigger is not always better.
- Do you have a hard time with the opinions of others and what you “think” they may be saying about you? This one usually brings a big response as we often think people are talking about us when in fact they are so worried about people talking about them that it is rarely the case that they are talking about us. (I know that is a bit of a puzzle but if you read it a few times you will get the humor in it as well. We humans are so funny in our learned behaviors.)
So what can you do to calm the inner trickster and allow it to go take a nap and only be present when you are not doing yourself a favor and growth is probable?
- You can distract the inner trickster much like you would a two year old who wanted to climb the cabinets just because he can. A way to do this is by getting busy with anything that fills you up or that keeps you busy and distracted until the feeling of wanting drama to fill that hole. You could go for a walk, you could get creative artistically, you could clean or you could call a friend (NOT to talk about the challenge you are having but to share in their day.). It only takes a short time to redirect that energy that is looking to be filled up.
- You can recognize that it is there and much like the child example, send it for a nap. I used to do this a lot when I first started doing readings. My inner trickster was so creative it would do a conversation before the person even got there… the whole conversation…so what was the point of them showing up? Creative eh? One of the exercises I would do was to picture my inner trickster, or ego, as being dressed as I am that day and imagine it peeling out of my body similar to those old movies where the soul would rise up out of the body after someone passed. I would then send it to the kitchen, as I was doing readings in my home then, to wait for me to finish the session. I have left her on the side of the road, in the shower or standing in that kitchen for long periods of time. There was no anger in it, simply a reassignment. Over time this was unnecessary and only on occasion does she get sent to the other room for her nap.
- You can also learn to love and appreciate the inner trickster. This will allow it to learn acceptance and not feel it has to rear its ugly head to get attention. Appreciate the fact that you are brilliantly wired to self check and accept the fact that it will be a part of you for as long as you are physical and if you learn to love it; you won’t mind having it around.
Loving and dancing with my Inner Trickster,
Vicki
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