915 thoughts on “Recognition is Nothing, Expression is Everything”

1. The thing I homed in on was about social media and how it’s become a disease, bringing up so much emotions and excitement for many, I’m not exempted from it either. Social media is great in one respect, but someone somewhere along the way, bastardised it and it got out of hand. But the key is how we are in what is going on around us is the importance factor.

   When we look at the world this disease of recognition is everywhere and in everything. It should matter not what is going on, but to know who we are in this world and in this absoluteness, we are not touched or phased by anything.

2. Beautifully simple, we are vehicles of expression, ‘Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.’

   1. Expression is continually refining and developing, it cannot stay stagnant. Let’s look at a baby developing its words and how it constructs sentences as they grow older. We have a two year old visiting and love the simplicity of her expression, not complicating anything. Expresses when she is not happy, and expresses when she is joyful, its no wonder the adults love being around her, she makes expression so simple…

3. Everyday, I experience clear opportunities to express something. It is as though time stands still and a clear space is there amongst a crowd, to say what is bursting to come out. After I have bottled it and sidestepped the opportunity, I am more and more realising that it was me and my needs that damned the flow of expression. I can sense that the thing I am about to say is held by most people in the room; and that I am merely a spokesperson- so, again, it is not about me. I can also relate to that desperation to hang onto the ‘silent mute’ identity, which no longer fits who I am.

4. Anything gets in the way of expressing our truth is never simple. Truth is simple. To not express truth we have to invite in a lot of complication, struggle, difficulty plus more. Any wonder why caffeine and sugar is a top traded resource? It’s exhausting living complicated.

5. Those ouch moments or mistakes are some of our greatest learnings and can be a learning part of our evolution.

6. Subliminally we seek likes and seek recognition from the outside, as we have learned to do this for years as a substitution for real and true love. But there is no substitution for real love in the end, nothing holds us in the way true love does.

7. There is a learning in expressing for the sake of expressing truth no matter how it is received.

8. There is a world of difference in getting a click on a ‘like’ button to being appreciated for the reflection you offer.

9. Great sharing Luz I agree that ‘Expression is Everything’ it has taken me some time to come to the same conclusion because the more we put ourselves in the way the more we make it about self and not the all, when we accept that we are part of the all I know that truth is all there is and expressing that truth becomes more fluid every day.

10. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back” So true Luz we live in a world that says we shouldn’t make mistakes, and we then berate ourselves when we do, when in fact there is no such thing as a mistake only a learning. I have found that if I get frustrated or angry with myself because I have made a ‘mistake’ I don’t truly get the learning that is on offer, because I have not fully embraced and allowed myself to go deeper with what is being presented to me.

11. Brilliant blog Luz and I love this title ‘Recognition is Nothing, Expression is Everything’ Recognition is about ‘me, me, me’ and it feels empty because it separates us, keeps us disconnected and needy, whereas when we express from truth without any form of ownership it is a blessing for us all.

12. To understand that ‘expression is everything’ brings a deeper meaning to the way we move and live in the world, without this awareness we easily fall victim to wanting to be recognised that always has us chasing our tails and seeking to fill the emptiness we feel within.

13. There is a great deal of difference between knowledge and truth… and we innately know this difference when either are presented – by the quality we feel in our bodies.

14. Knowledge has currency in most societies. Education is expensive and is rewarded with high regard and often well-paid jobs.I’ve fallen for knowledge being security and become anxious when I can’t recall information in certain situations. But my believing that knowledge is king meant I didn’t appreciate the natural wisdom that lies within that knowledge can compliment. A response that emcompases the whole wasn’t given when it was needed. It is no wonder that anxiety is felt in the body when relying solely on knowledge. Could it be my fear of missing out some vital piece of knowledge was actually the anxiety of knowing I wasn’t connecting to the bigger picture that was asking to be delivered?

15. I have also learned that expression is everything, and that we each are responsible for our thoughts, actions and words and how this has a ripple effect on everything. To express who we truly are, is all we have to do, so another gets the reflection of who they truly are and is how we can work together and pull each other up.

16. Expression comes through us, not from us and to live and understand this changes everything, for there is no ownership or I in this, and so our job is to let go anything which gets in the way of the wisdom that can be expressed through us.

    1. This is huge Monica, to let go of ownership is a humble and wise choice. Our world is currently run by different forms of ownership, and if we dare to go against this trend and this current configuration of our society, we essentially expose the falseness of ownership.

17. “I have literally spent hours fighting old identities, self-doubt and paranoia.” It’s crazy the amount of time that we spend fighting who we are and what we need to say and do – we just waste so much time, and what’s the worst that could happen if we really go for it?

18. Luz, what an amazing blog. I hold back on social media a lot because I know how uncomfortable I feel on the see-saw of shame v recognition. I shall be reading and feeling the wanting to make things mine – that ownership of knowledge, the excitement at the many ways I can use it in a way that isn’t supporting another to be themselves but for me to look good. This feels very ugly and perhaps contributes to the feeling of shame. Much here to lovingly uncover.

    1. I am very intrigued by shame. I felt shame spirals or washes a lot in the past. I remember speaking unedited as a child. I remember being puzzled when people I could see were amazing, reacted to and took very personally the things I said which were not said to be horrible. As I grew up I didn’t respect people’s choices to stay in their self-protecting bubbles, I wanted to break them out so I could have someone close to connect to – I wasn’t connected with myself.

       Fearing shame allows me to stay in the anxiety of expressing/not expressing in case someone reacted and I’d have a shame spiral. But shame is a lie – no-one is ever flawed – though I liked to believe everyone else was fine but I was flawed- aka special and different 😉 Shame, like any other energy that feels horrible is something that passes through us. I don’t have to identify with it even if I do feel it every so often. I can just let it go.

19. Wanting approval and recognition for what we do starts from very young, when we get praised for doing something well but not ever receiving acknowledgment and appreciation for just being who we are, and so we start to learn to judge ourselves from what we do. It is a vein that runs through our lives until we recognise that we are already amazing and don’t need approval form anyone.

    1. Our society places so much emphasis and recognition on what we do but ignore who we are from a very young age, this then projects a message that who we are is not important but what we do and achieve is. Where this leads us is down a path of forever seeking recognition, chasing an illusion that keeps us further away from who we are. Hence, the cycle of seeking recognition begins once we lose connection to who we are.

       1. The more I understand how much we look outside ourselves to seek recognition to confirm who we are, the more obvious it becomes that we do this the moment we lose connection with ourselves. It can be subtle at first, but If we don’t catch it when we are young, it becomes our normal, and we no longer know our true selves.

20. Very true Doug we have to get over the fear of living without the recognition of, basically, everyone and there is one man, Serge Benhayon who is the great inspiration of living truth because humanity is in need of hearing and finding the truth of what love is and how we can live connected to all we know inside our body.

21. It can feel so freeing to just be and express all of who I am with no holding back – there is so much joy to be had but although I know and can sense what comes through me does not belong to me, there is a tendency to want to own it and hold on to it, a learning to master in my unfolding.

22. Dear Luz, you are indeed a student of your self and of life. I admire and am inspired by people like yourself that have the courage to undertake self-exploration, to ask yourself the more difficult questions and be OK with what gets uncovered.

    1. Yes, Luz is very inspirational in what she shares, her honesty and expression, ‘ the issue of recognition and looking for acceptance from others: “What will my old friends and acquaintances think of me?”’ Expressing truth no matter the outcome.

23. This shows up how social media has been used – that it is all for self recognition and that we only share to get a response or reaction from others. Very exposing when we can look at what it is that drives us to post – what is the purpose behind this and it is for self or for others.

    1. It is always interesting to see what the purpose is behind our actions.

24. There is no limit to the human imagination of the types holes we can dig in.

25. How the world receives us matters so much when we don’t hold ourselves in as much love as we would like to see returned.

    1. Building a strong foundation of love for ourselves means we are less likely to seek recognition on the outside.

26. “All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” – These words are like music to my ears, with the simplicity and profound power that can come from living this way, even though I have avoided it many times. It’s a true way forward for us all, and I like the way Luz showed the patience she has for herself in her own development of true expression.

27. There is so much that we can hold in our bodies if we don’t let it out. We may think that it’s nothing, oh just another thing unsaid, something I didn’t do. But these impulses can get buried in our bodies leaving us feeling tensions which do not belong.

28. Why is it that so many settle for being recognised for what their mind can regurgitate when they are missing out on the deep connection with the universal mind and the amazing wisdom and true knowledge that is on offer.

    1. Are we caught on the wheel of trying to cover up hurts, a great question to ponder, ‘Have I invested in knowledge to fill up my bottomless pit of lack of self-worth and to cover up my hurts by becoming smug, self-righteous and by preaching to others?’

29. It is quite something to express beautifully in two or more languages as you do, Luz!

30. Great blog Luz in which I could really appreciate how the insatiable need to actually own the knowledge you acquire can take away the appreciation of what you are actually learning.

31. Banking on knowledge or resorting to beliefs means that we either don’t know or haven’t claimed something we know is truth. Knowledge looks good, ticks all the boxes and gets us brownie points; beliefs hold our view of the world and life together like sticky tape – mere confirmation bias and solid it is not but provides some scaffolding to weather the storms, as patchily and incomplete as is possible.

32. A great read Luz with powerful exposure on being caught up in identification and recognition rather than simply being in connection with our essence and expressing truth from this.

    1. Yes, identification comes in quite a few stages and when we get to know one stage there is often a more subtle one underneath.

33. There is much to be learned about how the words that come out of our mouths are often not representative of who we are. The teachings of the Ageless Wisdom are supporting me immensely to develop my inner connection, and from there my expression is changing.

34. When I was in the Church I felt I was right, I felt I had it and others didn’t, when i look back now I realise the arrogance that way of thinking was, now I realise we all have it, we are all the same essence, just connected or not. When we express from our connection truth will come through us.

35. “What will my old friends and acquaintances think of me?” When we say what we think others want to know, this is what they listen to but when we express truth this is what they hear and feel.

36. I was pondering on the power of the ‘like’ button on social media, and it doesn’t feel very loving at all. If someone is needing recognition, to have lots of likes one day may give them an emotional boost but if they get none the next day they are more than likely to plummet all the way down again into an emotional hole. What an exhausting way to live, but these days so many are living in this way giving their own precious power away to the artificial power of the ‘like’.

37. Thank you for writing this. Identifying with knowledge is a trap I’ve fallen into many times and although it may bring recognition it absolutely inhibits any chance of connection.

38. Past identities may be a problem if they deter our current expression which sets the foundation to grow as we walk into the future.

39. That is a beautiful end to your exploration of expression. That it is from the whole, for the whole and not owned by us is truly awesome. I love the way you express – it always feels very encompassing.

40. Thanks Luz. Expression is so important and learning to express has made an enormous difference in my life. People do all kinds of things to change how they feel – many of them less than healthy. But how about opening up our hearts to expressing ourselves more freely, with love and truth at our core? Better than anything else I have ever tried.

    1. The freedom to express everything is a real gift to ourselves and everyone around us, I am great at expressing what is not but have struggled with expressing love – which is totally my own making – just being us in full is what is required.

41. Finding one’s way out of the rat race of recognition into the extraordinary experience of expression is indeed finding your way home.

42. When we operate life from one level then we only look at what is being spoken and how good it is or intelligent it sounds. When we open continually to the fact of all things come from energy first and so then deal with everything from there we open to there being more then just words and how things look. We feel them and so everything, every word is based on energy first. It’s not a different way to live but a more encompassing way to see the world and what is going on anyway, regardless of if we are choosing to see it or not.

43. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.”
    An immensely humbling sentence, how much more would we be willing to share what we feel if we truly felt that it is for everyone?

44. A timely read as I anticipate a challenging piece of mandatory composition waiting for my attention tomorrow. You’ve reminded me to avoid the pitfalls of recall and instead allow the flow to bring what’s required. This takes all the anxiety out of the anticipation and simply requires me to be ready through paying attention to the quality of choices I make between now and then.

45. When we make life about truth, everything is so simple – there is no need to seek identification or recognition, as there is a deep knowing of that which lives within.

46. A great sharing on expression is everything and we are vehicles of expression, and so our quality is paramount, ‘All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.’

47. ‘We are vehicles of expression’…this reveals a lot about how we can truly live. How often do we try to own our expression rather than allow it to flow without interfering in it?

48. Living life with the constant need of recognition and identification requires a lot of work and can leave us feeling drained and exhausted. Whereas, if we choose to consistently commit to the quality of our movements then our expression is just a flow and natural reflection of whom we are.

49. “All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” What greater commitment is there than this as from that foundation everything else evolves?

50. Claiming out expression… Such simple words, and yet a life changing awareness that is possible for everyone to embrace and evolve with.

51. We express in every moment whether we are conscious of it or not. The way we move, the way we breathe, and the way we talk are just but a few ways.

52. A great question to consider Luz, ‘What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?’

53. Expressing from our bodies and meeting issues that come up head on is the way forth in life and our evolution as we then break free from the reactions and patterns we have identified with in order to receive recognition and delayed our return home.

54. Expressing without seeking recognition is so freeing. It allows the truth to be expressed and leaves us feeling expansive, joyful and absolutely amazing. Imagine how others would feel when they hear someone express from love and without an ounce of recognition? Amazing too, I would imagine.

55. I agree Luz supporting ourselves with the Gentle Breath Meditation and, or Esoteric Yoga is always a hugely supportive step, ‘ I decided to stay open and super honest, to support my body with the Gentle Breath Meditation and online Gentle Yoga classes and let it all unfold deeply.’

56. Social media is a great marker for where we’re at with recognition, if we post something purely for how many likes we can get our whole self worth is registered by this action, whereas if we go into the situation first knowing our worth and our magnificence and not needing that confirmed we will post something that allows us free to define ourselves, rather than be defined by the amount of likes or recognition in the post.

57. When we manipulate or calibrate our expression according to what we think will garner us recognition or acceptance from others it’s like a self-made prison that we put ourselves into. Everyone misses out if we reject what we’re truly feeling to say…

    1. Absolutely, setting out to get recognition is a bit like building a prison and locking yourself in it and then handing someone else the key. We always hold the key, it’s up to us whether we empower ourselves, or give our power away to another by handing the key over to them.

58. I too am learning how important the quality of my expression is – be this talking or moving or anything I do or say or even think! It is for me a process to let myself fully feel my body and where I am coming from when I move or express – I am trying to remember to do this before I start moving or talking, but even if I catch myself half way, I still do try to do a ‘check in’ and feel how my body feels. Lately I have been so aware of this drive or push to be onto the next thing before I have even finished the first, and this actually feels quite exhausting in the body and it feels like this relentless and endless go go go. So I am practicing having a moment (just a few seconds, maybe 5 or 6 at the most), just having a breath, making sure I am not onto the next job until I actually get to it…

59. The worry about what others might think of me has had me paralyzed far too many times to count. It’s a deeply ingrained behaviour, so letting go of my need for approval, or need to be liked has been a long, but ultimately very liberating process. Thank you for this insightful blog Luz.

60. A very insightful read into how one person can truly make changes in their life if they are prepared to be honest.

61. “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” I love this. Letting go of the desire for approval and recognition has been an ongoing work in progress, but, as you say, when we make it about truth, amazing things happen. I can no longer allow the fear of a reprisal to get in the way of truth.

62. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back.” If we have spent a long time holding back expression when we start to express again there can be a few (or many wobbles). But as toddler learns to walk again in a new body, so must we find our way with expression. If a toddler never tried to walk, well it would be ridiculous. Yet so many people hold back their expression for fear of getting it wrong.  

63. “This issue about recognition and shame needed to be addressed before I could continue and get to a more truthful quality in my expression.” this has been the case with me also, in order for my true expression to come through, I needed to clear some of the big hurts that would be there, so that when I did express, it was from that hurt, not really from me. These days more of me comes through in my expression.

64. One of the many many things I appreciate about the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom, as presented by Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon, is that we are already everything. From the moment we are born. But we get stuck along the way when we take on ideals, beliefs, and pictures about how life should be.

    When you start from the premise that we are already everything, and that every person is born with a inner-heart that is connected to the all, and that from this inner-heart we know, deeply, that we are LOVE, it is so much easier (even though it can be challenging at times!) to look at what is stopping us from living from that connection to our inner-heart. We are much more open to looking at what it is, because we know it is not who we truly are.

    But when you come looking at these ‘issues’,they are us, it is harder to let go of them because we don’t really know who else we are. A very big trick and illusion that keeps in the drama.

65. I have found it is when we have a need for something in our connections that we deny the very connection we are after in the first place. True connections starts with us simply connecting to our movements and feeling the space around us. It is then quite beautiful to see how our conversations and meetings with people unfold and flourish, showing us that a deeper understanding and intimacy starts with surrendering to our presence and letting of the needs. It is in the surrendering we find true honesty and that is simply gorgeous.

66. It’s a great point about regurgitated words Linda. Being intellectual and knowing things only proves that you have a good memory! When we connect to our bodies and the wisdom held within our hearts we can blow ourselves away with what we know.

67. Expressing on social media should be no different to how we express in person. Interesting thing though and the big difference is that we have time to edit, delete, re-write and think about what we are going to say – so much so that we probably over think and can lose the initial feeling we had to express.

68. Ever-appreciating your honesty and depth of self-inquiry Luz, thank-you. And oh yes – the many intricacies we can meet when we choose to once again open to the love that we are, and share it with others… and how awesome it is to realise that we only ever need simply be ourselves, authentically and joyfully so.

69. Such a powerful blog Luz thank you for being so honest I can so relate to what you have shared here about social media – when we get our self out of the way there is so much we can express and share with the world that can ignite and support others to make a choice to also express. When we hold back from expressing truth we confirm to others to also hold back – I am seeing the greater responsibility we all have to express our truth in full as there is a world waiting to be shown that there is a different way to use social media that can unite and offer healing to us all.

    1. So true Anna. I know I’m off track as soon as I start imagining how other people will respond or react to what I share. When I’m solid in what I’m expressing the way I am perceived doesn’t matter so much.

70. Accepting that I am a vehicle of expression and allowing this to flow takes away so much of the pressure that I put on myself to get things right but also connects me to the responsibility for expressing what is there to express rather than getting caught up in the processes. Time to get the head out of the way.

71. For me there has been a safety in expressing from knowledge because I can distance myself from it but also receive recognition for being intelligent which is safe. It has felt far more exposing to share from my livingness and be open to others seeing the real me and I continue to shy away from this on social media and pretend that I don’t have time because it is so confronting. Thank you for sharing your journey with it and I can feel that this is an area where I need to stop hiding.

72. Allowing ourselves to make mistakes and still not hold back form expressing is wonderful.

73. It is about sharing from our livingness knowing our true purpose and this can never come from self but like you say Luz ‘ it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.’

74. Still to this day after many years being aware of the roles we can go into when having family meals.Seeking recognition and proving your worth amongst it all.

75. It is puzzling that we have doubts whether to express what we consider to be true because of what other people who know us may think of us. What does this tell us about the relationships we have and how we move in life?

76. ‘I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.’ Looking at expression this way completely changes our perspective, investment, attachment and need.

77. Thank you Luz for sharing so honestly and exposing how recognition keeps us entrapped, in a form of expression that needs feeding, attention, to be liked, is knowledge based and lacking connection and as such is totally measured as it is for self only so as to receive the recognition required for us to feel good. I love how you have highlighted when we feel an unease in our expression, if choose to go deeper, to uncover the truth through self-honesty, we discover that we feel much freer in knowing that we are vessels of expression and what we do feel to express is not from us but rather coming through us, and so is for all to share. This I am still learning to surrender to in full, but the more I do the freer and more exquisite it feels to simply be in this surrender. The joy of true expression then is a whole body experience and is a natural and no different to our in and out breath.

78. Those ‘likes’ – I have noticed for myself that I would sometimes click it even when I haven’t read the article that is being shared but just because it was recommended by someone whose views I often agree, value or support, and I am now feeling how irresponsible that actually is. I mean, how can I ‘like’ something that I don’t even know?

    1. That’s great to expose Fumiyo, I know I have done the same thing which is crazy as I haven’t discerned if something is true for me or not first.

79. Each day I also am learning that expression is everything and that it is my responsibility to bring my full expression in everything I do. Thank you Luz for the beautiful reminder that expression is everything.

80. I found this article really honest and interesting to read. It is common that we feel confined by our old identities and worry what people will think when we start to share things that are important to us on social media. If that sharing is true for us, that is what matters, even though there will be some who like it and some who don’t. We need to accept it and realise that twisting ourselves to fit others or be a chameleon gets very waring.

81. Healing our past hurts and or old beliefs about our expression allows us to feel more confident in all facets of our life, which can only be a positive step towards making our true expression blossom.

82. Social media can be the perfect breeding ground for giving others the responsibility for our self worth, as you say we can ride the exhausting highs of likes or the shame or fear of not receiving the attention and recognition. Either outcome is a dead end. Or we can get on with being ourselves and taking responsibility for our own worth by being self loving. Thanks Luz, it’s a great topic.

83. Expression is everything and the quality it is expressed through is for each of us to build our awareness of. There are many layers to expose when we make the choice to express from who we are and your honesty and willingness to go deeper Luz is inspiring. Thank you for magnifying an area of expression that can offer so much healing when the quality of livingness is increased and felt through it.

84. Such a great point I can feel here Luz – there is a fake knowledge that we can really on and hide behind. Knowledge that has everything that sustains the self whether good bad or otherwise it revolves around self – all the reactions and emotions you mentioned. This is the cost for trying to own knowledge.

85. It is beautiful what can constellate when we make it about truth and get ourselves out of the way… the magic is worth letting go of everything that doesn’t serve the whole to let the whole come through.

86. Our inner being loves to express in full and to not hold back anything that is there to be expressed. Why should it hold back while it is a vessel of expression through which the divine wisdom can be shared? It is only the human mind that is able to interfere as it is geared to another life, a life in creation in separation of the grander whole which will be dismantled if we allow to let through that divine expression.

87. We loved to be’ liked’ and it doesn’t matter if it is on social media, or at a party or at school, and while being liked momentarily satisfies us it does not last so we are always seeking more. When we recognise that it is not about being liked but the need for recognition and being accepted then it begins to expose our need to full fill something that we are not full filling within ourselves. I know when I have sought recognition it is because of lack of self worth and self love for myself, and so now when ever I can feel myself being pulled towards wanting recognition I stop and look at what I am not appreciating in myself that I need to seek others confirmation for.

88. When we get ourselves out of the way, then there is no cause for embarrassment, for worrying about how we might be judged, or damaging our reputation. We just become a vehicle of expression for what can and is felt all of the time.

89. I can very much relate to feeling self-righteous and preaching to others when I am feeling hurt. I know when I’m doing it and it is a horrible feeling, a feeling of being better than and thinking I know more than another. Becoming aware of when I feel hurt and admitting and accepting it begins the healing process of getting to the root cause. Without acknowledging I am hurt then how can I heal it? Preaching imposes; it is abuse not only towards others but towards myself too and the antidote – Self-Love.

90. Sharing the livingness of ourselves is a deep joy that continually sustains and deepens our livingness, it is a sharing of a common thread which we are all connected to, and thus, it is not sharing self if it is true.

91. It is easy to blame others for not understanding us or accepting us I find, but I love here Luz how you have taken this to another level of introspection about how is it we are actually expressing? Have we taken full responsibility for the quality we are expressing in? If we express ourselves and it comes loaded with something like superiority or judgement or preaching then is it any wonder people switch off? I have found when I truly express wisdom from my heart people are much more open to hearing it.

92. There is a lot here on offer in this blog. It all comes back to building our awareness and view of what is truly happening around us and in us. It’s not fancy and there maybe no fan fare but when the world is out of whack the only place to turn for answers is in how we truly feel. There maybe thoughts around this but this is for all of us to expand or explore our awareness of what is happening around us. Sure we can go on like we are and wait for the answers to be bought to us or we can actively take our place in life and bring all we see in any moment, knowing we are part of a huge jigsaw and if our piece isn’t there then we are all missing a part of the picture.

93. I have found that when we measure or compare ourselves and our way of expressing it brings in complication but when we make all that we do, say and move be from the truth of our bodies, simplicity reigns supreme.

94. Making mistakes is a part of learning. So it makes sense to me that if we have held back our expression for a long time when we do start to open up the flood gates sometimes it’s going to come out awkwardly, in a rush or it may even appear totally wrong and out of flow. But if we see the whole process as an actual opportunity to learn, we won’t be so hard on ourselves.

95. Choosing to delve deeply into self and to honestly evaluate what is going on that is in any way inhibiting what we feel to share, be that on social media or in general conversation as we live life, is a way of living that calls us to take responsibility for what and how we express. To take any preparedness with a grain of salt and to instead surrender to delivering what is there to be said, in the moment from the stillness and steadiness of our soul.

96. Something that came to me while reading this blog was that, when we start to recognise moments that distract us from connection, we are offered moments to deepen our connection. Luz, you beautiful expressed how simple expression can be when self is moved out of the way and we allow our bodies to become the vehicles of Gods breath.

97. Expression is where our true power lies.

98. Thank you for this Luz – it is very pertinent to how I am feeling currently. Shame is a big one for me – as is rejection. The two go hand in hand. But what is truly empowering to realise is that I – and we – all have the opportunity to choose self-love instead – and in fact, choosing self-love is the only true alternative to the life of self-belittlement and contraction. Furthermore I would add that the promise of love is a trick and keeps us in that contraction. It is only when we actually choose the love that we are that true change happens.

99. Luz I loved reading your blog, especially the part in regards to ‘likes’ on social media. We are becoming a society whose self-worth is based on social media ‘likes’, and how many followers or Facebook friends people have. Yet we are missing out on true expression, when we express from the heart regardless of others likes or dislikes we give people an opportunity to come to their own truth, a true way of expression without holding back, or the need for recognition.

100. Thank you Luz, I really appreciate you share here “All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” I appreciate this is what makes the difference in how you are expressing and whether it is searching for outside approval. One has a raciness about it and one has stillness. The latter is what I have found the more supportive.

     1. There is a bigger part at play here and that is the difference for us between when we go into just doing things and doing things and then when we stop and ‘be’ before we do or as is said here come from a “stillness”. Life becomes a momentum of choices and the only way to check or see the quality of those choices is to be still and feel. Otherwise there is always a million to do things on the list and so what we do can only come down to quality and that quality is what truly supports us.

101. Just because lots of people haven’t pressed a like button on a social media site to a comment you have made does not mean people don’t like what you have shared, it might just mean they didn’t press the button to confirm it.

102. Thank you for so beautifully explaining how identification with knowledge gets in the way of our naturally divine expression.

103. Hi Luz, I deeply appreciate your sharing as this is something I struggle with and through your expression you are exposing some of what I allow to hold me back in my own expression. It is so arrogance to not express when in ‘truth’ what we have to say is for everyone.

104. In my experience, we can easily fall for the false connection that social media can give in exchange for true connection with ourselves. In other words, if we were truly connecting with ourselves, who we are and our body, there would be no need to seek it in the cyber world.

     1. It’s interesting to explore social media with ‘time out’ for a while as I notice how much social media distracts me from my connection as I go into my head. We use the internet to seek connection and yet the way we use social media takes us further away from the connection we are seeking.

105. This is a beautiful story and really brings home the fact that the quality of our expression comes from the quality we live in, and self-care/self-love is key in establishing and deepening this quality.

106. It’s an interesting thing to observe about ourselves on social media. How much of what we share are we sharing for meeting our needs for recognition. What I have found interesting is that if I post a picture of me or one of the garden, something personal, it tends to get lots of likes and/or comments. However if I post something, like an article it’s much less. What I know now is that if I share something that I am feeling is important and in gets nothing, no interest, then this is making more of a difference to the quality of what is being shared on social media. It’s also interesting to ponder on as well why am I commenting or liking something? Is that to fit in?

107. The more I choose to let go of ‘wanting others’ to get it, the more I see people around me choosing to step into their evolution. Investment is a ‘killer.’ 🙂

108. When we have an investment in others ‘getting it’ we can push them away and when we express what feels true and without attachment then we offer the opportunity for others to feel for themselves the truth.

109. A powerful and inspiring blog Luz. In facing our past patterns and allowing ourself to truly feel the contraction these cause, is the first step to true healing and the re-building of an ever-refining way of living, like clearing out the rubbish from a river and it can once again flow freely.
     “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression”.

110. Thank you Luz for sharing this. A great reminder that the seeming issues with have in life are asking us to look at the relationship with ourselves and in this case, how much are we/have we been willing to express who we truly are to the wider audience that is in the billions on social media.

111. It is a great question – we can wait for aeons to be accepted by others or we can accept ourselves and then express and then regardless of what we say, whether people want to hear it or not, it does not matter, as long as we are expressing with all of ourselves. And the great thing is we then get to learn by expressing. If we hold back and do not say anything then how can we learn or change or move forward?

112. The likes certainly do provide that “Go You!” factor, but as you say we must look past that and see that our expression is there before we even consider what another will think about it

113. This is a great sharing Luz! Many times I have felt that what I have to say doesn’t seem as deep or inspiring as so many others I read on the comments pages. I then realized that I need not be the judge of that but just allow the truth that is there to come through me as I do not know what someone else needs to hear! I really appreciate your blogs, thank you for sharing so much Luz.

114. I really relate to this article, I struggle with the commitment posting a photo or comment on social media, I find it super confronting and so most of the time I just avoid it, thanks for sharing your story.

115. A great read Luz – and lovely to share the marked difference you feel when expressing in full and in truth. Its huge to be able to let go of recognition.

116. Expression is Everything is such a powerful statement that, when it is just started to be understood, redefines the way we live, speak , move and sing.

117. I am seeing more and more how ingrained my tendency to hold back has been. I am working on letting this go, and seeing more and more how holding back doesnt support me or anyone.

118. ‘When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds’. So true Luz. When we live from truth and our bodies, rather than moving headlong towards pre-programmed mental pictures, we are often graced in the most beautiful ways that confirm divinity at work.

119. When we go into self and express for self recognition or self gain we add to a way of living that we are faced with today. This way of expressing has led us to a way of being that that is irresponsible for its individual or collective contribution to the societies and to the world we live in.

120. I love what you’ve written here Luz and can totally relate to this – ‘I realised none of my current expressions matched any of my past identities.’ The opportunity to express truthfully brought up a lot for me too, as I realised just how much I relied on my prided knowledge of something to gain some form of acceptance, rather than a lived experience of it. It’s ironic that we do this, because it’s pretty obvious to whomever we’re expressing if what we’re saying is real, lived experience, or just something we think we know – yet when we’re in this state we’re choosing not to see it for what it is. Keeping it super simple by building a connection with my body, and expressing from there, is supporting me to feel what it’s like when I’m expressing something that’s true, and when I’m not.

121. Pingback: Expression Could Save Lives – The Truth about Serge Benhayon

122. It’s so interesting and very freeing to realise that the cycle of recognition and praise for knowledge holds the flip side of shame and self loathing. This keeps us in such neediness, unable to bear the feeling of not being enough, always striving for the unattainable. What an evil merri-go-round that is. It is so easy to get caught up in it and so wise to know what is going on and to step away from it.

123. Thank you Luz for this article. When we stop to honour and listen to how our bodies feel to express we simply express. When we get in the way there are so many seemingly endless ways we can complicate what is in fact very very simple.

124. I am generally pretty lazy when it comes to personal social media, if its for work, its fine but when its just me I tend to have more trouble committing to a photo or comment. This blog has opened me up to ‘reading’ all that is there to be ‘read’, social media is an area that I would like to bring more of who I am to.

125. When we embrace the truth of who we are, and surrender to this truth, we discover that there is much to share of ourselves. From here we have no need to impress, to be fulfilled as there is a completeness that is present and the magic of this presence is a natural expression of the love we are, live and share in our relationships.

126. It is so fascinating and crazy how we choose to focus on behaviours that are not of love, such as not being liked, measure our worth from this and allow ourselves to be guided to make choices on how and what we share with the world.

127. Thank you Luz, this is a great read. Yes when making it about truth magic does happen. With no investment or expectation of the outcome. I learned this from the presentations of Serge Benhayon and bringing in loving caring ways into my life, with a process of refinement this supports me to make it about truth, truth that comes from my body. Before this I would say things to please, to fit in, to get approval but it wasn’t truth. The deeper the connection with my body and my eseence the more truth I express.

128. Thank you Luz for a really great blog that has opened up my awareness to how a recent event played out, out of it I discovered that identification was why once I expressed I could not let it go. I too love this sentence ‘ I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.’

129. The blog title says it all. “recognition is nothing, expression is everything”

     I am noticing more in my life how a quality of living is subject to the expression we give to it.

     I have noticed as soon as recognition is dropped the wealth of what we can deliver to come through unbarred by our person agenda.

130. I agree with the title of your blog Luz. Recognition is purely for self whereas true expression is for everyone.

131. Thank you. You’ve nailed me with what you’ve shared. And in reading this I’ve realised that I’ve gone from wanting to be the owner of knowledge to promote my self worth to then saying ‘I don’t know’ as a way of falsely thinking that I had let this go when in fact I was being even more irresponsible in giving up stemming from not wanting to make mistakes. I feel very encouraged and inspired by your blog Luz.

132. ““Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression”. This learning has been beautiful as all is given to us to express when we get out of the way and just allow the truth to come through.

133. “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” This is so true, truth is the key, as we are just vehicles of expression. As we connect to the truth what needs to be expressed will be expressed as we connect to the whole of the universal energy.

134. It’s true Lutz, living in the roller coaster of emotional dramas that we can choose to engage in in everyday life feeds the highs and proportional lows that we experience. Living this way is not only totally exhausting, but the complete opposite of building a steady consistent state of being that supports us no matter where we are or what we are doing.

135. It is amazing, is it not that all we have to do is really commit to living life with all that we are. Take responsibility, and that is such a big word isn’t it… Self responsibility… and yet it holds the key to so many connections within us.

136. Thank you Luz, I agree Social Media is a great platform to get reflected where I am at with myself and expressing my truth and I like how you are willing to look at what stands in the way of you expressing yourself in truth. There is so much to explore about oneself if we let ourselves and I am finding more and more joy in doing so, leaving the self-criticism behind and discovering an inner curiosity to explore and experiment.

137. Actually, I had an instant this week where I posted an article on Facebook that no one read. It was commented on by another and like by one, but later confirmed that that person had not even read it! It would have been easy to go into embarrassment or shame about posting a dud, but that’s the thing, it wasn’t a dud. I loved the article and I posted it as an offering, not as a ‘should read or i’ll be upset’ thing. And you know what… I’m still the same person now that I didn’t get likes on my FB post… the world did not end and I did not die of embarrassment, so now I feel like I’ve broken the ice and feel freer to post what I want without the need for recognition.

138. Who are we to get in the way of expression? Like you say Luz, we are vehicles of expression with energy flowing through us constantly. So why do we try and own what we express, to the point of being hurt if it is not heard or accepted by those around us? I’m starting to understand that all the doubt, recognition and judgment are self-talk and really not supportive at all. So I’m using them as a marker to know I am getting in the way of whatever needs to be said.

139. I can relate to everything you’ve said about social media and the want to be accepted and liked. It’s funny, before the internet and Facebook, being liked was still a big thing and it took a bit of effort to show someone you liked them, but now we have buttons to give us recognition and proof of being liked and it’s an instant thing (not much effort required)!

140. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” There’s a beautiful simplicity in this Luz.

141. Great title – recognition is so championed in our society, but it is self expression that is really where it is at. The feelings of self acceptance, self empowerment and self worth that comes with expressing in full can never be underestimated.

142. Love your honesty Luz – it’s very healing.

143. Thankyou Luz, I loved this line “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen…” I agree, when I’ve been very connected and written a truth that has come from my whole body people have really responded. At other times the self investment of recognition is there and my posts are ignored – which is a great signal for me. I also see friends sometimes dropping into a recognition energy in their posts, I also feel to avoid those as the need for recognition is quite imposing, it’s like a demand. Truth feels more like sharing something that belongs equally to us all and leaves people be.

144. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back.” There’s no perfection at all, so making mistakes is a natural part of our process of expressing and we always grow with it.

145. Living life sharing and connecting with others from our expression can be super fun and yes we may make mistakes sometimes with what may or may not be expressed in certain situations but we are constantly learning and growing. Letting go of the recognition of what we know and allowing what is there to be expressed from our own experiences also creates a great freedom and flow in our bodies and it brings life back to simplicity.

146. Just beautiful to read Luz, thank you I am opening up to express more of me and when I am connected it can flow easily but when i am not in my body much fear and anxiety comes up with what to say. I love these lines ” I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.”

147. Luz, you offer such an understanding of expression and how we’ve used knowledge. I recognised so much in what you shared. I love knowledge, but I’ve used it as a security blanket, a way to keep others away and a way to get recognised and now I’m looking at life and the world differently, how as you so gorgeously express, life is about expressing and actually we don’t own knowledge, it comes through us and so the question then becomes what do we allow to come through, and yes it simply comes back to how we live with our bodies and addressing that allows us to see the real choice we have to choose energy of love or not, and from there knowledge is served through us.

148. Luz you wrote: ” . . . when I come from a need for recognition and identification, I fall in the struggle of recalling information, making it mine, and investing in outcomes as in people will get it or like it.” Is this not a way of living many of us are living. Thank you for showing us through your honest blog that there is also another way to live.

149. Thank you Luz for a beautiful blog which reminds us of true expression and what gets in the way; us.
     The question you ask is very pertinent and needs a truthful answer from each and every one of us;
     “What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?”

150. Luz your story is wonderfully honest. Thank you for sharing your journey of unraveling ill perceptions to get to the core of true expression.

151. Thank you for expressing what is very real for many when we start to be seen on social media. We put ourselves in the way of expressing what needs to be expressed out of fear of being judged, need for recognition or acceptance and take our eye off the true purpose of expression in doing so.

152. Thank you for expressing so honestly Luz, it can be very revealing what comes up around expressing on social media I agree. I love your closing paragraph which is also my experience “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.”

153. The excitement that social media (or any form of recognition for that matter) feels no different to that of a sugar high – a momentary peak, the crash, then the craving for more. If anything I would say that it’s worse than sugar because living in a way that is on the constant seek for recognition is not questioned but accepted and considered ‘normal’ in societies. But how does this actually feel in the body and what happens to the body when it is moved in such a driven and craving way? Thank you for opening up this subject Luz, one of which I am sure many can relate to.

154. I’ve played the recognition game through work,family, partner and friends and always felt there was a void. The connection was the missing piece. Very simple yet so supportive.

155. Love your questioning about how we may use knowledge. Filling our heads with information doesn’t allow for wisdom to come through or to be connected to our body. A no-win situation.

156. Thank you Luz for a very beautiful blog, I love these words “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” It is so different when we share what is heart felt in it’s reflection than when we speak from the mind that has no love within it.

157. Such a gorgeous blog thank you Luz
     I love everything you have shared. It feels so aweful now if I begin engaging with someone in ‘knowledge’ rather than sharing from my experience and what I feel and I love that I feel it and stop it straight away. I grew up not being allowed to express what I feel and punished if I spoke. Nothing feels more lovely now than sharing what my heart feels.

     1. That is so great that you have turned this around, Amber. I agree that there is such a difference in when I express from my head and the things that I can remember, which I will selectively pick out because I have recognised similar things in the situation I see before me and something that I have read or experienced in the past; compared with just being with someone, and speaking from what I know in my body through living. The former wants to ‘be right’, ‘figure it out’ or ‘fix it’, while in the latter I’m perfectly content just being and I have no problem simply saying ‘I don’t know’.

     2. This is a very relevant comment for me too Amber. I have all my life since young, either ‘muted’ myself or spoken from knowledge/ my head, rather than my body as i too was punished for just expressing myself when i was little. It came to my attention recently how it feels to speak from knowledge and how i default to this especially when i am speaking in a group. It felt pretty awful…. i was tense, strained, doubting, feeling insecure, ‘trying to make meaning’ as i spoke.. No wonder, it is an effort as it is not expressing from what is felt but ‘thinking what to say’ . I am starting to go to and trust my ‘body’ to speak, which feels much more natural and it flows, but much less familiar.

158. “… I would often still feel very self-conscious and embarrassed after having expressed on social media.” Expressing on social media has been very big for me too and I am still learning. So many issues have come up for me to look at and there have been times when I have felt extremely uncomfortable in my body. It is getting much easier and simpler as I continue to develop my self worth and love for myself and trust that what comes through is for the whole.

     1. Probably the biggest issue has been being concerned about others whom I know who do not do the Esoteric work eg.What will they think of me? Will they like what I am posting? Are they going to judge me? The list goes on but I have come to realise that this comes from self. As I relinquish self, feeling and knowing that life is not about me and my little world but about every one and every thing I get to see the bigger picture and I cannot but feel and act on the impulse to express no matter how painful it might be. I am forever learning to be true to myself as I know deep within this is the greatest love I can be to another.

159. Being attached to what I do or say for recognition seems crazy when I consider what has unfolded for me so far. The amazing depths of understanding that I glimpse as possible these days is far beyond what I knew before and it expands daily. Why then would I limit myself to recognition in the small world that I set for myself. Abandoning this idea and accepting that what I know is tiny and what is there to be felt is infinite, I then surrender to what is there to lovingly express and I work on being an equal body of love willing to express it.

160. Thank you for sharing your difficulties with truly expressing Luz. Our world today greatly lacks in people who are expressing openly with love and truth as their guide. It is so easy to get side tracked by thoughts that try to sabotage us from expressing but once we learn how to let this go the world is given a great gift and that is another example of what walking, living breathing Love feels like.

161. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too,…” love this truth Luz, thank you for writing this powerful blog, there is much to feel into.

162. The title of your blog says it all really Luz. Recognition is nothing Expression is everything, very powerful and oh so true.

163. Thank You Luz, I Love that you’ve captured how when we allow our true expression to come through we are expressing with the Whole and how it feels that when self is in the way it feels like a forced expression that has come from an ideal or belief.

164. This is such a beautiful revelation Luz and so clearly expressed;
     “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds”.
     Indeed magic happens!

165. I am understanding more that expression is about the quality of everything, not simply what we say, but how we move, breathe, what we do, and how we are in every moment. The quality of the expression comes from within, not from recognition.

     1. So true Grillrandall, until very recently in my life I thought expression only meant talking, but I am slowly grasping how huge and how true the saying Expression is Everything is.

     2. well said Gill, expression is about the quality we choose in everything that we do with no attachment whatsoever. It just is!

166. I love how this blog asks me to take a deeper look at how I am expressing and what for? I love it when I am deeply connected and can share truths and wisdom with absolute lived knowing. I also love it when if I’ve been in ownership or guardedness or protection and recognise what is happening and can surrender to honestly share what i am feeling/experiencing, letting go of needing to be anything more than just me. Both coming from the humbleness and lovelyness of being a forever developing vehicle of expression.
     Thanks for your support Luz

167. Very true Brendan, looking for recognition gets us nothing but misery as no amount of recognition will fill the emptiness we feel inside. The only thing that changes that is to re-connect with our true essence and then allow our selves to be filled up with our own love. Everything else is a band-aid solution, which we all know does not work.

168. We seek recognition from others because we have mistaken it for love, this comes at the expense of our bodies and nothing else whereas, true love is innate in us all equally and we just need to choose it and know we are more than enough.

169. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” This is so true, as I am committing to the refinement to the way I live my expressions are becoming more with depth and greater purpose, with more clarity that I am a vehicle of expression.

     1. One of the great things I have learnt is that the refinement process is never-ending. There is no point we can get to and say we are there, rather it is about the quality we feel and expand upon as we learn more and more about were we feel to refine things in our lives.

170. Expressing has not been my strongest attribute, however doing it on a regular basis has been incredibly positive for my evolution and also makes me feel a lot better within my body

171. ‘What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?’ – An awesome question to be asking Luz. When we get ourselves out of the way and connect to our true purpose expressing our truth becomes easier and supports others as well to express.

172. Thank you Luz for sharing so openly and with such honesty.

173. The knowledge trap has had me too. It has enabled me to think I felt better about myself because I ‘knew’ something. This also resulted in telling others something (what arrogance) but because I wasn’t ‘living’ the wisdom I was speaking about it was hollow. What has supported me is to deal with my hurts, which has allowed me to feel more and to learn to love myself. Feeling my body has become more important than listening to my mind.

     1. This is lovely Sue, ‘What has supported me is to deal with my hurts, which has allowed me to feel more and to learn to love myself. Feeling my body has become more important than listening to my mind.’ I too am choosing this.

174. Luz the sentence I love most in your awesome blog is. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” That is such a wonderful insight – Thank you.

175. Recognition and the hunger for it puts our happiness into someone else’s hands. This is not loving ourselves and by craving recognition and worrying about who likes us we diminish ourselves, setting everyone else’s whims above our own. This longing comes from an emptiness. When we are full of love, we have everything, we can fully appreciate how awesome we are and do not seek approval. The equalness we carry within us understands that everyone is coming from their own place and like or not, we do not need to take this personally.
     I loved pondering on this Luz and feeling my own insecurities anout expressing on social media, which I don’t do much. I don’t worry about who likes anything but I do find myself worrying about getting things right which is the same thing. There is so much here to be felt and recognised.

176. When it comes down to it, everyone, everyone on the planet hungers for the clarity of expression that we have here in this blog, and this is what is needed this reflection of light and clarity in a world beset with disassociation separation and illness.

177. I have not really been actively engaging in social media, I do a little bit but it just has never really been high in my priorities. Many things I see our there are about self promotion with a front to go with, or hide behind, and it is rare to see true truth being presented – this is one of the things that put me off. What I am realising now is though by not expressing myself, I am actually adding to the rot that is already there. My voice does count, and it is my responsibility to use it wisely.

     1. I agree Fumyio it is pure mathematics. It always come back to energy and to love. If the only expression out there is of not-love then that is what is available to all and what we recycle. We have an absolute responsibility to express from the love that we truly are (ie not one ounce of emotion) so that too is available as a reflection.

178. I have discovered that when I express truth I get a “like” from my body. To express in the energy of true truth which is the same as love is very healing and nourishing for my body regardless of how anyone else may react or respond.

     1. Love this Nicola! Getting likes from our bodies instead of relying on the outside world, very cool!

        1. Like!

     2. Haha Nicola, I like this, and I agree expressing love or truth is healing.

179. Hi Luz, lots of likes (even loves) from me for this ha ha!!!

180. Yes you would say expressing is pretty simple, but in reality does it feel simple?
     For me my honest answer now is no it doesn’t feel that simple, although on saying that there are times when the words and responses flow. The Teachings of Universal Medicine has helped enormously in that, more often than not, I can allow the true me to express without judgement and with understanding.

181. “Expressing is pretty simple to do, but has it felt simple?” Great question Luz and the answer for many years of my life was no, it wasn’t simple. I was very adept at expressing in my mind, practicing what I was going to say, but between my mind and my mouth there appeared to be a block in the way of my true expression and the words would come out in a jumble or sometimes not at all. It has taken time, but slowly I have learned to simplify my expression, to know that I don’t need so many words, I simply need to feel into what needs to be said and then express the truth. It is still a work in progress but one that I am fully committed to.

     1. I do experience the same Ingrid, that expressing form my inner heart is simple, but when I am not from there then the self comes in the way and makes expression a struggle as self gain and the need for recognition and reward is creeping in. Expressing from my inner-heart instead is simple, as it is not for me but for the benefit of all … simply so.

182. What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, what if I don’t get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach? Then I’m not getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me, that feels truly amazing. I’m starting to trust and get a consistency to live my life in this way, your blog explains this very clearly Luz.

183. Thanks for the link Doug, I so love these audios, always worth a listen.

184. There are many schools that teach children how to behave and how to achieve by using recognition as its main tool. This leaves us actually quite lost, because even though we may have the practical tools to carry out certain roles in society, without a strong connection to who we are, those roles can feel empty. The key here is that being ‘with ourselves’ being ‘in-connection’ is actually very practical also, and can be easily assimilated in to everyday life, and in fact can enhance life to such a greater extent than anything else I have experienced.

     1. So true Shami – it is our responsibility to openly share with everyone this simple and practical knowledge – the importance of being ‘with ourselves’ in everything we do in our daily lives.

     2. A great point Shami. Many schools – and families – are teaching recognition by the back door. Relying on outside sources to sustain us doesn’t work, especially if we get negative feedback. Connecting deeply with ourselves leaves less room for reliance on approval from others.

185. I love that I was drawn back to your blog this morning as it has inspired me to start my new year back at work today with a greater sense of purpose and responsibility. Your title ‘Recognition is nothing Expression is Everything’ will be my guiding light. So glad you have committed to continue writing Luz – you are truly inspiring.

186. Luz- this is what stood out for me today to ponder upon- “What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?” I really feel this has been the block stopping me from trusting that true wisdom lies within me, and that I am not the owner of what comes through, but the divine messenger. In really feeling this – expression has a different purpose to it – I can feel it is for the whole and not for self gratification or need for approval/ acceptance.

     1. This sentence, you mention, also caught my attention, loretrapp. it reminds me of the wanting to control situations instead of surrendering and to trust that I am enough.

187. Whilst ever we look outside of ourselves for confirmation of who we are, we will be forever at the mercy of the opinion of others.

     1. Yes, very true. It’s time to focus inwardly, to ‘check-in’ and reconnect instead of relying on what we see around us to confirm who we are and how we feel.

     2. Very powerful words that hit home Adam – the straight arrow of truth.

     3. Love this Adam.

     4. Beautifully expressed Adam, love it.

        1. Reading you sentence Adam it becomes clear that we certainly don’t want to be “forever at the mercy of the opinion of others” and giving our power away to get confirmation.

188. Just the title alone brought back memories of my childhood in primary school, hand/arm held high waving for attention and to get the recognition for getting the answer right. Getting the answer wrong was a totally different ball game, going very red and wanting to be swallowed up and hide. This familiar pattern followed me around for decades. That was consistency of the self sabotaging variety. In your words Luz “even if I make mistakes – it feels awesome to not hold back any more and claim my expression back”.
     I have felt that amazing awesomeness in my body, and realise now to keep a flow with my expressing to the world, consistency/commitment is the key to how I live in my every day.

189. I have developed continuously my expression also with the support of Chris James singing workshops. There is nothing better to experience giving myself a voice and permission to bring what i am here to bring.

190. Recognition has an insatiable appetite and it’s need to be fed grows with every scrap of attention that gets thrown it’s way. Recognition never feels full, it’s always looking for more.

     1. Nicely said Alexis. The bottomless pit of recognition.

     2. This is so true Alexis, recognition’s appetite is insatiable, and no matter how much it is fed it never ever feels full.

     3. Well said Alexis – recognition is a greedy monster that can never be satisfied – a bottomless pit!

     4. Agree Alexis. The other day I felt into “seeking recogntion” and it felt like a hungry animal that hasn´t eaten for days, and is restlessly looking for something (anything) to eat. Looking for something outside to confirm self, to bring it back to calmness, to bring it back home, because the misery outside is horrible. It was very clear that nothing will be ever found outside, that is going to be enough to stop its craving, because there is always going to be room for more: it is bottomless. The only option is to find it within, go inward, re-connect to our inner-love. No other way.

     5. Wow Alexis that is such a clear description of recognition – wonderful.

     6. What you have said here Alexis….”Recognition never feels full, it’s always looking for more.” I wonder, how we as human beings became this way. So far away from who we are. We are naturally love and I know this, cause I have felt this in my body. So I wonder what happened to us, that we feel we have to have any form of recognition, to feel good about ourselves……Why do we feel we are not enough……
        I know each and everyone of us have our own true expression and this expression is part of the whole, that needs to be expressed out to humanity……humanity needs it.

191. “Have I perhaps got too excited with knowledge in the past, to the point that I got tempted to take ownership of it and use it for recognition?” This one was a bit of an ouch! Luz, I could feel how I have done this in the past, feeling good in myself because I had said something that sounded good but was really for recognition. It is amazing how much we use knowledge to feel better about ourselves by trying to prove we know more than another.

     1. As Luz shared, ‘Have I invested in knowledge to fill up my bottomless pit of lack of self-worth and to cover up my hurts by becoming smug, self-righteous and by preaching to others?’ Yes, I have done lots of gathering of knowledge in this life, and have used it to feel better about myself, trying to prove I know more than another. Recognition can be a big driving factor, that can keep us trapped in our mess.

     2. I know this as well Alison, and it is such a trap I am falling into. The key point for me is to learn to feel my body and from there learn to express.

     3. Yes Alison, it is always a horrible moment when I feel myself doing this, or adding something to the conversation just to prove I know something too – out of my mouth before I can stop it. The value is in being able to see it and what it is pointing to underneath.

        1. Josephine I know exactly what you mean with – out of my mouth before I can stop it. For a long time I hold myself back and said nothing because of this but I learned that this is not good as you so wonderfully shared – it is a value in being able to see what was happening and to allow oneself to see what is underneath otherwise this would be staying in the body and that is not what is so lovely.

        2. Yes Josephine, every time I feel I am preaching and coming from knowledge I have a choice to stop and this is what I am learning to do but I am also learning to reflect on my previous choices that led me to go into my head and seek the knowledge.

192. I am beginning to call out all the hidden little areas of recognition in my life and it feels amazing, exposing at times but incredible just to feel the little dark corners this is hidden in, and how much this affects our bodies. For example today I was going to show the kids a piece of work in class, and I stopped because I know it’s not actually needed – the only reason I am showing them is to get recognition. This stems from a lack of self worth, but there is nothing better than saying no, I’m not feeding this anymore.

     1. Me too Gyl “I am beginning to call out the hidden little (dirty) areas of recognition in my life and it feels amazing”. After this blog was published this is what has become so obvious for me, I am permanently like a radar feeling when I say, share or express something (not just in social media) with the pesky recognition lurkying around. I can be playful about it too… because I know it is not who I am, but it requires me to allow for a stop to take place, and I don´t want to feed this anymore either. Thank you for sharing.

     2. I too am beginning to call out the areas where I feel the need for recognition. Only the other day I was in the company of a group of people and I felt the impulse to speak which in the past would have been a very big ordeal for me. I spoke and even as I was speaking I could feel the need to be accepted and get recognised for what I had said; it felt horrible in my body. Every time the need for recognition arises I give my power away but it is also a wonderful opportunity for me to love myself more deeply and as Gyl says, to say “No, I’m not feeding this anymore.”

193. “I then felt how much we are measured in our virtual world ” – I would say we are measured in the world full stop. From the very first time we sit on a potty and get recognition this becomes our norm, in school ( this is where a lot of people get hurt,) and into adult life, which sets us up to chase recognition as a very poor substitute for love – the love we felt as a baby, loved just for being us.

     1. I agree Gyl. There is no measurement of the amount of love we actually bring. It feels like superficial two dimensional love… What car do you drive, what clothes you wear or what work you do, all exterior and constantly measured and ranked against each other. No wonder competition is rife in society.

194. Luz, you bring up a lot of interesting points and I love what you’ve expressed about recognition and social media.

     There is something so deeply inherently wrong with the ‘like’ trend in social media. Before this came along, recognition and acceptance from others was more personal. When we liked (or disliked) something another person said or did, our options were to tell them directly in person, by phone, email, letter, or sometimes write an opinion letter in the local paper, etc. That was that and then you moved on.

     Nowadays, it seems the need for recognition and acceptance has gone through the roof. More often than not, social media posts are made for the sole purpose of getting recognition and acceptance in the form of ‘likes’, comments and shares.

     None of it is real. There is no real connection person to person, and as we all well know by now, anyone can post virtually anything including things they would never say to someone in person.

     This form of recognition is false, deceptive, and addictive. The more ‘likes’ one gets, the more likely they are to post more of the same, whether it is a true expression for them or not.

     1. I agree Julie, pressing the ‘like’ button comes cheap really, it requires nothing from us except a second or two. It has never felt real to me either, totally lacking in true connection and I am constantly surprised by how much importance is subscribed to it – perhaps this is in some part a generational thing.

195. Recognition is the chicken that crosses the road and stops every time it gets half way to the other side and then continues this process forever without reaching the other side. Expression is telling the chicken not to stop.

196. You make some great points here Luz and I love how you write and give us the readers plenty to reflect on. I know from day dot which was 10 years ago when I met Serge Benhayon and he talked a lot about never owning the knowledge and it took a while for me to actually get what he was on about. You have to live it and then share it as we do not own this knowledge. You are right about the recognition stuff and it was a huge big fat trap for me that took a while to knock out.
     What has really helped me is keeping off social media which is strange for many to understand but the truth is I saw no point in making a name for myself on this type of forum having heard what it is all about. Instead I have made the commitment to express by writing comments on blogs like this that I feel do make a difference and are adding quality to the internet and most certainly not harming.
     After writing thousands of quality comments, I feel ready to enter the social media world for one purpose – to share what I live and present what I know is the Truth. I have no intention of using the numbers game – in other words my mood depends on how many likes I get or what people have to say about me. Those days are gone as I have spent a decade dealing with my hurts, issues, distractions and my need for recognition. Thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon I feel equipped to inspire humanity by presenting another way to live that works and is simple.

     1. I really appreciate you sharing your insights on knowledge and writing Bina. I found it to be very helpful and confirming.

197. Luz, that golden advice for posting on social media “I have tried not writing, sharing or commenting when I am tired, when it feels I am pushing through or when there are distractions around”. Social media can be tantalizing, distracting and so many other things so it makes sense to engage with more care and awareness, not less.

198. Thank you Luz for a very honest blog I love these words “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back. I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story. Beautiful, thank you Luz.

     1. Yes Jill, I too love this sentence and it is what I am finding too especially in the joy of not holding back and claiming my expression. Making mistakes is part of the process in speaking up so I am also learning to be loving with myself every time I slip up. Being reminded this morning that my expression is not mine and it comes from the whole supports me enormously to get myself out of the way and simply express what is there to be expressed especially at those times where I find myself being confronted.

     2. We need to start expressing unreservedly and allowing ourselves to make (many) mistakes on our way to truly and naturally express. It is like a child learning to walk, they fall many times and this is part of the process.

199. Absolutely Doug, it is pure gold and a trap to easily fall into. The moment one is woken from the long sedated sleep with a tap on the shoulder from the Ageless Wisdom is a magnificent moment, with many more equally magnificent moments that follow.

200. What I felt when reading your blog Luz was that living in an ever expanding world, trying to own knowledge actually leads to stagnation in our bodies and eventually retardation of our own evolution. Thank you for such a great sharing. There is much to ponder on here.

     1. I really like your comment Jane. A picture I have is someone carrying a net trying to scoop up as much knowledge as possible, like trying to catch a butterfly, it takes so much effort to catch one but you get tired and exhausted in the process.

        1. That is great Matthew. And the net just gets heavier and heavier whilst we doggedly keep holding on.

201. When we let go of the need for recognition and express ourselves without judgement, justification or regret we are free to be ourselves. Expression becomes simple and not something that needs to be formulated or measured to fit into a situation. It stands alone knowing it is indeed part of the all, the truth and everything we truly are….Love.

202. I once strived for knowing all the answers to all the problems so that I would be recognized and needed. Today I know the answers that are needed when it is for me to present or offer them and when shared it feels so complete that there is nothing I could need for myself or identify myself with. Simple.

     1. Beautifully said Alex Braun – recently I had an awareness of trying to fix or solve peoples problems too. Through your comment I can further understand why this is, to gain recognition for being the fixer or the one with the answers that makes everything better. Through trying to give answers it feels like I cut myself off from what is actually there to express, truth, and perhaps simply listening to peoples problems is all they really want anyway.

        1. I agree very much with what you say, Rachael. Not only is it very burdensome trying to have all the right answers and solutions, it is also utterly selfish and not truly helping anyone. Supporting another is great and necessary, striving to be the rescuing angel not so much.

        2. I just love this conversation Alex and Rachel..So true. In the past I haven´t even finished listening to what the other person is saying, when I am already working out what would be the best answer or solution to give to this person…grrr! I have become very aware of these for a while, but it is definitely awesome to expose it, to feel the recognition we are seeking behind, which comes from the usual lack-of-self-worth we already know too well.. Thank you for bringing this through.

        3. This is a brilliant expansion, Alex, Rachel and Luz. I can very much relate to trying to be a know-it-all & fix-it-all. It’s very humbling to have it exposed that there’s is no true service in that drive no matter how hard I may try to pretend.

     2. I recognise this old trait, ‘I once strived for knowing all the answers to all the problems so that I would be recognized and needed.’ I used to always be doing this, quite imposing and draining, mistakingly thinking I was helping. Now, I naturally seem to be listening more, I may add something to the conversation, but not wanting to fix everyone else’s problems, I will be more aware if this pattern creeps in again.

        1. This is great what is shared here. Starting a business Coach training i learned in the first 2 week-ends that i am not able to listen and what an arrogance i hold thinking i have the answer or know it all.
           And i am observing at times we tell people our opinion about their “problem” even they haven’t asked for it so to be much more respectful what we say and when and to not make it about ourselves, to offer a solution so we don’t have to feel the tension with that person.

     3. Yes I too used to accumulate knowledge, having facts, figures and information ready to use, with nothing but a need for recognition driving this accumulation of information. How different it is to share wisdom with others simply to support and inform without one ounce of identification, need or recognition in sight. As you say Alex, it’s “simple”!

        1. I find the simplicity comes with considering every person involved equally and thereby getting a sense for what is needed at the time. Then it is not about me and thus, we can deliver more than what ‘me’ knows and needs but we are offered something bigger to share.

     4. I know this behaviour of trying to ‘fix’ people’s problems only too well and it was so imposing; the energy I was in was pretty ugly to say the least. I don’t feel the need to have the answers even when I feel pressure to have them as my priority is remaining with myself for if there is any need for recognition to help another, I have left myself.

203. I know that sense of wanting to grab and own knowledge and measuring our self-worth from being recognised for it. There has been one vivid contrast between them and I can tell which one I am playing. When I am trying to own knowledge, I have great attachment to what I express and everything is stuck at that level, as if the same thing is being played on a loop. Yet when I express from my heart, once it is expressed that moment is complete and gone and it is not so easy to recall the words but the feeling tends to be greater openness, vitality, joy and connection with myself and other people.

204. This is ground breaking for those of us who get caught in the trap of delivering knowledge from the head and not following our hearts, I would suggest all of us do this to some degree or have done it…”Making use of knowledge in this way can only keep one trapped in a retarding cycle of praise and rejection, applause and shame.” It is something that we are taught to do at school, in our homes and in the world. It is as you say however a ‘trap’ that will not enable true wisdom and a lived experience of love to be expressed.

205. Luz this is a fantastic blog that confirms the importance of our expression. When we hold back and do not let the expression out this has to go somewhere and if it is not being expressed then it is being held in the body creating disharmony and stagnation. I know from my personal experience when I do not express what is there to be said and get caught up in what others will think and there opinion about me, it feels hideous in my body.

206. The way we live with ourselves is everything about the way we express… be it the way we speak, the language we use and the movement of our body…. Confirming that ‘Expression is everything’

     1. True Johanne, the way we live with ourselves, in every way, affects the way we express, which is far more than what comes out of our mouths, and so ‘expression is everything’.

     2. Thank you johannebrown17 for reminding me that expression is in everything I do – even in the way I hold myself in my body . . .

207. This is a fabulous topic to share and start a discussion on. I loved school and very much sold out to the constant recognition for what I could recall and appeared to be good at. Education in this way separates us, from ourselves and creates comparison and inequality. I could put my hand up to your questions, as I have felt good about myself, smug or arrogant for knowing something another didn’t know. Now I know we all have equal access to great intelligence through our body, and this intelligence is what really matters in life, not what facts we can recall.

     1. That is the nub of it Fiona. As new born babies we are loved and given attention for who we are and not what we do or say. It does not take long before we start getting praised for what we do and say and no longer for who were are. We mistake this attention for love but it is not love at all. This kind of recognition is false and like a drug is harmful, never satisfies and always leaves us craving for more. The love that we are seeking is already within and is connected to and experienced when we express from who we truly are without attachment and not from any false self that seeks recognition.

208. Luz this is a really great sharing for me at this time. I have been learning to express myself more clearly and you have inspired me to not be too hard on myself when I don’t feel I have achieved this and go into comparison . I like that you share from your heart and the fact that we all share from the whole, without recognition or identification. Thank You.

     1. yes we do all already know this ancient wisdom, it lives within us so deeply. Our role is to simply remind other people its equally within them too. We don’t need recognition or to be identified by this at all. We certainly don’t need anything when we know its not ours to own, but the fullness of love is to share it freely.

209. I love your honest appraisal of the potential agonies of being ignored on social media and then the excitement and thrill of getting lots of likes and shares / re tweets etc. It is most purely a minefield for any and all of us unless we process the facts of what is occurring in the open and frank way you do here, Luz. The speed and immediacy of the virtual world act like a compressor and accelerator of of our hurts and identifications unless we choose, as you say Luz, to express only from Love and Truth and without gauging or measuring the actual or anticipated responses. Great wisdom you share here – thank you!

     1. This is true responsibility Coleen – to express only from Love and Truth! Simple really, however not always easy!

        1. it does get easier the more we commit to it in every moment, it all feeds and supports the next step and the next one after that.

        2. Very true Felicity – truth just is and it is only my hurts that hold it back – it is what we are made of! Knowing we already are Love, Truth and Wisdom is immensely powerful and committing to expressing that in every moment expands these qualities. I can feel that absolutely.

        3. Hi Bernadette, certainly our hurts hold us back but it may not be “only” our hurts. It seems there is quite a large force and momentum “out there” that is against the expression of truth at all costs. This is something we are all responsible for and can start to break down by simply and lovingly expressing truth without attachment and regardless of the consequences.

        4. Beautiful expansion on the energetic truth and responsibility we have to express what we know to be the truth’…without attachment and regardless of the consequences.’ It is these last words that distinguish between my comfort and knowing my true power.

        5. Yes Nicola, there is a “force” against speaking truth, and one of the reasons I have felt this is so, it´s because we dread so much raw honesty, because it challenges the comfort we have fought so hard to achieve and because we can seemingly lose control over things and situations, but this is just a delay and an illusion, we actually can´t have control over anything and comfort starts to rot.
           I will take this with me today: “This is something we are all responsible for and can start to break down by simply and lovingly expressing truth without attachment and regardless of the consequences.” Lovingly so, loving as I am, I shall remember.

        6. I agree Bernadette, the more we express truth the more aware we become of the truth and the more aware we are the more responsibility we have. When you speak of comfort I know you are speaking of comfort in the true energetic meaning of the word as described by Unimedpedia Comfort here: http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-comfort.html and not referring to the physical comfort of having well fitting shoes!

        7. Well fitting shoes are comfortable but the comfort I speak of is the comfort of knowing the truth and choosing not to honour it, therefore lacking responsibility as you so eloquently express Nicola Lessing!

     2. I love what you have said here Coleen to sum up what Luz has so beautifully talked about in her blog: “The speed and immediacy of the virtual world act like a compressor and accelerator of of our hurts and identifications” – and so true too that it is our choices around expressing from our truth or from an identity that then measures our attachment to the outcome and how much we allow ourselves to be affected by it.

        1. Thank you – and so true, Henrietta: when we identify with the outcome of our posts on social media, or even in life generally, we are shooting ourselves in the foot and possibly several other places as well. To anticipate and expect like that, I have found, is to assume unconsciously that we control life and that we control others’ behaviours. Not only is this an extremely manipulative attitude, it is pure illusion and delusion, since none of us really control life and very few allow themselves to be controlled for very long. We basically set up a constant feedback loop of controlled failure for ourselves. Is that what anyone really wants??

     3. I love this Coleen, amazingly well summarized. I get a lot out of your comment. It is indeed a pure minefield for the lost and separated spirit that doesn´t really know what he`s playing with: “The speed and immediacy of the virtual world act like a compressor and accelerator of our hurts and identifications unless we choose….” TO STOP AND CONNECT BACK TO OUR LOVE INSIDE.

        1. This is so important Luz – “TO STOP AND CONNECT BACK TO OUR LOVE INSIDE” before we speak. It is so easy to get carried away and speak from our heads, all the while being impressed with the words we are speaking. But are they true truth, or are they interpretations of the truth?

210. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” This is such a good point Luz. We do not need to be self-conscious about expressing something that comes from the whole. It is not ours to express but it needs to be expressed through us. If we take the ownership away from the truth we are expressing it belongs to everyone, so we needn’t hold back or become elated when people ‘like’ what we have expressed.

     1. That is an awesome point, Rebecca! Letting go of the need to own something that we have said or expressed in any other way lets us be so much more free with what we express.

        1. Absolutely Rebecca and Naren, when we let go of the need to own what we are expressing, our expression is no longer hampered or measured and truth can simply flow.

        2. Yes and equally letting go of the way we need what we say to be received. This is hugely freeing as we are then able to stop imposing ‘conditions’ on our expression. E.g. the unspoken condition we place on our expression of needing it to be favourably received or else we shut it down.

        3. So true, Kate. You have exposed another layer to the limitation that we put onto ourselves and the amount we choose to express. Requiring another person to agree, or buy into what we are saying in a particular way is not only not allowing what we have said to expand beyond what we think, but it is hugely imposing upon another person. And as you said, more often than not, if we do not get the reaction we are looking for, we can either withdraw and hold back expressing ourselves, or we can also go the other way and become more forceful in what we say, so we hammer away with our opinions. But the truth is in either case, we are just trying to protect ourselves from the hurt of feeling rejected.

     2. Wonderfully expressed Rebecca, exactly, no need to be ‘self-conscious’ or attached to the outcome of our expression, for it is not ours to own. There is freedom and a deep feeling of unity and appreciation of others when we go deeper to ponder where our expression of truth and love stems from…

     3. And we are absolutely open for whatever occurs in the next moment, the next understanding or learning, free from what we said before as it is complete and stands on its own and fresh for the next expression of truth to be brought through.

        1. What you present here Alex is key, I feel. In order to leave your previous statement complete so you are open to receive and respond to what is there in the next moment, you need to detach from what you express – in other words not be identified by it.

     4. Great Rebecca. Wanting to own and hold onto what has been expressed suffocates the chance of more living wisdom to freely flow.

     5. Very true Rebecca, we are vehicles of expression, not owners of expression.

     6. exactly, although i do admit I enjoy when people are touched by my posts, not for my sake, but for theirs- i post about the truth of the love that lives within us all, its awesome to see other people switching on their inner knowing of this, pure GOLD!

        1. I find whilst there is a great joy in sharing truth and having it received, there also needs to be no attachment to outcome whatsoever. In fact if we have any attachment or investment then what we express energetically will not be truly true even if the words are correct.

        2. Absolutely agree Nicola, when I come with an attachment with what I say (even if I use the right words) I just have to process so much after feeling its energetic quality, it sticks out like a sore thumb. It is great to feel this, and eventhough I haven´t been able to get rid of “attachments and expectations” completely, I know I am on the right path, by not reacting to these so badly and learning to STOP when I know I will be delivering with an expectation behind and then connect back to myself, no matter how slowly I have to take it. Great to bring this out to light.

     7. Just beautiful Rebecca! pure inspiration and truth. Thank you.

        1. …expressing from the whole inspired by you and your article! 🙂

     8. That’s a great point, Rebecca. Recently, I had an opportunity to group-work a piece of writing. There were 4 of us; someone would start writing first, then another offers feedback/edit, then another, and then another – building it together, all of us offering something of value at each step of the way. I could feel my attachment falling away and it no longer mattered who initiated it. It was such a joy to work like that.

        1. Yes Fumiyo, it is such a joy to work with others when writing. It takes away all the ownership of the words and helps us to drop any identification or recognition that we are still looking for. I have experienced this too.

     9. This is a great point you are making Rebecca “so we needn’t hold back or become elated when people ‘like’ what we have expressed.”. Getting our self out of the way!

211. Recognition is just the smoke that surrounds us that we try to use to fill the hole within us we have created. Both are illusions we have allowed our mind to create because we think instead of feeling we are enough.

212. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back. I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.”
     A friend said to me recently, that when we have something that is full of truth to express to another, it is not ours as such to hold onto and not tell another, it has been given to us to say to another for the benefit of everyone, and by not saying it we are taking an opportunity away for that person and all of humanity to evolve. This has greatly helped me to have more courage to express and say to others what is there to be said.

213. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back. I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.”
     Thank you Luz, it does feel awesome to not hold back and to express, even when I mess up and make mistakes whilst I express to another, as not expressing is not an option for me anymore as the level of damage it does to my body far outweighs my terror and doubts that arise before I express to another.

214. “Without the need to fall into further shame, punishment or to make further ‘stories’, – nowadays whenever I feel the impulse to share something from my heart, I am more able to distinguish the deceptive denseness and processing I can go into, and know it is there to distract me and inhibit further a deeper connection with my heart.”
     Wow what you have shared Luz is absolutely beautiful, how far you have come in expression and the precise and honest way you have looked into it and exposed your process for us all to learn from, it’s been very healing for me and my process of learning to express from my heart.

215. “What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?” I have experienced this Luz, it feels as though there is a pool of wisdom that we can somehow tap into, that is not individually ours, but ours collectively, it belongs to no-one and does not allow ownership of ‘its wisdom’, as the very purpose and integrity of ‘its’ wisdom is that it is for everyone and the benefit of everyone, and should anyone try to make it their wisdom, it simply can’t play ball with that or allow that person to continue (in that moment) to have access to ‘its’ wisdom, as it is in fact our wisdom.

216. Making the conversation about truth and or arriving at the truth of a matter is a game changer so to speak and it take one’s self and each person’s individuality out of the picture and adds a higher purpose to the conversation, giving the opportunity for each person to put aside there personal needs to arrive at a shared truth that will benefit everyone, this is when true magic can happen, so to speak.

217. “This process and connection led me to a deeper understanding of the fact that if I put ‘me’ in the way when I express, that is, when I come from a need for recognition and identification, I fall in the struggle of recalling information, making it mine, and investing in outcomes as in people will get it or like it.”
     I can very much relate to this Luz and it has exposed to me how much I invest in outcomes whilst talking with others, wanting them to like me and like what I’m saying. I then ‘bring in’ or call upon borrowed information and knowledge to back up what I’m saying, trying hard to get my point across or be right, at this point I am no longer genuine and using everything and anything to support my point, the other person naturally feels the lack of my authenticity and reacts or rejects what I’m saying even more.

218. Reading your blog Luz has made me reflect on how I use recognition and approval from others to boost my low self confidence and low self appreciation, it takes a huge amount of energy to live in this way, constantly seeking recognition and approval from the outside, playing a role which is false and not who I truly am. It’s a vicious cycle as in the exhaustion phase I stagnate, then feel more unworthy and then go into seeking even harder the recognition and approval from others, and on it goes round and round.

219. I can very much relate to your article Luz. Sometimes, after I express on social media sites such as this one and others and I write a comment and submit it, I have to contend with my feeling of self doubt and criticism that comes up and sometimes I feel exposed or even a feeling of regret after I posted a comment, that it’s now out there for all to see and it’s too late to change it. However the more I keep expressing and writing the less I allow these feelings to dominate me and hold back my expression.

220. The ‘fighting old identities, self-doubt and paranoia’, as you put it Luz, has become a normal and an accepted way to live and we even don’t realise that we are doing it. The more we turn a blind eye to what is going on, so the levels of normality seem to shudder to another level of normality. Two to three shots of coffee per cup is becoming normal. Full arm, leg or back tattoos are widely accepted. Taking pain medicine to help you sleep, normal, but not advocated, insomnia… normal, obesity, antidepressants, antihypertensives, cholesterol and diabetic medicine, all so common and just about normal. Where to from here.

221. Luz what a powerful and deeply honest piece of writing you have shared with us. I recall when I first heard Serge Benhayon say ‘Expression is Everything’ at the time I did not appreciate what this really meant. I am now learning the power of true expression and your blog is a beautiful support to allow this to unfold and develop more -thank you.

222. We don’t actually know what is in front of us when we begin to truly express. Expression of knowledge has a temporal plan and a perceived or planned end, however expression from a livingness has a plan that is not seen or mapped out but it is there in the background, which can take us to all sorts of places if we allow. This is the blueprint, waiting for each and everyone to connect to their heart, to live and express with the light of the soul.

     1. I love what you share here, Matthew, and have seen precisely this modus operandi play out so often in my life and the lives of others. Something expressed from Love has such a far reaching effect on so many – we always build bigger than we know when we express from Love and observing its wide ranging effects are deeply confirming of the interconnectedness of us all.

223. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back. I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.”
     Luz, what an amazing blog, I can feel that I will be coming back to read again as more unfolds.

224. “I realised how social media was triggering many unresolved issues that were getting in the way of my decision to build consistency and commitment with expressing in a way I felt impulsed to.” I love this and it shows how every part of our lives can be observed and give us a reflection of the way we are living our life. Everything means something, there are no coincidences.

225. This is a stand out for me Luz: “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen,” When there are thoughts of recognition there is not only no magic, but a contraction that compounds and confirms the self and decreases the natural flow of love and vitality. Truth brings vitality, love and more magic flows creating space for the next magic moment.

226. A beautiful reflection and knowing for expression is everything and learning to truly express from within brings clarity expansiveness and a beautiful feeling within. It is evolutionary and life changing and the only way to be with no perfection and an opportunity for learning in every moment if we choose it. Thank you for this beautiful reflection Luz.

227. Thank you Luz. It is important for us to remember that we do express from a ‘whole’ for the purpose of reminding all others that it is the whole we are part of.

228. Luz, this is a fantastic and enlightening blog. I love the title and I don’t know why but the words ‘ Negation is nothing, expression is everything’ came to me as I was reading through the comments and feeling how your title struck me . In the way that recognition used to be something that you sought through likes, I feel the way I got ‘recognition’ engaging with others, mainly face to face, (I am from the era before Social Media) was I negated others’ points of view, being dismissive, or being loud and ‘anarchic’.
     All of this was a nothingness too. It was simply another way of having an identity and being noticed, labelled or reacted to. Often I liked to take the oppositional view just to get a dialogue going. I derived some satisfaction thinking that having a conversation made me seem intelligent because I had discriminating thoughts, or that I was cool to have the adversarial point of view. Often of course, people just avoided me, which made me feel rejected and small. None of this is true expression .
     I look back at this behaviour and realise some residual traces of it remain today in some of the conversations I have. I see I have a belief that having dialogue is necessary to have understanding and connection. There are different aspects to examine here. For me sometimes it is the awkwardness of silence, me not accepting my presence is enough) that spurs me to start a conversation.. Sometimes I feel people are dying to connect, but afraid to do so, so I find a reason to speak. I also want to connect…my natural warmth and brightness feel that. Other times I remain silent for fear of saying something completely inane that would sound superficial and ‘achieves’ nothing.
     As I write this, I can feel that sometimes, a little ‘hello’ to acknowledge someone, a smile, a look into another’s eyes is all that is needed, along with the lightness and simplicity of being and knowing that we are all wanting the same love and we are from the same source.

229. It is interesting to observe and be aware of just how much we do or say things with an underlying agenda of needing to be recognised, or needing to be liked. When we express truth, from our hearts, it is because what we express needs to be heard and we are merely the vehicles it is being expressed through at that time.

230. Dear Luz Reading Your blog again 🙂 it is so power-full. I love this statement:

     “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.”

     This is so true and always the way to come back to me and being patient and loving with myself. I notice that I am on the way of going into a deeper level of self-love and intimacy and notice how there is still some heavyness and protection to let everybody in all the time, I also noticed that this in itself is really exhausting…and I feel it is a learning of allowing now, surrendering more and be even more loving as this does not always feel so comfortable 😉

     Thank You again for sharing all your wisdom and being so honest.
     With love
     Nadine

231. I can relate to that Brendan. Looks like we really want to live with ‘the other’ and make it work by fitting in. It is a distorted version of living in Brotherhood.

232. Thank you Luz for sharing such an honest account about expression, knowledge, recognition and self worth. They are all related in varying combinations to each other, and I love how you indicate the way out from this entanglement is by the way we live, the relationship we have with ourselves, that expression is everything which is reflected by the connection we have with our body.

233. Recognition is nothing, expression is everything, what a great title Luz. You have expressed so much in just a few simple words.
     There is nothing like expressing truth with love.

234. “Expressing is pretty simple to do, but has it felt simple?” Far from it, was my experience. At first I avoided expressing online like the plague which clearly exposed my lack of confidence which boils down to lack of self-worth. My beautiful daughter encouraged me to just give it a go in such a gorgeous and gentle way that I found myself saying ‘yes’. Although I found it difficult at first am pleased to say I have stuck with it and not given up which is quite an achievement for someone who has never even written in a personal diary. I still can’t say that I find expressing simple to do but I’m working on it.

235. I love your blog Luz – it is so raw and honest that it is impossible not to relate to what you have so openly expressed. Heartfelt thanks and huge appreciation.

236. Luz, as I was re-reading your blog and some of the comments here written, I felt the bubbling joy of the child inside me that knows so clearly that the most simple and natural thing to do in life is to express. I felt the joy, the effervescence, the inner smile and the big yes to just go for it, not to get caught in the doubt and the imperfection or second-guessing, but to feel the innocence and space of simply being me and letting me be and move and speak in a way that feels true… Thanks for the permission and invitation to go there that bit deeper and feel the skip in my step as I say yes to expressing in full.

237. This is a great awareness you share Luz, thank you. It forms the foundation to the purpose of life: “..the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.”

238. Luz what a powerful sharing. The line about using knowledge to cover our lack of self-worth and hurts, really reasonated with me as it’s something I personally have done in the past and something I feel many people use as an avoidance technique. I will take this into my day with an increased awareness of this old pattern rearing its ugly head 🙂 .

     1. Yes – I relate to that too, Sharon – and then even using knowledge as a form of social cudos and / or to impress or even dominate conversations with all the knowledge capital one has accrued. This feels so far away from expressing from the heart what is there to be said – it is very far from expressing form the heart what is there to be said in support of another!!

239. Thank you Luz for the words,
     “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression.” is so supportive to me, to reconnect to the fact I am a vehicle, and the self responsibility of what i choose to align to is what i need to focus on and not the mistakes I have made… “All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.”

240. Thank you Luz for this very honest sharing of your experience with expressing, particularly in the online social media space. This is something that I also get trapped in at times when I share or post something and wonder what the response will be. It feels so much clearer to be expressing what is true for me without pondering on the responses of others. I try to read the responses and feel whether they are confirming or reacting – if I am clear with my expression the response is in relation to where the person responding is at, not me.

241. Expression is everything yes, and self appreciation and self worth have an enormous impact on how we express and what we are prepared to share of ourselves.

     1. Very very true Jo, without appreciation we’ll constantly doubt ourselves and thwart our expression. Self-appreciation and confirming who we are, what we do express is key — it forms the foundation upon which we can express truth, love and joy more and more.

     2. Yes Jo, having self appreciation and self worth paves the way for us to express from a much more open and loving foundation with others.

     3. Thanks for the reminder Jo, it is always great to be reminded of self appreciation as I find it such a valuable tool in helping to build a strong foundation from where we go forth and express our love.

242. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” When we put ‘self’ aside and look instead at the world and our connection with it it brings, as you say a ‘totally different story’, which is so much fuller, joyful and expansive than we could ever write on our own.

243. I too am learning that we are the holders of great wisdom through our lived experiences in life and it is the appreciation of this that allows this to be expressed simply. Confirmation and appreciation go hand in hand with expression which is everything.The way we live and move is the key to our expression and this is beautifully shared Luz thank you .

244. When we express from a place of Truth there is such a fullness that comes with it. When we express to gain recognition we are in a pause of emptiness until the recognition comes and fills us up.

245. Thank you Luz, upon reading your blog I have now been able to feel my next step in my evolution. To express from the deep place within me, from my body, that I do so often but not as consistently as is necessary to break down the comfort I am in in some areas of my life.

246. If the knowledge is not our own then we have a responsibility to not only share it for all of humanity but also to allow that knowledge to come to us. If we hold it back, everyone misses out. If there is knowledge there waiting for us and we do not let it in or allow for it to come in, we are also denying everyone that.

247. We can become attached to knowledge and think it is our own. This is very limiting. Yet it is something we can allow to flow through us and that knowledge is infinite.

248. You ask “Have I perhaps got too excited with knowledge in the past, to the point that I got tempted to take ownership of it and use it for recognition?” I have certainly done that, tried to own knowledge and used it to feel important and as one who is ‘in the know’. And I can feel that flavour in a lot of film and book reviews, a kind of cleverness for the sake of being clever and not much to do with the task at hand.

     1. I recognise that old pattern too, now I am letting that go, it becomes more apparent when other people use this and try and get any form of recognition.

249. Luz, there is just so much you present to consider. I do recognise the using of knowledge as a form of recognition and something feels familiar about, ‘investing in knowledge to cover up a lack of self-worth and deep hurts….and preaching to others’, and what becomes clear as I write is that all this just kept people out and at a distance. But I am learning to express, and now feel safe to express and can share more of me, and as I do, it becomes so much easier to connect with others.

250. Expression is the key to our evolution and allowing what has to be expressed without any attachment nor fear, has enormous healing potential.

251. Knowledge is what we are taught. And we raise it to the highest attributes of our human intelligence, using it to define us away from the animal kingdom. But animals know when to go to bed, they do not drink poisonous substances, or inhale smoke. they tend not to be obese, and rarely do they ever suffer from heart disease. So who is the more intelligent species? And does knowledge really make us more advanced? Or is it merely a tool we have come to use to shield ourselves away from the reality of what life is really like.

252. Luz- I love this truth that you share: ” I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole”- so true. When we express for the whole we not only confirm what we said in our body but we also can be an inspiration for others too.
     So it is a win- win situation.

253. “if I put “me” in the way when I express, i.e. come from a need for recognition and identification, I fall in the struggle of recalling information, making it mine, and investing in outcomes as in people will get it or like it.”- Great point you make Luz, and this leads to us feeling dissatisfied with ourselves and exhausted.

254. ‘I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole’ what a beautiful sentence otherwise known as true brotherhood.

     1. Just beautiful.

     2. When we are truly expressing from heaven, we are connected to the Universal Mind – this is when we know for sure that we do not ‘think’!

255. Brilliant examination of what truly limiting subtleties are at play when we contemplate the process of expressing truth and especially what filters we place in front of us to measure the extent to which and the way in which we’ll express, particularly through the unique realm of social media.

256. “What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?”, I feel there is lots of wisdom that can come through all of us, I feel somewhere along the way we all have got trapped in old patterns. We now have the opportunity let them go and let the wisdom come through, how awesome is that.

257. There is so much here that exposes how we present a face to the world and use knowledge to make ourselves appear a certain way, instead of connecting to our deep self and sharing from a lived wisdom. Reading this Luz, I realised why I am so quiet on social media. That sharing of truth can be scary. All that you wrote I felt to be exposing and true. I don’t want to present an untrue version of myself yet I don’t want to be wrong, or in any kind of argument. So I feel it when you talk of the agony of writing and putting yourself out there. There is so much to consider here.

     1. I agree Amanda, the sharing of truth can be scary…and I have been aware how I have been holding back. Time to fully address this in looking to see if I have any old beliefs lurking underneath that need to be exposed around sharing my truth.

258. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose”.
     This is such an inspiring expression Luz. With time, understanding and reading blogs like this one I am gradually deepening my evolution to truly know that expression is everything.

259. “What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?” Thank you Luz for this blog. It reminds me to stay in my inner heart, connected to my breath and my feelings, including uncomfortable feelings. And also not to be attached to what I am expressing as it isn’t mine.

     1. So true, Annie. We are here to serve, not get caught up in such things as recognition and the like, and yet we do. I love that Luz has offered us the way to break these patterns with her examples of opening up a discussion with herself with the questions she has posed to herself. Allowing ourselves to be able to feel when we are not living true is the beginning of letting go of the untrue way if we choose to commit to seeing it through.

260. Luz this is gorgeous “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” Wow I love that you bring it back to making it genuinely about truth lets face humanity has gone a bit all over the place with that and with social media its more like anything goes then absolute truth. This is why I love these websites because they are raw and real and saying it as it is.

     1. I have had the same experience with these websites, Samantha, they are clear and talking truth. It is a joy to read them .

     2. You so right Samatha. The world is an amazing place when it is about truth; it becomes what it is meant to be simple, flowing and forever evolving.

261. Love the title…”Recognition is Nothing, Expression is Everything” it pretty much sums it all up. Recognition really is nothing, it doesn’t bring one ounce of love, evolution, service to anyone else. Expression is Everything – this is not just how we speak, but move, touch, feel, everything, so no holding back.

     1. Absolutely Raegan, recognition does not bring one ounce of love, it just feeds the forever hungry spirit. Expression on the other hand encompasses everything as you said, and when true, is full of love.

262. I love the sense of freedom you share, Luz, in being ok with making mistakes and realising that to express in full no matter what is what is the most important thing.

263. I love the detail you’ve gone to Luz and I know I’ll come back and read your blog again. Thank you.

264. Striving for perfectionism comes in so many guises, it is unbelievable and sets us up for certain failure.

     1. Good point Gabriele, something that I must keep reminding myself

265. In an education context Luz, it feels important to share this with our younger generations. I teach media and speak often about the ‘like’ phenomena. Social Media platforms can employ psychologists to understand human behaviour and make the platforms as addictive as possible. Knowing that lack of self-worth and seeking recognition are prolific conditions for most of humanity was something they jumped onto straight away and is no mistake. I love exposing this for my students and having discussions around this to support them with their social media use and addictions.

     1. What a great conversation to have and keep having, Gina, so that social media platforms are relegated to their rightful place in our lives rather than becoming what we define ourselves by.

        1. Absolutely Janet, to never stop highlighting the merits of social media and its capacity to connect us but the responsibility we carry in all of this with our intention and expression.

     2. Great point Shirley-Ann – we must absolutely teach how to discern. There are great security risks here. The not wanting to offend is important to raise, it highlights the deep need for acceptance from others to fill the lack of acceptance we feel for ourselves. Imagine a world where we had no hurts or issues – it is our first and foremost responsibility to tend to them, then none of these issues would be an issue!

266. I am learning that the world wants to hear that expression/life is about true love, harmony and brotherhood. Understanding the world actually wants it, needs it and craves permission to express in and with love, supports my expression and supports me to work through my issues which may get in the way.

267. Something amazing that occurred for me with my expression on social media Luz was, when I totally opened up in my full expression in all my naturalness to claim that I was making my life about love because it was what I had felt was the most natural thing for me to do since I was a young child, I received a lot of feedback. Now this came in many forms – maybe a like, a comment – but mostly through people expressing to me quietly that they may not be able to like or comment because it made them feel uncomfortable but asking me to please not stop expressing. This shows that we need to move away from our needs (recognition, self worth issue) to be able to ‘hear’ that the world actually needs it and wants the support to give them permission to learn how to equally express from the true love we all are.

268. I so love the honesty and awareness contained in this very inspiring blog.

269. We are a vehicle for expression, thoughts flow through us with their quality dependant on our choices. This is such a simple truth and one that I drift away from but see how important it really is to keep at the forefront of my awareness. Having this knowing much more easily removes the self critique that stops us from expressing as fully as we can be, and makes us much less likely to worry about the judgement of others. Being a vehicle for expression has a much larger purpose than when we get caught in the self and the fear or rejection and ridicule. Thank you Luz.

270. I have found that the more I let people in in my everyday life, not hide and trust, then this transcribes over to my interactions on social media.

271. Social media is like anything that exists in our life and that is to act as a reflection of who we are currently being. Is it showing us that we are seeking recognition outside of ourselves or is it showing us that we are rock solid in who we know ourselves to be ? Every single thing shows us a different angle of the same one thing, us.

     1. Thank you Alexis. I agree, Social Media is not evil, it is just another reflection of where we are at. I love when I am the rock solid in knowing who I am…and I am working with the needy part too, that I don´t love that much.. hahaha, ok, it surely needs to feel true love to come back. Thank you, simply put, truth shinning through.

272. Luz I can relate to what you have shared. Whilst writing a blog recently I included the line ‘ I love you God’. I faltered momentarily after writing it, as I know how it is going to be perceived by many people who have known me for a long time and equally by people who don’t know me. However when I read those words I can feel the truth in them and know that that truth is therefore available for everyone who reads the line to also feel. The line’s staying.

273. This is a very honest sharing, thank you Luz. I can relate deeply , what you have shared. To firstly get still and then express from stillness and truth, not in reaction, is an ongoing learning for me.

274. It’s a great thing to claim ones truth in expression with no apologies, just a claimed lived love, knowing it comes from the same source we are all from.

275. I can so relate to what you have shared Luz in everyway. I have gone into these heady knowledge righteous discussions/arguments and have felt great tension and hurt. It actually feels abusive to do and nothing feels more amazing than to be able to surrender and say things from how they really feel or from how they knowingly are, from experience.

276. Luz, thank you for the openness in your blog. I feel there are many people that have been (myself included) “in your shoes”. Your opinion / expression is just as valuable as any other person and whether the recipients like or don’t like what you have to say is typically more attributable to them and the hurts they carry with them.

     If you feel you need to express, that is the foundation for the expression not whether others may like or dislike what you may have to say as this has the potential to distort your message.

     Expression by its very nature can be polarising but without it, we would all be the same and we would never evolve. Your article has demonstrated your clear ability to express in an open and loving way – keep doing what you are doing.

     1. This is beautiful Matt, a beautiful building upon the blog. Expression can only polarise because we have separated from what it is in truth for, for so very long. We have made it about sharing concepts, being nice, or correct, or point scoring, being sarcastic, or worse still abusing, but not the emanation of the essence of our being.
        This is deeply challenging,for when a person opens their lips, or moves their body in accordance with their soul, it makes us feel how we have not.
        Do we welcome that, bathe in the purity of its light, love and truth? Or do we resist?
        Many of us resist, even though expression is irresistible!

277. Wow Luz – what an amazing topic you have expressed. I am clarified of so much here that is deeply unlocking some strangle holds my heart has been pressed against. I feel a sigh of relief as I am reminded of the humble simple expression my heart has when I am connected to how I truly feel. Thank you so much – I will read this blog a few times yet.

278. What is interesting is that a worry of a potential judgement from another is a judgement already burdened upon ourselves, that we must be seen in a certain way or accepted for what we say or do. In truth, we are from a love that knows no judgement or hardness and so it is our responsibility to live this for ourselves and about ourselves.

     1. Thank you Cherise for expressing it so beautifully and simply. The love behind your words cut through any separative judgement we fall into.

279. Great message Luz, what we need to accept and understand further is that our self worth and acceptance comes from a source we hold within us and never from anything or anyone else. No matter how many ‘likes’ we receive or not, no recognition compares to the confirmation that we can already hold with and for ourselves.

     1. Cherise, I just love how you have expressed this: “..our self worth and acceptance comes from a source we hold within us and never from anything or anyone else.” I Love feeling how that we are all connected to a source that is just Love and is an endless supply of this Love and it is within, present always with its powerful and more than gente pulse… What an illusion and struggle to live dis-connected from it.

        1. It is a game we have played for too long, that now needs to come to an end.

     2. Yes, nothing beats expressing truth with love.

     3. You have expressed this so beautifully Cherise Holt – nothing from the outside world can compare to the connection offered to us within, through our bodies and inner heart. What a relief that we don’t need to search for that outside of ourselves, yet how devastating it is to see a world that has been fooled by the glamour of the illusion itself. A mere distortion of the truth that has indeed led us astray – but the more we live the wisdom of what is within the more we ground this true way on earth for others to wake up and be realised too.

     4. Well said Cherise. The confirmation we hold for ourselves is incomparable. When we stay with that and don’t let anything knock that over, there is no need for anything else.

     5. So true, Cherise. Our worth and value is held within us, there is no confirmation that is needed from the outside of us that will either add to this or change this fact.

     6. Awesomely expressed Cherise – powerfully true!

280. Dear Luz, I so love your expression in your writing and this one is no exception. Each time I read your blogs I feel that you capture me! I feel our humanity and understand it in the confirmation of your writing. It is inspiring! Thank you!

     1. Hear, hear Bernadette – I feel the same when reading blogs written by Luz – she open up my awareness and never fails to inspire.

     2. Indeed, Luz writes with a naturalness and deep understanding for humanity, exposing with simplicity and honesty our human ways while offering connection to our divine source and everything available from there.

281. “I had also been confusing connection to others and self-empowerment with recognition and prestige to then land in disgrace and deep self-doubt” – this is brilliant. I so love the way your honesty brings out a razor sharp insight that makes us sit up in our chair.

282. I saw a humourous card the other day which was illustrating the anxiety around posting on social media and not getting ‘liked’. The blogger was lying on the couch with the psychologist broaching the subject tentatively. It goes to show how widespread this need for recognition is, and that we are laughing at ourselves about it.

283. Beautiful Luz. I loved this sentence “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too”. I am in the process of also seeing that what I express is not who I am, but comes through me. The ownership of any kind is providing a form of safety which I feel is actually control. I’ve realized that in those moments that I express from ‘ownership’, I actually don’t see and hear myself in full, but rather focus on a part of the whole me. It feels lovely when I do express with me. Whether being that preparing for sleep, moving my body from one place to another or communicating verbally. Honesty of when I am with me or not is very needed. True honesty that is. Because it is easy to accept a known way of being with myself, which is in fact not the true way of being with me. This still requires attention and is work in progress.

284. I love the honestly in your blog Luz, social media is a great reflection of how we relate out in the world. Your blog beautifully exposes our culture of recognition and reward. While we are not fully accepting and appreciative of ourselves as enough, we will forever be looking outside of ourselves for something to confirm us. What a homecoming to realise the love resides within each of us equally.

285. It’s so great to be able to express what we feel, to express no matter how ‘unpopular’ or ‘uncool’ it might seem to others. I agree that can be a big hurdle to overcome. And there is a certain amount of reality to what you describe – I had a social media acquaintance indirectly warn me against posting to a certain group of mutual friends. I didn’t spam anyone, but I didn’t let it stop me continuing to post about Universal Medicine and what I know either.

286. Luz, I relate to what you’ve shared here. I trick myself into thinking I don’t care how many people like my posts on social media. but the reality is that if I don’t get many likes, (usually only for my business page), then I immediately feel as though my work is not being recognised and people are not interested, which leads to me to contemplate why I’m doing it in the first place. The self doubt is an awful disease that we encourage daily. Marketing companies are constantly trying to offer you the possibility of more likes to get you more recognition and hence increase your self worth. It’s never ever going to satiate the need we have inside to simply love and accept ourselves.

287. It’s so true what you say about the ‘likes’ that we get through social media. I know some teenagers who will delete a post or a photo if they don’t get a certain number of likes. They also actually straight out ask ‘like my post and I will like all of yours’. Social media and the way it is generally used is simply highlighting and bringing to the fore, the desperation and longing for recognition that has always been there.

     1. I wonder if the longing for recognition is only a surrogate for the longing to belong. When we have given up on truth or love, being our self, being accepted and loved for who we are we settle for the next best option: being liked and not rejected then becomes our medication.

        1. Very insightful Alex. The depth of our longing to belong runs very deep because it is only natural for us to be together, in brotherhood. The phenomenon of the ‘like’ is a poor but ‘likely’ substitute…

288. This sums it up so beautifully Luz ~ ‘Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose’

     1. Well said Sara Harris, we are vehicles of expression and it is empowering to know that all we have to do is to live in a way that supports and allows us to express divinity through movement of our bodies.

     2. Now that’s true purpose! – thank you for highlighting this point Sara. There is true purpose in living in a way that allows soulfulness to be expressed. All I need to do is eat, dress, walk and talk in a way that is clear – but this is easier said then done! With out perfection, I am slowly reconnecting to my magnificent body and letting that be the guide and not the influential mind, which feels slightly tarnished by what it sees in the outside world.

289. In today’s world, social media certainly plays such a prime role in our connection with many people. We can reach so many more people this way than ever before, and so our responsibility is that much greater too. Through social media we get to put an imprint out into cyber space – and it is this imprint that is either one that supports others in their connection to their natural and gentle self OR the imprint is one that harms or damages another or others. There really is no middle ground. Our motivations for putting something up on line are also very revealing and just like you have discussed in your blog Luz, we can do it for selfish reasons seeking someone to like us in more ways than one, or we can simply be putting it out there unattached to the outcome but knowing that this is something that needs to go up and be seen/read etc as needed.

290. Luz what a great blog. When I have lost true connection to myself I fall into the need of recognition and I do it through pushing my opinion onto others or seeing how many ‘likes’ I get through social media or even how many people reply to my comments on blog pages. It’s insidious how we can do this to ourselves and to everyone else. We are seeking attention from others because we have stopped giving it to ourselves, hence our expression is a little off and not coming from our true divine selves that expresses such love and wisdom for all, not just self.

291. Thank you Luz, for this very honest blog, I recently had a situation where I realised I was expecting a comment for something I did, when it didn’t come through I realised that I was looking for recognition, not just expressing me and letting that be enough.

     1. Sometimes on blog pages I write a comment and think it’s pure gold and I can’t wait for someone to reply to my comment to confirm how awesome it is. The reply never comes and I go into self doubt, so I play it safe for a while. The funny thing is, the comments I write that I have no attachment to are the ones that people reply to.

     2. Yes Jill. When reading Luz’s fabulous blog I could feel all the areas where I am expressing truly from love but can absolutely feel the areas where I am using knowledge and recognition from this to fill the emptiness of my lack of self worth. My family expose this beautifully for me – when it is natural and from me and when it feels preachy. They sniff out a preach a million miles away.

     3. Expressing for expression’s sake is important. Seeking recognition is a strong pull that can dramatically affect and curb our expression. I am guilty of both wanting likes on facebook, replies to blog comments, responses to text messages….But when I express simply because I have something there to express, there is such a liberty and expansiveness in that.

292. Remembering we are vehicles of expression takes the “me” out of it. “All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.”

293. So beautifully expressed Luz, you had me at ‘Expressing is pretty simple to do, but has it felt simple?’ I agree expressing is something we can not but do, as a baby it begins and it is natural, and yet how complicated it can feel later in life. It certainly has for me felt far from simple when it is that I hesitate or hold myself back from expressing purely from my heart without the need to run through the myriad of pre thoughts; ‘how will they take this’, ‘I can’t say that’, ‘they’re saying that but it feels like this’..the endless list of doubts, a chatter I can in a split second employ, that comes between my connection to truth – a wisdom more powerful than any distraction my mind can muster up.

294. In the same way as we do not express something because we are worried what the others will say – we also can express something in a way to get recognition. The first is a passive and the latter an active deed for acceptance. Both are not true.

295. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” This line stands out to me the simplicity of knowing we are a vehicle of expression and our responsibility to humanity is our commitment to continually refining the way we live to support the vehicle to be a clear conduit for true expression to come through. That sure takes the pressure off wanting to know stuff and own knowledge.

296. Luz, I was discussing the sway of social media with an old school friend of mine yesterday and the hold it can have over one’s behaviour. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back.” How refreshing to read this Luz, not inhibited by what you ought and ought not to say in order to illicit the ‘like’

297. Getting ‘Likes’ on social media is a huge thing. It says a lot about our collective expression as a human race when we are constantly ravenous for ‘likes’ which is the currency of the internet. I recently watched a great film about Alan Turing who invented the machine to break the Enigma code that was instrumental in ending WWII. I very much doubt Turing had any idea that what he invented would be revolutionised by computer companies to become tiny devices through which we can canvas the world with our lack of self-worth by posting endless cat videos and pictures of food. Humanity’s hunger for recognition is insatiable. Social media and other platforms are places to share our thoughts and feelings, but behind the mask of the internet being a connecting tool, it is being used as a popularity contest.

     1. Yes, as though lots of ‘likes’ could really and truly make one’s day; well, maybe just one day but there is certainly no consistency or true foundation in that but the endless roller coaster ride of despair and elation.

        1. “…the endless roller coaster ride of despair and elation.” – Yes I can relate to this – how it is when we look outside of ourselves for recognition and how different when we know ourselves first from our own inner-connection. I’ll take the second option!

     2. Yes it is so easy to use social media as a popularity contest. Discerning our intentions when we share something is important as sometimes we may post something that we know is going to be liked but may feel a strong pull to share it.

     3. Brilliantly said Jinya especially, ‘behind the mask of the internet being a connecting tool, it is being used as a popularity contest.’ I have noticed this in myself but rather than shun the whole debacle as I have reacted to it at times, I see it is a great platform for connection if I use it with integrity.

298. One of the beautiful things that happens when we let down our guard and express what we truly feel to say is that it gives people support, and inspiration, to do the same themselves. Whether they take it or leave it, it is a great gift to give.

     1. I agree Fiona, when we express from our hearts it inspires others to let their guard down too. I have noticed many of my friends and family open up as I have started to express openly what I truly feel.

        1. Absolutely Fiona and Amita, I have found this too. It only takes one person to choose to express from love and then magic happens.

        2. I agree Amita, expressing from our hearts without any judgement or investment on an outcome and staying open with our bodies to others is very healing as it allows them the opportunity to align to the truth and take responsibility of their lives.

     2. So True Fiona. It’s beautiful! I notice that when I share my own Truth without any need, it usually leads to a more honest response from the one(s) I’m sharing my Truth with. And I also notice that when somebody is open towards me, that it is an invite to also open up more, which is quite obvious and understandable, isn’t it? So why don’t we all just start to share about our lives, just our own experiences? Rather then all the stories we communicate towards each other these days, which can be quite empty and then leads to emptiness feeding emptiness. We might as well have honesty feeding honesty, feeding the pathway to Truth.

     3. I find this the same even if we get it “wrong”. It is as though it gives people permission to give it a go and also get it wrong. It’s not the outcome that matters so much, but the act of expressing.

     4. I agree Fiona, and it really supports people to feel they don’t have to be perfect. That it’s ok to just be ourselves and express — the way we did when we were little and bubbling full with the joy of simply expressing.

     5. Absolutely Fiona, when we express freely from love it does support and inspire others – a wonderful reflection.

299. It is beautiful that through expressing more you are healing old patterns and behaviours that were not you anyway. What you have shared is something that I initially felt, either ‘OMG I have just posted something’ and wanted to shrivel up and be really small or weirdly as it sounds get over excited about it (stimulated). What has happened though is the more and more I express the more this has helped, however I can still feel I am very much holding back with my expression … work in progress!

300. Me too, I can relate to this Susan, I was afraid of judgement, but I can see now how damaging it is to hold myself back from expressing. I used to be the one judging myself for not being better or even being perfect. This was a huge pressure that I had created for myself. Now I feel so much more relaxed and without the pushing, the real expression can come out now.

301. ‘Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.’ I find what you have written here divinely inspirational.

302. Thank you Luz, very well expressed. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” I remember Abraham Lincoln connected to the same, he knew that what he was doing came from a whole far bigger than one man and about far more than one man. We speak for many when we speak from love and call for more love in the world.

     1. Lovely Luz and Lucy – to feel our true purpose which is founded from bringing true love to the world is the greatest support we can connect to.

     2. Thanks Lucy and Luz. This blog is amazing and inspiring Luz, and now Lucy I feel inspired to even do a bit of research on Abraham Lincoln.

     3. I love this Lucy – that what we express from is far bigger than one person and far more than one person. It is a great reminder for me that anything I express is not mine but comes from something that I am a part of.

     4. Beautiful Lucy thank you. I shall not forget this that you share “..what he was doing came from a whole far bigger than one man and about far more than one man”.

     5. Awesome Lucy – we are a part of something bigger and when we connect to this we are expressing for all. There can be no ownership or want for recognition in this as it comes from the all for the all.

     6. Hear Hear Lucy.

     7. Wow, Lucy, thanks for this amazing reminder. Those memorable sayings and quotes from great lives that have been lived which have changed the course of the world… they didn’t come from one person who owned the knowledge of what they said, but from a person who knew they had a job to do and that their body and wisdom belonged to something far greater then them… when we surrender to this knowing, that’s when gold is given to us to express to the all.

        1. So true Katerina. When we take responsibility for being an instrument for the Divine we are given the gold to express.

        2. Beautiful Katerina, that our bodies come from a far greater wisdom than just this temporal level and how when we connect to this essence then the true wisdom comes through.

303. Beautifully expressed Luz – and that’s not a like but a love! Allowing ourselves to make mistakes in our expression is important in my view. Trying to get it right all the time just feels so controlling and restricting and in the freedom we connect to as we allow ourselves to let go, our expression can blossom – as yours clearly has. I love the awareness that ‘my expression is not mine…’ – another equally deep liberation from the shackles of the past. Thank you for sharing this. It has been perfect for me to read this morning.

     1. I agree richardmills363 this is a very freeing blog and beautiful to read. I know that I get caught up in perfection and wanting something to be just right before putting it out there. I am working on my expression and allowing it to flow more, there is an absolute freedom in expressing without an expectation of what will follow from what is expressed. Very liberating indeed.

     2. Well said Richard, I agree. If our focus is ‘get it right’ and ‘say the correct things’ when we speak to other people we are seriously restricting our expression, and holding back from speaking the total truth.Truth and being all we can be makes people process, as it can be a strong reflection to them that they aren’t living the same love/responsibility that is being presented. Thus in many instances to tick all the boxes and please every other person would involve lying or diluting the truth.

        1. Very true Susie..

     3. I so agree richardmills363 what Luz shares here reveals so much about our expression and the fact that making mistakes is such an important part of our learning. It is a beautiful blog to re-read as it reminds us of the fact that all our expression is so very needed.

     4. I agree richardmills363 – if we are afraid to get it wrong, then we are looking for perfection. But the world is far from perfection. And to be afraid is to hold back – which is not expression. So to express in full regardless of if we get it wrong, is to have the confidence that every piece of expression is an opportunity, and the person who expresses but sometimes gets it wrong is in fact more truthful and more connected to themselves than the one afraid to speak and only wanting to be right.

     5. Very true and supportive Richard. To re-learn how to truly express we need to let go and just go for it – no holding back even if it means getting it wrong. As you say we blossom when not shackled by our own restrictions.

     6. Thank you for bringing these key points, that really resonated with me too, together in this lovely paragraph, powerful and true what you share Luz.

     7. Yes Luz, It feels like the allowing to see and really feel our mistakes is what helps us with process of healing and evolving.

304. This makes sense: Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back. I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story. Thank you Luz, this is great to read.

     1. I agree Monika. It is far more empowering to not hold back lovingly so and know mistakes may be made and are part of our learning than stay contracted and wait till everything feels perfect to express, because the reality is that day will never come. All we can work with is being as present and loving in our bodies so divine wisdom can be expressed.

     2. Yes I love how the ownership of ideas is blown away by expression coming from the whole. How I maybe saying something to someone and actually it’s not my idea to hold onto but something to be expressed for them to hear; it may make little sense to me but to them it makes total sense.

     3. Great point Ariana.

     4. I didn’t know that! See 1,000 mistakes no beating of self up and then ta da .. the lightbulb. Awesome. It doesn’t pay to beat ourselves up or hold back .. it is far more loving to get true support when needed instead 💕

     5. Beautiful Ariana. I have always felt that I learn more from my mistakes than my successes, so called, so why indeed hold back? It definitely feels better to express from my truth!

     6. Haha – it is the drama that drains/depletes us not the mistake – doesn’t that tell us everything?

     7. I love this monika2808, thank you. Making mistakes is such a normal part of life, of being human, and even though we know this, in modern society today, mistakes tend to be shunned. So every time we make a mistake as a young child we feel the disapproval and we shut ourselves down. To express fully and let our hearts be open still, regardless of boo-boos and oopses — that’s freedom and joy in full. Big, big load off our chest, and the angel gets to sing.

        1. The whole of society appears to be set up against people making mistakes, punishing people for their mistakes, have zero tolerance for error and no understanding that we are all learning all of the time. Particularly for the people in power positions, it becomes about right and wrong and one person versus another rather than about true love and harmony.

     8. Great question Ariana – not sure how, where or when it started but I can recall feeling the pressure of having to get the right answers in my earliest years in school. It really highlights the importance and need for change within our education system, particularly in the formative years.

     9. Love this Ariana, it certainly puts a new light on our perceived mistakes – and the truth that it is through our mistakes we learn more about ourselves.

     10. Very valid and insightful point Adriana, a few oops moments in our life, surly must be worth over spending a lifetime in the prison of perfection and not expressing for fear of getting it wrong.

     11. Life is a constant work in progress an unfolding evolution there is no point we can stop and say I have mastered the all.

     12. If it would simply be about openness, sharing, contributing to a greater cause or learning everything there is to learn we probably wouldn´t mind making mistakes, but when it is about self-identification mistakes are associated with rejection, disapproval, failure.

305. Liz, I can so relate to what you have written here, ‘Have I perhaps got too excited with knowledge in the past, to the point that I got tempted to take ownership of it and use it for recognition?’ growing up I noticed that people seem to use knowledge to be interesting and get people to either like them , listen to them or admire them and so I remember actually making a conscious decision that I needed to do this too, I chose subjects that were a little obscure – extra interesting, like bridge construction and learnt the names of the engineers and the facts and so to a point I could spiel off my knowledge, it sounds so crazy now that I had such a lack of self-worth that I felt I needed to sound intelligent to people to like me and find me interesting and worth talking to.

     1. I can relate to this Rebecca. I used to want to impress people with my intelligence so that they would like me, and if not like me at least recognise me for something. It is exposing of a deep lack of self-worth as I did not feel enough without the intelligence.

        1. I have done the same Nikki, because we have separated from the divine intelligence we are from and made it about our separate intelligence, which will always be less and which we feel and are aware of then we create something we call low self esteem, which is coming from the notion that we are separate. We then go on to work on our low self esteem (which does not exist, for how can a divine all knowing being have low self esteem:) Rather than working on an issue that does not in fact or truth exist, when we connect to our bodies and the divine intelligence we are part of (but do not own) any notion of low self esteem or other issues simply cannot exist.

        2. Well said Thomas. When we stay in the separate intelligence it forever needs to be maintained. It is an effort to keep a hold of. When we allow the divine intelligence we are, it is always there for us. You are right that the issue is not about self-esteem, what we are feeling is the pain of separation.

        3. There are a plethora of emotional reactions that occur when we separate. I have gotten caught by thinking they were the issue, the arrogance, lack of self-worth, fear of people reacting, but the only thing that really matters is coming back so there is no separation, and our expression is from our natural divine source.

        4. When you put it like that Thomas, which is simple and true, it shows how crazy we are.

     2. I too have used knowledge and intelligence in various ways to seek recognition. There then comes an ownership over this knowledge to claim it as my own and then to defend it. This feels like a very lineal and closed way to function rather than the openness that knows no boundaries to which we have access.

        1. I so get this Lee and have owned much knowledge in my past to get me seen, heard and known. What a manipulation – believing that what we put into our heads has more clout than what we already know deep within ourselves in this setup.

        2. Thank you Lee, what stands out loudly from your comment, is how when we own knowledge we inevitably go into defending! Once we are defending what we say, we are gone…Awesome.

     3. Yes I can relate also. The other thing I noticed is that if I didn’t feel knowledgeable I would get ‘witty’ and ‘smart’ using this to feel clever and intelligent. But making conversations like a sport never truly connects anyone does it? Showing off is such a protective device.

        1. It’s funny how we have backup reactions when the false persona of ‘knowledgeable’ doesn’t work. For you kathrynfortuna it was witty and smart but for me I would feel less, go quiet, feel inadequate or awkward. It all adds up to us not expressing who we are and in a way that evolves anyone.

        2. Yes Kathryn, I feel that when I am allowing conversations that are shallow, that are about things that everyone will be comfortable with there is a falseness behind them that has an empty feeling. When our conversations come from Love then there is true Connection and Brotherhood.

     4. I can so relate to what you have written, and realised from a very young age how we get recognised for our knowledge. I was big into history, obscure facts about the world and behind this was the belief that I didn’t have anything to offer in a conversation people wouldn’t want to know me. All due to lack of self worth – I agree it is crazy.

306. It is quite astonishing how we are made to believe that expression is about ourselves. We are vessels of the divine and our expression serves the Universal Wisdom and not the individualized self. Accepting our grandness and that we are nothing less than divine is the key to true expression.

     1. Well said Rachelandras. I was talking to someone recently about having a seemingly difficult conversation with a friend/partner about an issue and that quite often we hold back because we are afraid (I know I have done that) but what if what we had to share was actually for the other person – for their evolution – and exactly what they needed to hear (even if they dont really want to at the time). Our expression is not ours to hold back.

        1. I appreciate your last line especially Sarah. “Our expression is not ours to hold back”. I have played it safe all my life and have measured everything to fit in to be among the crowd playing the safety in numbers game. Although I have come a long way the play it safe default still hangs around and influences my expression. It is fear that prevents me from sharing all there is to share. I’m afraid to be all of me and to be fully in my power.

        2. I can feel the huge value in what you share Sarah. From being a queen of holding back I am learning to express more in the knowing that when I do it supports others to be more of themselves and for me to be myself.

        3. Yes Daniel, I can really relate to what you say here as I too have played it safe, Being afraid of being ridiculed or standing out from the crowd is the way I have lived most of my life. For me this feels like living in a contracted state that I can’t put up with any more as the more I really Love and Appreciate myself the more I need to share it with all and not hold back.

     2. Exactly Rachel Andras. I love how you have expressed it, that we grow up believing that our expression is about our-selves when it is not, but only by accepting our grandness and no less than that we can express true universal wisdom. How amazing is that?

        1. That’s awesome Luz – our expression can be as vast and true as we accept ourselves to be.

     3. I love this very wise words rachelandras. “We are vessels of the divine and our expression serves the Universal Wisdom and not the individualized self.”. Therefore every time we open our mouths to speak we have a huge responsibility not only for the words we express but the energy that comes with them. But for me this responsibility is not a burden but an absolute joy.

        1. Beautifully put Ingrid, as I often feel responsibility as a burden, but as you have shared we can choose to have responsibility as joy as it is very empowering and bring great light and love to our lives and the lives of others.

     4. Thank you Rachel, for what you have shared has helped me another step along away in not holding back expressing through fear and self doubt,

        You have taken ‘the self’, out of the way and it is ‘the self’ that creates all the self doubt and judgment in the first instance.

        1. Exactly Thomas, when we embrace our grandness and live by the knowing that it is not about ourselves but about the unity of our divine expression any self doubt is gone as there is no self anymore in the equation, only learning and understanding.

     5. The more detached I am about expressing, knowing that it is a quality of energy passing through me rather than anything I need to be clever about or come up with, the more open my body feels and my expression can flow more easily.

        1. And if we are honest the need to say something clever always has a touch of arrogance to it.

307. Having held back from truly expressing for so long it is only recently that the amazing power of expression has come to light and I have felt a big shift in my body. In your words “We are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck”. It does feel like an opening ‘unlocking’ and expansion of my physical body which then allows a freeing up for clearer communication and the words feel to flow naturally with no expectation of an outcome. Consistency is definitely required. Yes I’m a work in progress having been a great story teller and used exaggerated truths to get the recognition I craved but, with inspirational blogs like this one it again confirms Expression is Everything and to not go into hiding mode and holding back does not serve anyone.

     1. It’s awesome what you have shared Marion, I often exaggerate and dramatize when I am trying to get a point across to another, when I feel unheard or that they won’t take me seriously if I don’t make the situation I’m speaking about more dramatic than it is. In particular I do this when I have a sickness or injury with my body, there is a dishonesty as I am not asking for the care and attention or sympathy I want from another, so I exaggerate my ailments.

     2. It is through our willingness to express what we know, in body action and word that those amazing constellations can occur. I have been amazed lately as patients have opened up conversations I would never have expected to have. People can come to their own profound realisations if we hold them and carry a body that knows the wisdom they are connecting to.

        1. So true Fiona, it feels like when someone is being truly met then they give themselves permission to really open up and “go there.” To start living and expressing from love.

308. Yes. A brilliant inspiration to embrace our responsibility and make sure we are not in auto-pilot when we do anything.

309. Great exposure how the social media platforms are the new playgrounds where we develop our identity and need for recognition based on the likes we get. It is never about who we are, but all about what we align to, what we consume, what we have access to and how creative we can be in coming up with the latest trend. The virtual world is just a copy of the “physical” world, which is a false and bastardized version of who we truly are. It is impressive how reductionism works, we move further away from who we are and we call it being advanced.

310. Recognition is just something from outside of us that we try and fill the empty hole within us that is formed when we do not express. Which is like putting smoke in your pocket.

311. The desire to ‘own’ knowledge is a very common and equally ugly and futile human trait. Futile because we cannot. Ugly because it is divisive and rude and common because we are so often looking to have something that proves our worth. When we share knowledge and when we accept our worth unconditionally we have an incredible foundation of teamwork that is totally life changing.

312. Luz, as I read your article I felt the grip of social media, the longing to be recognised and liked, how it feeds on any inadequacy we have. To embrace social media platforms without any of that, simply to share ourselves and express — that’s pouring an enormous amount of love into something that’s not had much love in the first place. Pretty cool.

313. Your blog is going straight to my Facebook page !!!

314. Thank you Luz. As always I am captivated when reading your blogs. Full of truth, a realness and an honesty. Everyone of your blogs are deeply inspiring and I am so glad that you have chosen to not hold back what you have to share and offer humanity.

315. Your commitment to healing Luz is indeed inspiring. Whilst we seek recognition we already see ourselves as separate from the whole. It is our spirit fighting for its individualism, for its need to feel special. When we honour and appreciate our expression in its own unique form, we feel our loveliness and the beauty in what it is that we reflect then the need for recognition drops away.

     1. Yes Donna, it is great to understand that it is through the appreciation of our own unique expression that we keep evolving and refining our expression, but this by no means is the same as looking for recognition by separating ourselves from the rest and becoming noticeable in our isolation so many others can be less than us. Thank you for pointing this out.

316. Loved this Luz. A clear example of how we hold back of undeniable truth and expression..there were so many great points in this. “How am I going to survive not getting as many likes as I could get if I was sharing some art and cool pictures, music videos, ecological or political stuff or Buddhist quotes?” This captured the Internet completely. But how amazing would it be if the Internet was filled with truly supportive content.

317. Thank you for your honesty and truthfulness Luz. Whilst reading, I could relate to everything you expressed….It has given me much to ponder on.

318. About 4 years ago when social media exploded into existence, I couldn’t handle it. I simply went quiet and hid. I have realized that it was two-fold: First, I was exhausted from holding back and living in a way that was dominated by stress, emotion and pushing myself to achieve based on a picture of the way I thought life should be and so being really hard and controlling of myself (and others). Secondly, I felt that I didn’t want to share the ins and outs of my life publicly when I wasn’t feeling good about them! It’s been the last 2.5 years where I have truly de-constructed this way of living and built a healthy and nourishing foundation of acceptance, honour, steadiness and surrender. I still don’t feel like pasting my life all over social media, but I do feel the confidence to share when I feel to and especially share topical blogs and articles that need to be shared. To get myself out of the way and get the word out, so that we can read content that is evolutionary rather than distractions.

319. Luz, it is really great that you have openly shared and explored this topic. It is one that so many of us can relate to, all having our stories around how much of our real selves we allow ourselves to be in the World. I have certainly seen a huge amount of holding back come up for me in the last 8 years especially, although really it was there all along only I covered it with a false confidence, a persona that I had built to feel OK in the World, to hide my true delicate sensitivity with an arrogance of knowing; and seeking a particular picture of how I would be and yet never finding it. So, I met myself in the despair of this when things started to ‘go pear shaped’ and gave up on life really.

     In meeting a true reflection, through my association with Universal Medicine, I have let go of so so much and built a base of self-acceptance and loving understanding so that now I can begin to express in true confidence. There have been many moments of painful self-reflection and being cut down by others. Yet day by day I am building my foundation so that my expression does not come from the arrogance of knowledge but rather my lived experience. Most importantly, I am learning that making mistakes is OK! And in fact, evolutionary. I am gently and consistently allowing myself to speak up regardless of the reaction I may receive.

320. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” These are humbling words Luz…this takes ‘self’, the individual, completely out of the picture of our daily lives, makes our life about everyone, and inspires a reason, a purpose and truth for being here.

321. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back.” Very inspiring to feel the self-acceptance of these words Luz …no-one is perfect, and yet we can spend so much energy ‘trying to be perfect’ for the outside world which is a futile merry-go-round. Life is far more inspiring when all that we do, say and think comes from within, from our bodies.

322. When I try to own knowledge I know I can’t possibly be appreciating who I/we truly am/are. It’s so uncomfortable to feel when I’m in this momentum of trying to show/prove I’m ok, worthwhile, important etc because I can also feel this comes with a putting another down – a trying to know more than another to impress them. ew. Simple to let go of being like this is for me to come back to the truth we are all equal – trying to prove anything makes no sense in the divine light of equality.

323. Luz this is such an awesome blog, I so relate to it. The times I’ve written a comment on Face book and just wanted to delete it straight away or have literally woken up in the night thinking what will people say, are plenty. I remember a particular comment being very risky for me and I remember checking with myself the truth of it. It felt true, a confirmation of how amazing someone was, but expressing this felt so uncomfortable because in my growing up experience you didn’t say such lovely things without being frowned upon – the British ‘stiff upper lip’ and mastery of understatement took the moral high ground on the more ‘loud’ ‘noisy’ side of the family.

     Just a little sentence brought up so much- what would people think when someone twice someone’s age says beautiful things about them? I imagined a deluge of ulterior motives could be attributed to me. But I knew I had no ulterior motive but to express how beautiful this person was and what a blessing I felt to look at them. And I’m very glad I did write the comment because I didn’t let all that rubbish get in the way and actually expressing heart-felt appreciation of another is so very important in an age of competitiveness.

     So after reading this blog I’m inspired. It is so worth expressing even if I do get sudden panics over what I’ve written.

324. Luz I so relate to what you have shared here. You have beautifully detailed the package around knowledge and also the truth of expressing from our divine selves.

325. Hi Luz
     Awesome blog thank you. ‘Making use of knowledge in this way can only keep one trapped in a retarding cycle of praise and rejection, applause and shame.’ How true is this? Using knowledge for recognition is self serving and exhausting. Knowing something and sharing it with the world is truly serving for all.

326. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression.” Holding back our expression from our own lived experiences is holding back who we are. Why hold back who we are? Express with all that we are and many will learn true responsibility. Thank you Luz.

327. Luz, your expression about expression shows in itself the quality of true expression and how we can connect and understand what you share as it resonates in me and I’m sure many.

     True expression has been a challenging time to get there, to express from that place of who I am, and let it be expressed, let it be said!

328. Social media can be likened to a frenzy of wanting recognition, acceptance – to have a need met for some form of connection with others. Where as true expression on social media would be to serve each other, to inspire, support, bring vision and magic! Even with the serious issues that our world is plagued by, true expression could bring deeper understandings, ways of changing that are true, rather than a ping pong game of whose idea is right, and so forth. It is scary to begin to truly express – as it is not always liked, because it can be confronting, as true expression always is about responsibility in what we say and bring to social media – as we all affect each other.

     1. That’s true Karoline, it can feel scary, especially when what we are expressing goes against the status quo or an invested way of seeing things. The reaction can be quite vicious. Holding steady and true is the way forward.

329. This is such an important subject – to truly express from what we know and live rather than from knowledge. To express from an inner truth that comes from the wisdom of our knowing and lived life. But to truly express also for me has been a significant process as I uncover to the world who I am, what I truly feel and how I see things…and deeper than that it comes from our inner, our essence…to express from there is firstly like unpacking all the layers of clothing on top of it…all to be recognised, accepted and so forth….we compromise ourselves to be seen a certain way. We make it about outside of us. When you think about it, if most of us are expressing from a ‘needs’ base, whatever that may be, then where is true expression to be found?

330. “Have I invested in knowledge to fill up my bottomless pit of lack of self-worth and to cover up my hurts by becoming smug, self-righteous and by preaching to others?” A big yes to this and it was initially very uncomfortable to admit. Yet it has been so powerful and freeing to unravel this way of being, which is really simple and plain lying to myself and others.

     1. It’s exactly that Simon, lying to ourselves and others. It keeps us trapped and we can’t expand from a lie we can only go sideways or backwards, never forward.

     2. Many of us, when we cotton on to that which feels true, go through the evangelist stage, no doubt annoying the socks off all and sundry with our newfound earnestness. What is painful is if we never get to see what we have been doing! Getting humble and real and living what we know is the way forward.

        1. Further to this, earlier this year I met an American academic who had come to Australian campuses to spread the word about his religion. What he shared started off low-key enough but became increasingly assertive as it became clear I wasn’t going to be a convert. Expression with a need for an outcome is an awful thing – it was painful to see and be around and there was no graciousness present when we parted ways.

331. This is such a supportive blog Luz. I have been expressing more on social media lately and have found myself feeling stressed and vulnerable at times wondering how the information I post will be used and feeling unsure about the reasons I choose to express in the first place. You make it easy to see that I do not need to be perfect. I can support myself by living with love and integrity each moment and accepting each interaction that I have as a reflection.

332. ”Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” Absolutely stunning!

333. I know full well the feeling of being stuck for something to say for the fear of getting it wrong. I Love what you have written here Luz “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen and we are able to constellate connection and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck”. I know this to be true.

334. Thanks Luz, there is much I can relate to in what you’ve expressed… ‘being liked’ has been my crutch in life too and my early days of using social media had a very similar ring to what you’ve shared. Learning to express to the world from a place of truth is a development for most of us, it certainly is for me too…

335. A very relevant topic – thank you Luz.
     I was chatting with a friend the other day who said with disappointment in her voice that she had only received 40 likes on a photo she posted. And I really felt how we can invest heavily in others approval rather than confirming our own self worth.
     What she said was pretty crazy – but it is true – it is the state of social media these days and we measure our worth on this platform y how others react.
     Brands and celebrities compete for recognition – which provides the individual with the reflection of this being a good thing. This to me is another way we have used the internet to take us further away from true communication, and allowed it to be another device used in a way that divides us rather than confirms the amazingness we already are.

     1. ‘This to me is another way we have used the internet to take us further away from true communication,’ Yes, I feel the internet is one of our greatest illusions… that it appears to connect us however, because of how we choose to use it, it disconnects us further from people and our own true nature.

     2. I talked these days to an elder man, who does not use internet and without that any social media. He said that in his life he valued his worth and deeds through someone expressing it, and not himself appreciating it. The sad thing about relaying that someone ‘likes’ you, is that it may not happen, due to different reasons (comparison, jealousy etc.) So how important is it to appreciate oneself and know the wisdom you carry within.

     3. 40 likes! Wow, I consider 4 an outstanding day ; )) You’re right though hvmorden, if communication has been reduced to being ‘liked’ we are in serious trouble. It has reduced expression to an exercise in trying to prop up our flagging self-worth.

        1. True Victoria – we have used expression to make us somehow feel better or fill a gap of self worth we have within ourselves. But true expression is to not hold back – is to express all of who we are in full and be this equally with all.
           But if we walk around only wanting to hear what is ‘good’ rather than what is true, then how can we ever possibly evolve?

336. ​Thank you for this blog Luz. Recognition from others should not determine who you are. The one thing that has helped me is to know I am a Son of God. The simplicity of knowing and claiming this is my purpose. Being a Son of God is being the love that you are living with all others in the harmony I know within when my connection is there. Claiming me reduces my wanting to be recognised from others.

     1. ‘Son of God’ was once for me only a term reserved for Jesus, coming from a non ‘religious’ household, and giggling with my school buddies through much of Religious Education at school, I really knew little of what it could mean to be a Son of God, (or so I thought). So true Rik, recognition can never truly determine who you are, knowing that has helped get me well on the way to claiming the Sonship of God that I am.

        1. I agree with giggling in church Giselle. We were talking about it just yesterday, the silly games we played just to ease what we felt was being imposed on us. I do not attend church now I have no need to. My connection is to the inner Kingdom that is inside me. The feeling is free from ideals and beliefs.

337. ‘Expression is everything’ and not expressing is a killer to our bodies and the world. ‘Recognition is nothing’ I love it. A beautiful article presenting the of truth of how we are and what we go through to hold back our expression! This article and website is an amazing marker of truth and supports our expression lovingly, thank you.

338. Reflecting back to a couple of years ago I would never comment online, never share my experience or say how I felt under the deep seated fear that I would “get it wrong” or “not be liked” today with the deep support of Simone Benhayon, Serge Benhayon and my commitment to expression things are very different, I love to share how I feel about any topic that arises. The reason is there is so much that needs to be shared and expressed. I certainly agree expression is everything and that in the past I thought I expressed but I simply regurgitated information. Having an article like this to reflect on and feel the depth of my expression today vs the same time 1 or 2 years ago is a real gift. Thank you.

     1. Yes, there is such a feeling of liberation and expansiveness in letting what you truly feel be written and expressed, compared to words that are measured, carefully chosen or regurgitated from what someone else has said. What a difference it makes as to how it feels in the body and how it is received by another.

     2. I agree David, the difference in me today as to that of me a few years back are worlds away as far as feeling how fundamental expression is to my every day. The support I too have felt from Simone Benhayon, Serge Benhayon and many other Esoteric Practitioners has been paramount in discovering that I do indeed have something to say and is worth sharing.

339. I love what you have written Luz about choosing to make it about knowledge. I know that so well. I also know that when I try to control, making it about knowledge, I find everything is capped, there is a self imposed ceiling of the wisdom that is possible because it all relies on what information I can regurgitate, everything is held – it can not but keep repeating itself. Yet when I do let go, I feel one with life, with humanity, with God, with the universe, there is a natural flow, a natural harmony and a natural wisdom which I can not own – it simply flows through me at the right time with the right energy forming the right words supporting all to evolve.

340. Amazing blog Luz, filled with amazing understanding and divine knowledge of the way we are and the way we can be.

341. This is a much needed piece of writing, as I would say most people can relate to calibrating their expression to be liked especially on social media.

342. LIKE it, I LOVE IT!

343. What a great blog about such an important topic. I can definitely relate to trying to own my expression believing it comes from me rather than understanding that expression comes through us from a source. And we can choose which source.

     1. Hear hear Andrew, empowering it is to feel that choice available to us all, to be one of Love.

344. ‘Expression is everything’, this I have recently found to be an amazing realisation. In the past I have held back expressing what I feel. This never felt true but I have found it extremely difficult to express especially through writing. Since learning that expression is everything, everyday I have been practicing expressing truth and the more I do this the easier it is. I realised I was holding onto fear and recognition, stopping my flow of expression, once I recognised this, I was able to let it go and start expressing by connecting to myself first and expressing from my lived experience.

345. Luz, this is a beautiful dissection of the wormhole we willingly leap into when we forfeit the innate wisdom residing deep within us all. I too have been through this and from time to time, this ‘black hole’ of self-doubt still tries to suck me in. However, I have learnt that the best way to disarm evil (the absence of love) is to see it – truly see it, no matter how difficult this may at first seem. This can only come from observing EVERYTHING without an ounce of judgment and to the best of our ability, not absorbing the ‘poison’ that seeks to enter and disturb the expression of our one true light, our love. Doubt is the enemy of evolution. Thus, if we know who we are, by virtue of this we will know who we are not, and leave not a crack for evil to enter.

     1. The ‘black hole of self doubt’ puts it right where it is – a ticket to having a mean relationship with ourselves that then infuses everything else.

     2. I love this Liane, doubt is the enemy of evolution.

     3. Liane, thank you for this great explanation. It captures more than just the theme about ‘recognition’. And whatever may trigger a lack of self-worth in us, indeed it is the only way to face it and observe it – as the wisdom is inside of us. Got it for today!

     4. Thank you Liane, I Love and deeply understand every word you say. Very powerful.

     5. Love it Liane, signed, sealed, delivered!

     6. Absolutely Liane. I love how Luz has so clearly shared the process of coming out of expressing for recognition and into expressing from the oneness of God – in truth, love and from and for humanity. You are right – when we see everything for what it truly is and know ourselves as love and that love is never doubting or abusive, we can be more full of ourselves.

346. Luz I love everything you have shared and can so relate to it all. It is so empowering to realise the trap that the ‘retarding cycle’ of recognition is. I can relate to hours spent on wrestling with self-doubt and anxiety which I have also experienced leads to exhaustion, from simply expressing something or from feeling to express. What I also realised and began to be honest about was that when this happens it is recognition and acceptance from others that is driving me. With this I could feel how I had chosen to leave my connection to my Love hence the pressure I would put on myself to ‘get it right’ in order to receive love from others was huge. I have found that developing my connection to my body and being honest with what I am feeling supports me to be aware when I go into self-doubt and through this separation go into searching from recognition from others. ‘I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too’ – this is so true and a powerful reminder. As when we are connected to our Love, the truth we share is simply the universal language of our hearts.

     1. ‘The universal language of our hearts; – Love that Carola Woods.

347. Slowly but surely I am learning to express what I truly feel rather than express something that I think others want to hear. It is like I have had my own internal censor going on inside me. As children we are so free in our expression. We just say it as it is. Over time however we learn that people react to the truth so we shut down our expression in order to fit in. What a prison that is, trying to look good and sound good for others at the expense of our own natural voice and way of seeing the world.

348. What stood out for me was “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” I experience this more and more and by reading this in your blog I am more aware and appreciative of the support from heaven that is always there.

349. This is an awesome and exposing blog Luz, about how we restrain our expression when we are looking for recognition.

     1. When I am looking for recognition I have a ‘speed script’ going on in my head about what people want to hear and what will have the greatest impact for my desired outcome – it feels like I am a voice piece for someone/thing else. When I am free of this, it is like I do not need to think about what to say next, there is an openness to the flow of a conversation and my head is off-duty.

        1. Yes Matilda a speed script with all the perfect ingredients so that we have control on the outcome ‘we think’, but when we let go of the speed script as you say we then naturally express and bring through what is needed in that moment. This is so much greater than our minds could have thought of.

350. The written word has always left me somewhat tongue tied and unsure of what to say. I have, and still do to some extent have this feeling I may be writing something that is wrong, but reading your blog Luz, I can see there is still a need for recognition and that what I say has to have an importance or needs to be heard.

351. This is worth exploring deeply..”As a reaction I just wanted to hide and go back into ‘safety’ mode again, and to stop expressing.” How often do we do this in our day? We may feel we are right up there with our expression but then when we feel into the quality of the expression we feel a very different truth. It is so easy to just stop when it gets too difficult, however pushing on is not an answer either.

     1. Great point Irena, there is no perfection needed in our expression just truth and quality. We are looking always for confirmation and the feeling of being right and accepted with what we express, but it is not about us, but about expressing truth. We make expression about ourselves and this is how self gets in the way. We are vessels of expression of the Universal Wisdom and nothing less. When we accept this grandness we will live and express truth.

352. “..my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too”. The chase for individuality with our expression is very easy to get caught up in. The world is geared towards this. But seeing our expression as something that is from the whole and for the whole is a fresh perspective that goes against what we have been taught to believe about expression.

     1. Absolutely Annie, this goes beyond what we have been taught to believe about expression. I am actually holding back the group and humanity when I am not sharing my expression. I used to hold back due to the expectations I had of myself to be perfect and sounding smart, and not to say anything if I haven’t a great point to share. What an expectation and heavy load that I created myself.

353. “Expressing is pretty simple to do, but has it felt simple?” I never use to feel expression is simple as I would get caught in my head, when I think about it I would be anxious and it feels like a big task. But what I have learnt is that, when we just connect to ourselves, our stillness and know that we know everything within us, I find that truth the expression just flows. More and more I allow myself to connect to my stillness the more I am able to express myself, it is a beautiful as each time I am learning to go deeper with my expression.

354. ‘use of knowledge in this way can only keep one trapped in a retarding cycle of praise and rejection, applause and shame.’ was one of many parts which really stood out as I read them. This is blog is full expression which can be felt and therefore truly known when you read it.

355. I work in an industry that is very particular about and wants to own how people within the profession express themselves, their views, experiences and feelings – especially publicly – the profession is more worried about “looking good” than what is truthful or real – more worried about being liked and public perception than simple, honest expression…so maybe this issue of controlling/sabotaging expression and wanting recognition is not just an individual one. Maybe as a society, or even groups within society suffer the same torment of relying on knowledge rather than heart felt, lived experience…I have to ask too – where has all this knowledge got us anyway??? The world is still a mess.

356. You have encapsulated beautifully the way most of humanity lives Luz. Your blog really reveals how we can all go round and round in circles never breaking free of the constraints of false self identity and seeking recognition that lead to competition, comparison, arrogance, and shame. I am feeling how important it is to ponder on the title you have used. I have experienced in my own development, and noticed in others, a growing ability to recognise what is going on, but stopping there, as though that is enough. Recognition does not mean change at a deep level, only an enabling to cope better with life, we have to go deeper than that to the very core of our essence and who we are in relation to everyone and everything else. Only in that core place, the inner heart, can true change take place. Your description of your own journey from recognition to lived expression is brilliant. Thank you.

357. Luz I love what you share here, it is something I myself am still learning to do, but I know how powerful we can be when we choose to express for the all, rather than seeing our expression as something that only affects us. ‘ I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story. Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on commiting to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.’ Love this!

358. I appreciate your honesty Luz. This blog made me reflect on how I have used knowledge to keep myself feeling included in certain situations and conversations. Sometime when I don’t speak I can feel insecure so adding ‘what I know’ to conversations can make me feel more comfortable.

     1. I was hooked with knowledge and I do know what you are saying with feeling insecure when you don’t speak out what is felt. It was a accepting and opening up to myself and to others and to not have to be perfect. This underlaying self-made burden was very heavy on my body, that I have to sound smart and have to know a lot to be a part of them. Today I don’t need false conversations anymore, what feels so awesome and free.

359. Luz, it’s great to be so honest about how we feel when we express on social media. It can feel very exposing. I remember when I first started to use social media sites I would be all consumed by imagining how people were receiving my posts. Now I find I am caring less about it. I am accepting the fact that people can think what they like, and that leaves me free to express as me without the attachment to what people are thinking. Come to think of it this is the case within my everyday life too…and also here on these blogs writing comments.

360. It’s great Luz how you brought up how much we can identify with what we say – thinking we need a certain response back or looking for it to fit a certain picture rather than just feeling the quality from which we express and letting it be. If love is unconditional then it has no need for a specific response.

     1. Beautiful Fiona. When we express from the Love we all are it is complete and what is needed and so there is no need for a response. Trusting this is trusting the Love we are, and the Love that is then brought forth for All.

     2. Beautifully and succinctly put Fiona. Love asks for nothing in return, ever, it just is.

     3. I love this Fiona! If Love is unconditional it has no need for a specific response.

361. I used to be absolutely terrified of making a comment on social media. I simply did not want to show myself to the world. These days I understand that everyone misses out if someone does not express their truth so slowly but surely I am learning to express from my inner most being and not just express what I think people want me to say or be. It is very liberating.

     1. Yes Elizabeth, I can still feel a hesitation or a fear of really expressing myself and how I really feel both in social media and also in personal conversation. It’s almost like I can feel before I say or write anything, that another may disagree or even attack me for what I have to say. But does that make it any less true or valid? Learning to express, regardless of the outcome, is something I’m still learning to do, but it feels immensely different and better in my body when I do.

     2. Once we understand that everyone misses out if the truth is not expressed, it gives every word we speak much more importance. There is a significance to it and there is a responsibility within that. Learning to express and to not hold back is truly important to us all.

     3. I love what you have shared Elizabeth, there is a strength and such openness and i can say this is also my experience.

     4. I agree Elizabeth, I am also in train to understand that I do not serve in holding back my expression but that what I am feeling is valuable to share, even if it is not always comfortable.

362. I love how you express Luz. There is always an absolute commitment to be able to see and learn from whatever it is you are experiencing. This is truly inspirational and supportive for many – thank you!

363. When we look outside of ourself at what anyone else is doing and compare their way to ours, then we have lost connection with ourself and are harming ourself. It does not matter what anyone else is doing as we simply need to stay connected and take responsibility for all we do and express continually. As you say EXPRESSION IS EVERYTHING. SB

364. Hmm, worrying about what others will think..that one has kept me quiet in the past for a very long time and can still curb my expression today too Luz. There are many phrases, ‘cat got your tongue’, ‘tongue tied’, that I remember from childhood and make me aware that this is a deep rooted issue. The sentence you wrote ‘ What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?’ made a great impact as I am learning that I am a vessel for true expression to come through, not from me.

365. Every social media junkie should read this blog!

     1. Agreed Helen. And we have a generation coming through who are being brought up on social media as their way of communication. ‘Likes’ are just a part of their everyday conversation…

366. Fabulous Luz, a much needed conversation that not only exposes the fickle nature of social media, but also our false dependancy on external recognition to know who we are. “Making use of knowledge in this way can only keep one trapped in a retarding cycle of praise and rejection, applause and shame.” You have encapsulated the self made prison we voluntarily trap ourselves in because we are attempting to deny we are part of an immense universal creation that we don’t own but are perpetually and inescapably a part of. We certainly are retarding ourselves when we rely upon learnt knowledge to prove who we are. It is evident from your writing that when we express the truth in our hearts our expression is everything, a beautiful article that is a joy to read.

367. Great blog Luz. I love how you go deeply into something and are able to spell out the details. Today it was ‘the issue of recognition and shame’ that stood out for me. I used to feel a lot of shame and this has held me back from sharing with others and fostered a compartmentalisation of my life. As I realise my own worth and drop judgements on myself and others this is changing, however it is great to look at again: where I might be hiding or making choices from less than who I truly am because of what others may think or how they might react or any projection whatsoever. The illusion of owning knowledge is a huge nut to crack also and to be able to let go of any tendency to preach is huge too, but with awareness and a strong commitment to self love, truth and a purpose to serve humanity from this place, everything gradually changes.

368. Luz I love how you have outlined the cycle of seeking praise and then feeling rejected when we try to own and use knowledge as a way of getting recognition. So exhausting and draining and the continual need to recall or memorise new information. This is a ground breaking blog on a totally different way of expressing from what is felt and what we know from the inner heart.

369. Beautiful, Luz. To surrender and allow our full expression to come through is something very joyful and feels great in the body, and it exposes how harmful it is when we hold back what we are here to share with the world.

370. Luz there is much to consider in your blog, I recognise strongly how I might hold back expressing how I feel about something in the world on a social media platform for fear of judgement from others. Yet that fear has become less over the last two years and more and more I am seeing how many people wish to engage on topics that really matter, topics that Universal Medicine cover in a way that I had never experienced before and give a perspective on what is happening in the world that makes such perfect sense.

371. ‘What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?’ I am starting to understand the magnitude of responsibility I have each time I open my mouth.

     1. Me too Ilja. Considering how much what other people say affects us – all those little comments that put you into self doubt, make you feel down, offended or even elevated, confident, happy, pleased etc., it is interesting to consider how what WE say every day to different people takes effect on them. We do indeed have a magnitude of responsibility every time we open our mouth.

        1. Absolutely Ilja and Susie. I am becoming aware of how what we say can affect another, but also, how it can affect me – how I can use words and conversations as a way to self-sabotage and in doing so I am also harming another. I also realise that this is a reflection of my livingness, so the more I develop and deepen self-care and self-love, the more love I speak with others.

        2. I love what you’ve shared here Simone. It’s amazing how much goes on below the surface of conversations, and how what we say can be laced with so many different things, or can be a beautiful way of expressing love towards others. Its so easy to go through the day not really paying much attention to what we say, and switching on auto-pilot when we interact with others… But maybe even in this kind of conversation there is more to it then we think!

        3. I love this Susie – so much more than we think, when we are open to understanding what is really going on by feeling the underlying energy – both from ourselves and from others.

372. When we have learned so much, it does not serve to hide and not be seen – our way of living can inspire the world – it is for us to express all we know and live

373. Thank you Luz, after reading your blog yesterday I have started sharing Universal Medicine articles with people I wouldn’t usually have shared with through fear of them thinking I am into something weird or something. So thanks from me and thanks from them if any of it rubs off on them.

     1. kevmchardy I share the same fear. If I truly express to people, I worry that maybe they will think I am weird or even religious. So I have two groups of people, one I feel safe to freely express to as I know they can relate and without judgement and the other group I gauge how much ‘truth’ I will express to them in fear of judgement. This holding back from the latter group really knocks me around and I come off second best, feeling exhausted, frustrated and upset. Who am I to judge people and who am I to chose who receives divine messages.

374. To first be honest about the fact that I have an attachment to sounding knowledgeable around others, shows me the ugliness of this and then I have a choice. Am I going to perpetuate that or explore another way? Over the years I have absolutely championed knowledge. Now I see it as just another form of competition, the precarious and very divisive game of ‘better than’ or ‘less than’ – a game that no-one wins. Inspired by Universal Medicine and writing such as in this article, I realise that everything I express is part of a big picture, either supporting or dividing, and that my commitment is to the former.

375. Thank you Luz. There is a great strength that comes from simply saying what needs to be said, which is a great gift for everyone who reads it.

     1. Yes Shami – ‘There is a great strength that comes from simply saying what needs to be said…” powerful statement and true!

     2. yes, a true blessing for us all, as we all feel the truth when it is spoken, it is very confirming of that which we know, but another in this instant has expressed it. True inspiration.

376. When we nominate and commit to self-love and choose to support our body to be a vessel where wisdom can be expressed through us we begin to understand the enormity of responsibility and being a part of the divine plan to restore love here on earth. It is an amazing feeling when we can get ourselves out of the way and shed the obstacles that we allow to hold us back. Living with a commitment to this way of expression is something I am continually deepening.

     1. Me too Tracey, a work in progress but the connection to feel where we come from brings enormous appreciation of the responsibility to express in full to restore love on earth. Very much the divine plan ❤️ I work, as you do, to build a body that can serve that plan.

377. It is such a great point you make that knowledge can be so limiting. I used to believe that gaining knowledge was the indicator of intelligence and to rely on it for security and identification. However, I have discovered for myself that it is like wearing blinkers. That I would hold onto a belief and defend its veracity and in doing so narrow my field of awareness, thereby limiting my ability and willingness to learn and expand.

     1. Good point Jonathan, relying onto knowledge and intelligence for security and identification is very limiting to our own awareness and with that we doubt ourselves and our eternal knowing, what is so much bigger and wiser.

     2. Yes I agree Jonathan, knowledge can become a prison when we hold onto it and become identified by it whereas our natural wisdom can flow freely through us when we remain connected with the whole of our body. It is very expansive.

378. Luz thank-you for this honest sharing, these are questions that are very current and involve all of us who are exploring the activity and purpose of our voice on social media.” I realised that I had also been confusing connection to others and self-empowerment with recognition and prestige, to then land in disgrace and deep self-doubt.” Huge appreciation for this level of discernment, there is much that comes to the surface as our expression expands, how easily self pops in the back door.

379. In todays world if you were told to work on your expression you would be asked to practice presenting in front of others, read an array of literature based on self expression, sit with groups of people you do not know, talk about yourself and come up with ice breakers. However no one, except Serge Benhayon would ever point you towards your livingness, the way you live in every moment, the momentum of choices that are held in the presenting body and how this can support you to express without getting caught up in complexity of self expectations or external expectations.

     1. So true Lucindag. Serge Benhayon is the only one I know of who has presented this- and what a difference it makes.

     2. Well said Lucinda, we are encouraged to consume knowledge, learn it and own it, train ourselves to withstand the insecurities and anxiousness about presenting and to toughen up. It feels like being on a battle field, a battle field against our very own natural expression. Learning with Serge Benhayon to truly express is a deep surrendering into my own body and a knowing that everything is there ready to be delivered to me whatever is needed at the moment. To surrender to the wisdom of the divine is the true beauty of life.

     3. Very well said, Lucinda. When learning to express in this way one discovers that one’s expression is coming from ‘all of you’ because one has embodied what one is expressing and not just expressing from one’s ‘head’ or as a reaction. The expression is therefore alive, vibrant and open.

380. How much time in our lives have we put effort into being liked and accepted instead of being who we truly are

     1. When you put it like that Joe I can feel why I get so exhausted sometimes and why exhaustion is so common in so many people.

        1. Yes it is exhausting ‘putting on a good face,’ as the expression goes. Recently staying with family who have carers come in daily I found myself thinking I had to make sure the carers felt super welcomed and were encouraged to feel good about themselves so they’d feel valued. I stopped and felt how imposing this goal was and how imposing I would be executing it -the effort to be nice, super nice. It was about me valuing me first and letting others in- including myself. If I saw them to say hi great, if not this was fine. I felt how much more honouring of us all it was me being me was.

     2. Great question Joe, for many of us, most of our lives. The more I allow myself to feel the truth behind behaviours the more I realise how insidious the need for acceptance is.

     3. Yes so true Joe. I have put heaps of time and effort trying to be liked and really only ever ended up exhausted and still searching for what I was really looking for – loving being me.

     4. We put more effort into not being us than any other thing we do. Why is it that we do this when it is so easy being the true us?

     5. Joe this question is great as growing up I would struggle to “be me” yet the truth is I’ve put 99% effort into not being me. My experience has been simply stopping trying to be someone and something and I start to naturally be me. Far less exhausting but certainly a work in progress.

381. Brilliant article Luz, I recognise being overly concerned about getting it right and the doubt was huge when I first started posting small comments, but it has got so much easier and has led onto so many more realisations, especially in regards to what we post and our responsibility for what we leave as a footprint.

382. Expressing is pretty simple to do, but has it felt simple? No, it hasn’t felt simple. When I am writing a blog or a comment, it feels simple but not so simple when I am with others, I have observed that I still hold back because I do not want to rock the boat and then be judged afterwards….and then be on my own. Oh, much to ponder on here and also to clear these old beliefs, mainly that if I express all of who I am, I will be rejected, thus end up on my own…and have no-one.

     1. Thank you for sharing thisjacqmcfadden04. It’s a silly notion to be held by I feel- that we will be alone and have no one if we express truth. Though I can completely understand as often I have thought that too.

     2. Ouch, that has a familiarity for me too. It is quite an amazing journey clearing up these old beliefs which hold us back from being real and expressing in full. The most often I have felt on my own and rejected is when I haven’t expressed honestly or fully, and have held back from rocking the boat. This can be felt by others and I am realising that it is not so much that I have been rejected as that I have in fact isolated myself. Double ouch.

     3. Yes I’ve certainly held/hold back my expression in relationships because I’ve not wanted to feel abandoned. But who’s dong the abandoning? It’s me abandoning me which is worse than what anyone could do to me – me being alone in my own body trying to live up to an image of what I think someone else wants: a recipe for crazy. I’ve observed when someone accepts themselves so do those around them, when someone doesn’t it’s like they’ve been given a free pass to mess with their head. Building a foundation of true expression is the only way.

383. This is great thank you for starting the conversation about social media and the likes you can get for your post and expressions. I have been feeling the same things come up, some times of expressing loads on social media and then later not feeling like it anymore. I can really feel that I am holding back a lot of my expression and that the impact of holding back one impulse can keep me stagnated for a very long time. I am feeling like experimenting with this more and truly expressing for everyone, not just for self.

     1. That definitely helps Lieke, when we express something on Social Media not for recognition, so not say a funny post that we want others to like, but instead something meaningful that may support another through a difficult time, or give someone a revelation that changes their life, that level of responsibility and meaning makes the issue of how we will be received much less prevalent than it we might otherwise allow it to be when we are thinking of how we as ‘self’ are going to be judged.

     2. I am also coming to this understanding Lieke, that me not expressing is not only holding myself back, but all of humanity as I am a part of the whole. Actually, expressing to gain recognition for myself will harm, both myself and humanity as this whole.

384. Luz, this is very humbling to read your blog, and totally brings everything back to an even keel about expression. If the verbal or written expression is not a lived knowing, it is laced with knowledge, seeking recognition. How you have described the processes you have been through about writing comments on social media is probably very familiar to many, so thank you for sharing and being so honest.

385. Recognition is no-thing, expression is every-thing.

     1. I Love it Alexis …. One is empty and the other is FULL 🙂

     2. Love that Alexis.

     3. Love it Alexis. To be able to be yourself and express from yourself in all areas of life, whether online or in the reality of our day to day is crucially important. If we strive for recognition then we stifle our expression completely as it has to fit in a box that the other person will accept.

386. As we are vehicles of expression co-created to expres the ageless wisdom in everything, anything that withholds us from this is the result of us walking away form this way of being long time ago. To restore our true way of being we have to acknowledge this and from there heal all the hurts we carry of not being able to express who we truly are for a long time. We love to express the universal wisdom and to share it openly as this is our true way of being and that is where we all will return to together as one. And that is the truth that needs to be shared as these truths do resonate in us all but are rarely seen in our nowadays societies.

387. When we share something from our heart, it is beautiful. When we don’t, it still can suit people and we may even get applauded.

     1. I love the difference that you have described here Christoph.

     2. From that applause we learn that we can get by without expressing from our heart, and that hiding the totality of our love from the world is acceptable. We still feel the pain of holding it back, but we can always seek out more applause to dull that too.

388. Often as a culture we seek identification and recognition by presenting knowledge as wisdom, they are not the same thing. When we choose to express only from the wisdom of our lived experience then we can serve those who might be seeking truth.

     1. Very true 1timrobinson. Then and only then. Everyone can feel the difference between the two. The truth seems to strike a cord within.

     2. Beautiful said 1timrobinson. When I express from the wisdom of my experience that I have fully lived and embodied, then I am in service for all of humanity as that I found is my true purpose in life and in that there is no need for recognition or identification, no need for anything.

389. Luz, this is a powerful blog – thank you! It is an ongoing process for me as I discover more about the ways I have investmented in how and when I express and who I choose to express to. It has been a real revelation to me to come to understand that I don’t own the knowledge – it comes through me and the quality of this expression is a big marker of the quality of how I am living my life. I am finding that as I allow myself to surrender and let go of all the illusions created through attaching self importance to acquiring and sharing knowledge, the more authentic and powerful my expression has become.

     1. Love your comment Helen. This is such a gift from Luz. We have been raised to place an enormous importance on learnt knowledge and what we know, putting that way ahead of the quality in which we live our lives. Unpicking the conditioning takes a bit of time, but the more I focus on deepening the connection to my body and my soul and honouring how I feel, the easier and more flowing my expression becomes. What I find so amazing is that the intense need to be noticed for being witty and smart has gently dropped away and in its place a very gentle, sensitive humour has flourished and an easy manner because I no longer have to prove who I am, I simply enjoy connecting to the beautiful feeling of stillness in my body.

390. Thank you Luz, indeed. I can certainly relate to much of what you have shared here and it is brilliant to expose the need for recognition or ‘liking’ as opposed to delivering the truth of what is needed. I love how you further exposed how we can think we are expressing truth, but actually attached to recognition from that as something we own as knowledge, also. There is definitely more for me to ponder on here, and I know it will support me in my expression – so thank you again!

     1. Agree Amelia, the arrogance that can develop from believing to own (know) the truth is insidious and totally harming as it is bastardizing the truth which is worse than simply not expressing it. To live as a vessel of expression of truth does not leave any space for ownership, identification and recognition. This is a big ouch as we made human life exactly about that.

391. Luz another brilliant and honest piece of writing that had all my recognition buttons pushed! I can relate to much of what you have shared and it also exposes the evil of social media as far as the disconnection and comparison it can foster. How awesome for the tide to be turning on this with all the Universal Medicine related sites that are available to share and contribute to.

     1. Yes true Vanessa, how Universal Medicine related sites are changing the course of the energy that can get magnified through Social Media, and the type of information that can actually be shared…

        1. Luz and Vanessa this is so true. I only have to look at social media accounts I have to see the depth and quality that is possible because people have been inspired to express in the quality of love and truth.

     2. The tide is turning Vanessa and it looks and feels amazing. Humanity is craving to be love and be loved. The love that is expressed and felt on the Universal Medicine websites is truly amazing and is a real game changer for humanity.

     3. Completely agree Vanessa. I can relate also, but how awesome the tides are turning…The ripple effect has begun. I have found that what the Universal Medicine content presents is really supportive- in every area so far.

392. “What will my old friends and acquaintances think of me?” That is a big one Luz, crazy too because often these can be people who we still care about but may no longer have as much, if any contact with any more. Amazing how we can hold ourselves back by needing to be accepted in these instances. I have certainly been caught by this one though I am noticing more that whenever I have these fleeting thoughts, it is just me getting in my own way.
     I have begun to post more honestly, things that matter to me, things that should matter to us all, things I truly like and appreciate,things that represent who I am and how I live. Old friends and acquaintances as well as current have freedom of choice, they can either click on my post or ignore it. It is like planning to go out with a group of friends, some activities I love to do and will go along and some are activities I would not do, so will say so and not go along. They are still my friends, people I love.

     1. These are truths for us all Jeanette, and initially can hold a powerful role in the decisions we make in holding back our truth or living, moving and speaking it. There comes a time as you say ,when the only thing that matters is to make what we live align with the truth of who we truly are – the love and integrity of our ‘Beingness’. Thank you Luz for your honesty and putting it out there in print for us all to ponder.

     2. I love the simplicity of your example relating it to activities you love to do and where some friends will join and some not. What you do/like to do, can indeed be applied to what matters to you and where you express about. Sounds like easy, but I realize now that we have a deep need for recognition of people that they like us for what we/I ‘think’, stand for and share. Whether it is in a face-to-face conversation or on social media. It implies we have identified with the idea, we own it. But hey, if we speak from our lived experience, it is me sharing something that went through my body. My friends can have other experiences just like with their preference for other activities. We still can love each other.

     3. I like your comment Jeanette; we are only responsible for our part and being true in our own expression. Not everyone will like or agree with what we feel or have to say and that is a choice we all have.

393. Thank you Luz, I love this little gem – ‘What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?’. With knowing, understanding and practising this life becomes a lot simpler and I can living more of the love that I am.

     1. I love this too Susan. Fancy assuming we own knowledge?

     2. I know what you mean Susan, and I find that if really feels awful in my body when I catch myself doing these old patterns and in turn it feels amazing when I am expressing myself with no reservation.

     3. I agree Susan, this is indeed a gem from Luz: ‘What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?’ This is such a great reminder that the ageless wisdom that we have access to as a result of healing so many of our past hurts with the insirational teachings of Serge Benhayon, is universal knowledge and is not for us to keep to ourselves. It is there to be shared with everyone and in order to do that we really do have to get ourselves out if the way.

394. I love this Luz such an honest sharing and very supportive for expressing everything from our fullness thank you.It is inspiring and beautiful to feel what is really important and how living this in our daily life is inspirational for us all.You bring a clarity and simple understanding of what can be holding us back.

395. The depth of your awareness and honesty is truly inspiring as is your commitment to address all that stands in the way of you expressing connected to the whole through the depth of love you live. Thank you for sharing, for the wisdom you impart when you do not hold back is as powerful as it is healing.

396. It can seem ridiclous can’t it to measure our self-worth by the amount of likes we receive on FB, but I can definitely relate to what you have shared here. I have watched this pattern within myself and it has led me to focus on developing a deeper quality of love and connection with myself so that I am not looking outside of myself for recognition by others. The more I appreciate and feel the beauty within me, then I express what is there to be expressed without being concerned by what others think or say.

     1. Same here Donna, the more I appreciate and self love then I can more easily express what is there to be expressed without being concerned by what others think or say. But I do oscillate, for there are still times I hold back when I am in my self doubt and am feeling ‘hurt’ by the other and fear being rejected. Which just shows me I can deepen my self-love.

     2. It is totally ludicrous and non- sensical that many people measure there self worth by the amount of likes on face book. This has to be exposed more and more as it reflects to us that we are not taking enough responsibility for building our own body of love and that we are clutching on to any old thing that we think will boost how we feel about ourselves.

        1. You’re right marylouisemyers. It is ludicrous, and the more we expose it, the more opportunities we get to feel the enormity of what is actually going on.

     3. We measure ourselves in so many different respects, so why would Face Book or other forms of social media be any different. We seem to use anything with a number in it to measure ourselves against others rather than building a steadiness in ourselves that means the numbers become secondary to that inner knowing.

        1. So true Simonwilliams08. If it’s not the number of facebook likes, it’s the number of friends we have, or the number we got on our grades for school, or the number of ribbons or medals we’ve won for sporting achievements etc. It’s never ending, we will never be satisfied if we continue searching outside of ourselves for recognition.

     4. I know Donna, it seems the like button on social media is a modern day cyber version of the old gladiator arena and people are either spared for another day or condemned to social death by the onlooking crowd. It is not physical trauma or death of course but just as fickle, brutal and harming.

     5. ‘The more I appreciate and feel the beauty within me’, this is such a magical thing to do Donna, and as you say, with this practice our concern for what feels true deepens and our concern for what others think lessens.

     6. I feel it is indeed ridiculous and sadly empty, but this is how our psyche work: like me, like me, confirm I am great, press that click button, this is me, please look at me, recognize I am great. All coming out from Need, and this has nothing to do with Love and holding someone in true Love.
        I Love what you shared here:
        “The more I appreciate and feel the beauty within me, then I express what is there to be expressed without being concerned by what others think or say.”

     7. When you see it written as Luz and you have done Donna, measuring our self worth against Facebook likes – it sounds utterly ridiculous and yet I have to be honest to say if I post something on Facebook I have been known to go back in and look to see if anyone liked it, sad but true. Rather than expressing what I feel to say and then moving on knowing that I have expressed everything that was in me to express.

     8. Ditto Donna, I can so relate to this. But it has changed the more I express what is there to be expressed without needing people to ‘like’ it, and I’m still a work in progress with it.

397. Awesome blog Luz, I can very much relate to what you have shared around expressing on social media. What a beautiful healing for us to learn to not hold back, to express what is there in our body to be expressed and claim the powerful expression that we have. Social media is an awesome platform for us to practise this on. It is only by not holding back the truth that change can happen.

398. What a fantastic blog Luz thank you. I too would get fearful and judge myself for what I would express not just on social media but in every way I express with how people would react or judge me. But this only tainted my expression and capped me from the get go. To be able to express more from who I am without fear of how others will see me, just shows that what we each share is not for us to hold back it is to be shared by all.

399. I too have felt how my expression has wavered in response to approval or disapproval. As you share, “…my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole”. We are responsible for expressing the truth, when that is what is needed, no matter how we may be judged for it. I am inspired by Serge Benhayon who never holds back the truth.

400. Thank you Luz – I can really resonate with “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” This is beautifully said and felt.

401. Recognition is exhausting, it has to be upkept all the time. Our light in simple expression is natural, the confirmation comes from our own love.

     1. So true Adele. Once we acknowledge how amazing we already are and that is love, recognition just crumbles away.

     2. So simple but so true Adele, love it! Thank you Luz a truly inspirational blog, my feeling is you will be able to handle all the likes!

402. LOVE this Luz – you are super spot on in everything you say. Identification is a biggie for almost everyone; we have attachments to fitting in, being liked and gaining recognition due to our own insecurities and struggle to truly value what we can bring. Social media is a medium where this dynamic is amplified, and there is a literal measure of ‘Likes’ and attention, and our reaction to this is an obvious marker of our need for outside approval.

403. Luz the benefits of deepening my expression is greater than I could have considered possible, from doing and saying things to simply to be recognised to then expressing for purpose or how i feel is very different. Thank you.

     1. Expressing with true purpose is awesome and feels so amazing in the body. It can light up a whole room and it can make your eyes sparkle. Why would you want to live any other way?

     2. So true David, I had not realised the power of true expression and how much it would change my life. Expressing myself and my truth has supported me in my life so much over the last year. My life has deepened with so much love, connection and my relationships have flourished at work, home, friends, families and colleagues. Thanks to Serge Benhayon, Simone Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

404. This is so beautiful Luz, a top blog. Love so much how you have described ‘the self’ and how it can get in the way of expressing great truth and wisdom, which is always for the whole. Patterns of holding back, wanting to be heard, wanting recognition or even wanting to create attention or a debate are all forms of creating complication! It is so much simpler to accept we don’t own what comes through us and that love is for everyone. This is also something I have been working on in my social media posts as well.

     1. Super true harryjwhite; ‘we don’t own what comes through us and love is for everyone’. When truth is delivered it is always so simple….

405. “What will my old friends and acquaintances think of me?” I was feeling this as I realised none of my current expressions matched any of my past identities” – this is super great and honest Luz, it’s interesting how many faux personas we do have/have had, and arises the consideration of not just what our expression has been like to today, but also much more conscious or aware that the current expression is equal whomever we’re with i.e with friends, at work, or home – is our expression now one, and expanding in its strength or is it being watered down to fit the audience? Such is the vast need of wanting to be recognised, congratulated or identified by our expression.

     1. Agreed Zofia and also the deals and arrangements we make with each other not to develop or evolve ourselves lest we leave anyone behind.

     2. A great line to highlight Zofia and great questions you raise. I can honestly say my expression is not equal where-ever I am and whoever I’m with. I did know this but it’s interesting how little I have been prepared to really accept this a look at it as the opportunity for learning and change it is now presenting me with – thank you your question.

406. Living who we truly are, to the best of our ability, allows sight on all those things we’ve made to be the masquerading false truths as you share Luz – : “I realised that I had also been confusing connection to others and self-empowerment with recognition and prestige, to then land in disgrace and deep self-doubt” — The more we see of these false truths, the more truly we live. And the more truly we live, the more free we are.

     1. Absolutely Zofia, I sense I have been masquerading many of these false truths for life times, pulling the curtain on the ugliness of self without judgement but with curiosity and understanding, gifting ourselves with the freedom to evolve.

     2. ‘the more truly we live, the more free we are.’… so true, profound and amazing.

407. It’s amazing the intensity of the rejection I have felt at times when I have posted something on social media and there has been a tumbleweed moment of not even one ‘like’. I can really understand how and why social media can be so devastating to the lives of those who heavily invest in it. I am lucky enough to have the incredible support of Universal Medicine which has given me the awareness to be able to look at my reactions and use them as a point of learning, however before I had this awareness, I would seek outside recognition (and lack of it) as the gauge for where my level of self-worth and self-acceptance would be. My self-worth was consequently rock bottom and falling.The more I stop looking to others for recognition and acceptance, and build a more loving and caring relationship with myself, the greater my ability to express truth becomes.

     1. Lucy, your sharing really made me smile, I can relate to the “Not even one like!!” haha… Also love this (so true!):
        “The more I stop looking to others for recognition and acceptance, and build a more loving and caring relationship with myself, the greater my ability to express truth becomes.”

     2. Absolutely Lucy, I agree, ‘a more loving and caring relationship with myself’ makes perfect sense as a way to express my truth.

408. Now that is self-empowerment Luz! Through your understanding it feels like you have set yourself free, in a sense, from the binds of self and need from others. The walls and blocks in your way to expressing all you know in your heart have been dissolved through such inquisitive awareness and dedication to the bigger picture, the whole. A beautiful and power-full sharing, thank you.

     1. An amazingly expressed observation Rachel. Luz has taken the responsibility to bring truth in all she expresses, and remove all ‘road-blocks’ in the way of this. We can all now take this responsibility equally, with our learning from Luz’s experience.

        1. Thank you Rachael and Amelia, I actually felt apprehensive when this was finally published…it just felt so retarding and senseless, it just feels yuk! But it has certainly cleared so much space. This way of living and expressing is not OK anymore.

     2. I am inspired Rachel and Luz, to let the walls and blocks to my expression dissolve, by letting our natural way prevail. awesome.

409. “But when I go into the fear I think there is some part of me that is using it as an excuse to give up and not express.” Well caught Eleanor. It’s easy to believe that fear/anxiety etc. are something we are a victim of and so they are responsible or us holding back our expression, and yet we choose all of it, so as you say, using it as a reason for not expressing is indeed just making excuses for not taking responsibility for ourselves.

410. What you write here is very power-full Luz. It actually feels like if what you share here was read by all and truly taken in and understood, the world would be turned upside down. Huge! Just letting this all sink in now, thank you

411. Luz I have just had a quick overview of my expression or lack of it throughout the years, I have continually judged myself not smart enough to be involved in any intelligent conversations and would squirm at the thought. Now I speak from my body and it’s amazing the wisdom that flows, the truth that is shared, the connections that is felt and I am left in appreciation of the infinite wisdom that is available to all. Even when words don’t come together quite in the right order or express a point really clearly, I now trust this is what’s there to be expressed and often it allows the other person to go deeper to connect to and be a part. I had one such conversation yesterday that lasted about an hour with a person I had never met before and we were both left looking deeply into each other’s eyes with a connection that felt eternal. Expression is indeed everything.

     1. ‘Even when words don’t come together quite in the right order or express a point really clearly, I now trust this is what’s there to be expressed and often it allows the other person to go deeper to connect to and be a part.’ This has also been my experience merrileepettinato and gives the freedom to let go of expressing something perfectly if we trust and just connect and simply state what is there to be said and let go of the outcome.

412. Social media platforms are certainly structured to feed recognition and confirm a shallow version of ourselves and relationships. I have experienced both being caught up in the recognition and how empty and driven this becomes, chasing hit after hit or like after like, and also being completely free of this and expressing something that feels like a powerful truth and watching people feel pulled to that post for all the right reasons. In the latter case there is a beautiful humility because I can feel that something has come through me for all and confirms we are all part of something much greater.

     1. Beautiful Melinda, that something has come through you for all and yes, then there is just humility, knowing that it is not you, but something that came through you to share with everybody. And those who chose to hear it, will hear it. And those who not, that is fine too.

     2. Thank you Melinda for your awesome and spot on expression here. Yes to “Social Media being structured to feed recognition and confirm a shallow version of ourselves and relationships.” but also a place where Truth can come through us for All, confirming we are all part of something greater!

     3. It is such a huge responsibility that you outline Melinda for us to allow our expression to confirm others as parts of something much greater than our individual selves.

     4. I love what you have shared here Melinda about Soulful expression in Social Media platforms which for me relates to expression in general – ‘there is a beautiful humility because I can feel that something has come through me for all and confirms we are all part of something much greater’ – gorgeously said. For it is truth that we all do live for, as it is in truth that we are all united.

413. Thank you for sharing what you have learnt from this Luz H H.
     Attempting to own the knowledge and use it for recognition is not so uncommon; neither is using it to cover up a lack of self worth, or to cover up my hurts by becoming smug, self-righteous and by preaching to others? I agree it is fakest version of self-empowerment. It is great that you are able to recognize that now, and are able to live your truth without the need for approval or apology.

     1. It is great that this trait was recognised and healed with a commitment to self-love and expression. Such honesty paves the way for others to connect to this way of expressing and healing.

     2. Indeed Bernard its fascinating how as our expression of truth expands, these pockets of self arise, within these pockets i can feel lifetimes of smugness & colluding, the innumerable ways my spirit has found to deviate from truth.

414. Using social media felt exposing and I held back from using it for a long time. I still am an infrequent user and have used my ignorance as an excuse to limit expression on it. Once I had the experience of being blocked by another person and what happened to my sense of self was an eye-opener – I was crushed. All this has made it clear that every thing expressed was about recognition and reward and not about allowing truth to be expressed through me. The expression of truth is building slowly as my foundation in my livingness is becoming more solid. Social Media needs to be openly discussed and explored more. Thank you Luz for exposing the use and abuse of the media platform and the way we can get trapped in its web.

     1. Love your comment Ch1956. This is very clear and spot on:
        “….I was crushed. All this has made it clear that every thing expressed was about recognition and reward and not about allowing truth to be expressed through me.”

        And I also feel it is great to openly discuss more about Social Media, not to create issues around it, as we perfectly know what it is about, but to bring to light all these little triggers of un-resolved lack of self worth issues and need for recognition, which make us “get trapped in its web” as you eloquently described.

415. Thank you Luz, while I read your article I could feel how committed you are to your relationships with yourself and looking at what gets in the way of you deepening this and being all of you in expression. This is super inspiring and I love that the way we live supports us to be full in our expression or to hold back – reminding us that every moment flows into the next.

416. Thank you for this honest blog Luz. It is so easy to get caught up in sharing knowledge on Social Media for myriad reasons, but you have uncovered areas that many of us have experienced and are now working through. It is super important that we express all the time and Social Media is a great place to get our messages out to the public, but it needs to come from a place of lived experience without being laced with our needs. You have beautifully exposed what can get in the way of us just expressing truth.

417. I find it interesting how we change our expression to fit the general expectations in order to be liked (on social media or otherwise). The amazing thing is that if we stay true to us and express from there in full we feel awesome and confirm ourselves in that. It is only when we deviate away from who we truly are and express from there, that we feel awful and consequently don’t like ourselves and therefore need someone outside of us to confirm our worth and that we are lovable.

418. There is so much in this article to appreciate and inspire and for me the gems are in there because of the author’s honesty and openness to express. This article feels like a living example of what you share.

419. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back” I love this sentence. It reminds me that seeking for perfection is not the aim of the game, but allowing for mistakes to happen and appreciate them as a sign of where I am at. I often get scared of expression because I fear it coming from an intention that isn’t truthful. But when I go into the fear I think there is some part of me that is using it as an excuse to give up and not express. Your blog is inspiring me not to only express more freely, but to start to really feel into what I put in the way of my expression.Thank you Luz.

     1. The wonderful part about deciding to engage with the world and simply express what is there is that it grows and grows. Day by day, slowly it all comes more simply, and like magic we give up being wrong and enjoy just being ourselves.

        1. Beautiful Heather, I so much enjoy the wonderful, joyful, surrendered simplicity you are expressing and I know it is true. It reminds me of being a child once again before things got complicated.

     2. Can totally relate to what you say Eleanor of feeling scared of my expression coming from an intention that isn´t truthful….I am learning that when I get that fear, my intention is not flowing and doesn´t feel natural as it does at other times. I can still push myself and express it, but then self-doubt kicks in soon after. I am learning to let it go, and just re-connect to something different and leave it for another time when I know the connection is back..

420. Claiming our self-expression straight from our body with no mediation from the mind is powerful and liberating as you express Luz. I find it continues to be a learning process to allow this with no holding back as it breaks the old momentums of control and protection. I, too, felt so much more comfortable when spouting knowledge which gave me a false sense of security and of course protection, learning to just open my mouth without knowing exactly what is going to come out is both challenging and fulfilling and builds my connection with others.

     1. I agree with everything you say here Josephine. Sometimes its super simple to get myself out of the way and just express without knowing what is going to come out, then other times, when I’m not feeling myself, it’s like pulling teeth and I then often return to regurgitating knowledge to get by, just so I have something to say and can feel in control. It’s definitely a learning process and one I am enjoying immensely.

        1. So true Lucy, I can relate to every word you say here. A great awareness of how it exactly happens…
           “Sometimes its super simple to get myself out of the way and just express without knowing what is going to come out, then other times, when I’m not feeling myself, it’s like pulling teeth and I then often return to regurgitating knowledge to get by, just so I have something to say and can feel in control.”

        2. I like this Lucy, ‘regurgitating knowledge to get by’. How often do I see this way in others? And how often do I myself do this? It’s great to expose that when expression comes from your heart or your body, it feels so different to when it comes from your brain, from mental contracts previously learned.

        3. Absolutely Suzanne – we can FEEL where an expression comes from if we are willing to be honest with ourselves. I know when I hear truth, I know it to be so in every single cell of my body. There is an absoluteness to it – I know it to be true. On the other hand when I hear knowledge I can often feel confused, have many questions, rise to an argument or feel less and unknowing in the face of the force of the knowledge. Mental energy tries to dominate all in it’s path – there is no equality in it. Truth is equality and can be nothing less.

     2. Hmm agree Josephine, I can relate to this protected spouting off knowledge to look good, impress, or showcase wisdom ultimately used for self-worth, which, was not true worth in its subjected thermometer state either going up or down depending on who I was with, to leave a feeling of never being quite good enough, or having to do better. Developing equalness from truly self-accepting, develops easefulness, which builds connection with others .. because being easy to be with, or real is so inviting.

        1. Exactly Zofia. I love the clarity I get from understanding that when we showcase wisdom for self-worth, we will, by default, have to put up with the after thoughts and feelings of: “not being quite good enough, have to do better next time!”

        2. “…Developing equalness from truly self-accepting, develops easefulness, which builds connection with others .. because being easy to be with, or real is so inviting.” Great comment Zofia. Communicating from a foundation of great self worth certainly does come with an easefulness, a confidence, that is very attractive and inspiring.

        3. Love it Zofia, being easy to be with and not holding a position or trying to prove anything really is delicious.

     3. Josephine, I would have never trusted nor found it right to just “open my mouth without knowing exactly what is going to come out is both challenging and fulfilling and builds my connection with others.”
        This is a change of paradigm for people like me, that have always used memory and knowledge to give us a false sense of security…
        This is just letting go of all of that…

        1. …. and learning to trust that everything we need is there for us to access whenever it is needed. This involves letting go of the security blanket of knowledge and developing a willingness to be open to not knowing what we are going to say, a willingness to stumble and learn, to feel clumsy in our expression as we learn to express from our body and not our heads. As you say Luz, this is a paradigm shift and does not happen overnight, but with consistent commitment to learning to express from the wisdom of our bodies and not the knowledge of our heads, it does change and our expression becomes truer and clearer with every dedicated step we take.

        2. I agree Luz, it’s a changing paradigm for me as well and I’m sure a lot of others too. There’s sometimes a sense of jumping off a cliff face but the energy to express cannot be suppressed and can bring a great sense of vulnerability.

     4. So true Josephine, recalling & delivering knowledge in todays world is so encouraged & applauded and from such a young age. “learning to just open my mouth without knowing exactly what is going to come out is both challenging and fulfilling and builds my connection with others.” When we express in this way we are required to speak with our body which is the marker of all truth.

421. Luz thank you for sharing a great expose on how recognition can be a trap when it comes to our expression. I can feel recognition comes in as a constriction and critic to the truth that is innately with in. The flow of expressing truth can be shut down from the formative stage through to the publishing stage. At any point I’ve invested self in what I ‘thought’ to share then it gets exposed by thoughts of ‘good enough’ or ‘what if it’s rejected’, to ‘rejection’ it’s self. If it is truth I am offering from my bodies lived experience then I write it, share it and don’t think any more about it.

     1. You have clearly explained what plays out in each phase of expressing Sandra, and I can relate to, when it comes from what I’ve lived then I don’t think about it again but when it comes from how I would ‘like’ to live but not actually living that, then I’m waiting for it to be rejected.

     2. Sandra, I find your comment very interesting and revealing. It really helps me to take things to another level. I really want to highlight these two things:

        1. Recognition is a trap when it comes to our expression.

        2. If at any point I’ve invested self in what I ‘thought’ to share then it gets exposed by thoughts of ‘good enough’ or ‘what if it’s rejected’, to ‘rejection’ itself. If it is truth I am offering from my body’s lived experience then I write it, share it and don’t think any more about it.

        Feel the truth in our body, share it and don´t think any more about it!!

422. I love this article Luz, it brings light and clarity to a lot of what i have felt before and what I am exploring within my own expression.

     1. Absolutely Marcia, I agree, Luz’s blog for me has opened another can of worms, as does so many of the blogs from Universal Medicine students. Being open to explore and heal those hidden areas of life that my wayward spirit likes to keep to itself, is an integral part of my evolution. For me, learning to express with the love that only comes from my inner heart is everything – “expression is everything”.

     2. Yes Marcia, I felt a lot of truth for me in what Luz was sharing so openly with us all. Luz – I enjoyed the honesty and clarity in which you wrote your blog in. It is rare to read (or hear) people exploring the truth of what goes on for them – underneath it all.

423. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression”.

     What a powerful statement this is, Luz. When I hold my body in divinity my expression will be this as well. If My body is less than this so will be my expression. My livingness (how I live) is everything, in that it provides the foundation in my body for me to express.

     1. Well said Anne. Our body is a vehicle of expression and expression is everything, then doesn’t it make sense to love and care for our body to do the job it’s suppose to do, express love and truth? I am learning to love and care for the most sacred and precious tool we are blessed with to express Gods love, our body.

424. Before a blog post, a comment or even a movement comes a quality of energy. If there is a lack of love in this moment, it doesn’t matter what we express, it will become a task that we seek recognition from. Honouring and living from the fact that we are beautiful first, before any action changes everything. Thank you for sharing Luz.

     1. Yes Joseph, our self-worth always depends on the way we feel, which is a consequence of the way we treat ourselves. The expression that follows is the result of these previous choices.

        1. I imagine a world where this is understood by everyone – that our expression follows our previous choices and those choices are a direct result of the way we treat ourselves and feel about ourselves – and I see a world full of pure harmony and respectfulness.

     2. Awesome comment Joseph. The intention behind our expressions will be felt regardless of how they sound and look.

        1. So true Lucy and Joseph, it always comes back to the energetic quality and intention of our expression.

     3. this is so beautifully and practically written Joseph – it is a delight to read, thank you for this sharing.

     4. “Before a blog post, a comment or even a movement comes a quality of energy. If there is a lack of love in this moment, it doesn’t matter what we express, it will become a task that we seek recognition from” – such a great point, Joseph. We cannot get what we are socially presenting to subsidise the lack we feel but hide.

        1. Yes Fumiyo, there is this ingredient of “hiding” that makes me cringe…Hiding a “lack” as you say, and then selling a totally different image. And…. amazingly we can all feel it, but never talk about it.

     5. So true Joseph, Love seeks no recognition, it is this powerful. Your comment is really a truly loving reminder.

     6. Absolutely Joseph – ‘ Honouring and living from the fact that we are beautiful first, before any action changes everything.’ As when we are connected to our Love, we are then ourselves and as such everything from here is a reflection of the Love we all are.

425. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back. I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.”
     This is so significant, Luz. I know when I have expressed Truth, because the words seem to flow out of my mouth without hesitation, I am not THINKING what I am saying, my voice is powerful and gentle, and afterwards I can never remember what I said, but know the expanded feeling in my body. I know then that I have allowed myself to open up to my inner heart, the very essence of who I am, where we are all joined as one whole, and I have chosen Love, not my own beliefs or thoughts or emotions. This feeling is amazing; I feel like I have surprised myself, and shocked my wayward arrogant spirit so much that I can feel it trying desperately to control me again.

426. Thank you Luz.

427. I love the simplicity of just speaking your truth without worrying about other people’s reaction, likes or recognition. We can make it about ourselves which feels very complicated and no where near as joyful as just speaking from true impulse.

428. I can completely relate to what you were saying about anticipating reactions from what you have posted on social media, and how we measure our expression so as not to cause a reaction. I often share Unimed Living pages in Facebook, but I know that there are some topics that I avoid. It’s the old fear of not being liked, standing out too much, and causing discomfort amongst people I know. But in truth I am playing a game and holding back expression, which doesn’t serve anyone. A measured expression does not bring about evolution (advancement), it actually causes the opposite. Thank you for Luz for opening up this very needed discussion, and for inspiring me to deliver in full.

429. Luz, this is what Iam learning too, ‘That I am a vehicle of expression’, I can feel how in the past I have been so identified with my work, thinking that it is I who is producing it, not seeing that it is energy working through me, now I know this it takes the pressure off and makes my job much more simple and enjoyable, I can simply choose the quality of my energy and do not need to be attached to the results.

430. True expression has nothing to do with ‘self’ and everything to do with sharing the ageless wisdom that expresses through us. It is not ours to own, it is universal.

     1. Indeed Kehinde, as we are vehicles of expression and in that, that our true nature is to express the ageless wisdom in everything, anything that withholds us form expressing this comes from ‘self’ and is in disrespect of the whole, the oneness we all belong to.

        1. Very beautiful Kehinde and Nico. When we express from the Love we are, we are simply sharing the truth of us All.

     2. Beautifully expressed and claimed Kehinde. This is it.

431. “… my expression is not mine.” Wow, I have to sit down and chew on that for a while. Cool.

     1. this is huge indeed

     2. Yes, me too Felixschumacher8. I know it from my head but my body hasn’t fully accepted it yet.

     3. The part you highlighted Felix completely blows our ego and pride out of the water. I too have to constantly work on throwing away recognition and that my ideas or what I express I simply do not own. I am a vehicle of expression. This is humbling and empowering when we truly understand and embrace this fact.

432. My expression is not mine, it comes from the whole. Then it does not matter if we get likes or not, as there is nothing to like, as it is not about us.” Great learning, will take this into my social media expression adventure!

     1. When we speak from the place where everyone is equal and in touch with the fullness of God then there is no need for recognition or need to be right or liked as there is no emptiness to fill.

     2. Wow, yes Mariette. This line is gold.

     3. Its a hard one for the spirit to swallow, yet swallow it shall – my expression is not mine… indeed it is not, it comes from the oneness we are all connected to.

     4. Mariette: that´s how joyful it should be: instead of a crushing excruciating experience for a hurt self, let´s see it as a social media expression adventure for a Soul that has no relationship with being liked or not.

        1. haha I love what you share and it is so true, the soul has no interest whatsover in being liked or not. It is indeed our spirit that gets in the way, playing its games and wanting and needing things all of the time…

     5. ‘My expression is not mine, it comes from the whole. Then it does not matter if we get likes or not, as there is nothing to like, as it is not about us.’ It feels like freeing myself from age old restraints when I opened up to the fact that what we express is not about us. ‘I am just a vehicle of expression.’

433. I can very well relate to using knowledge as a way of protection by intimidating others with knowledge. But although it has been a way of protection for me, I never felt safe. Since speaking what I feel and know is true instead of what I have learned, I feel safe and at ease with others and feel no more need to intimidate them.

434. Thank you Luz for highlighting the responsibility we all have when we express. This is not taught at school, “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.”, it is all about grading our expression and being recognized by that. I remember standing on parade as a Sports Captain and needing to speak to my team, I did not know what I know now and what I expressed encouraged students to ‘go for it and push themselves’ so we can win. What would be there now to express and bring through would be very different.

     1. I totally agree Aimee, true expression is not supported at school or in most education organisations – in fact they work to mould students to follow an accepted line of thinking or reasoning. When I imagine a world from Luz’s beautiful line that you quoted – that we are all from the whole and our expression is not ours to own and hold – then we would all express to enhance the whole and everyone in it – ‘what a wonderful world it would be ‘.

     2. What you describe is a powerful difference in the quality that we can express Aimee, rather than geeing up others in order to win at the expense of others how different it is to communicate to inspire others to live from who they truly are.

435. An amazing article, very raw and deeply honest. This has been something that I have run with for years and letting go of this way of living has certainly had and does have its challenges but as you say the more you focus on your own living way in every other way it slowly gets easier and we get to feel when we are expressing from our true connection and when we are not.

     1. Yes I agree Aminatumi, an absolutely amazing article. A great lesson in understanding my wayward spirit, thank you Luz.

     2. When the door is slowly opened to knowing ourselves, and then just being that, the need for recognition drops away and is replaced by a lovely appreciation for ourselves. It is a new normal way of living.

436. Luz, I feel you have hit the nail on the head, and the rise in social media use and abuse is a huge masquerade for our lack of self worth issues, the constant need to be liked and recognised as a way to value our self and sense of worth, when in truth this is only masking our emptiness and our own lack of self love. It is simply making it worse. Not only this, the question is what are we actually liking when we click the like button? We are saying yes to an energy first, either fire ( Soul) or prana ( Spirit) and everything else that comes with that, before what we see on the screen. –– For a clear understanding of the difference between spirit and soul, there’s a great audio here. http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-spirit.html

     1. Spot on Gyl Rae, it is true the whole expansion of social media has exacerbated an issue many of us have with self worth. I am sure many of us have felt that we are taking a leap when we express ourselves truly on social media rather than playing it safe or communicating from knowledge, rather than ‘knowing’ and ‘being consciously present’. Exactly, how responsible are we when we click ‘like’, what are we colluding with, a question that is relevant and important for all.

     2. I never thought of it that way Gyl Rae, every thing we live with is exposed there on social media for the entire world to see. If we have lack of self worth and are trawling for likes every one will feel and know that. It is good that it is being exposed so that we can learn from it like Luz.

     3. Thanks Gyl, great expose and a great audio to listen to. Social Media can be used to harm and abuse or it can be used to bring truth to humanity – the choice is up to us and how we use it. It can be a great way of connecting with people if we use it wisely. But like anything there are lots of people who do not use it for truth and love and so we always have to keep a watchful eye out and yes it is important to discern what we are liking or not.

     4. This is a great point Gyl around what are we liking when we click ‘like’ and one I considered for my self as I could see that I would read a post or watch a clip and it appeared to say or show what I liked but when I feel the energy of it something doesn’t always feel right. I realised that in clicking ‘like’ it was actually the energy I was saying ‘yes’ to. Now I do not go just with just the words, picture or clip. Thank you for raising this point and great to share the audio!

437. I agree Luz, when we draw a link between how many ‘likes’ we have on a social media page and our self-worth, it guarantees we are now getting onto an emotional roller coaster that is destined to exhaust us. I found myself doing a similar thing in the past when I created a website to display and sell my artwork. It was ridiculous how much energy I wasted needing to get the ‘hit’ of a ‘like’ or a sale of my art to feel good about myself. But once we realise that we are all much more than just what we do or create, by methods like the Gentle Breath Meditation, than we can more easily decide to not get on that roller coaster of emotions in the first place.

     1. I can feel the grace that connects to the flow and rhythm of life when we make it about humanity and not about self. Well said Michael.

438. Luz your style of expression is so incredibly clear, there is a diamond – like precision to the way that you write which comes from your amazing ability to understand yourself and life. For humanity’s sake I am glad that you have committed to your expression and to getting it out there.

439. Thank you Luz. This shows so clearly how much we interpret into a situation and how much we let different scenarios unfold in our heads. All the while the situation is most likely very very different and for everyone differently perceived. It is not worth it to go into self doubt and let it rule ourselves as it just brings us further away from the truth.

440. Luz, you really break down what expression is and that it’s about the fact that expression comes through us, and we don’t own it, yet we try to (and I very much recognise myself in how I want to own knowledge, to be seen to be the one with the answer), and as you elucidate we stop true expression when we try and own it, it really is about getting ourselves out of the way, and knowing and understanding we are expressing from the all, for the all.

441. Luz everything you have shared is very familiar. Such questions and doubts on a daily basis are so common in most people’s lives. They can be immensely debilitating as you have shared and deeply examining them and building an understanding is a great start. I love the honesty with which you have shared and the simplicity with which you have explored these areas and offered your insights and realisations. Very supportive. Thank you.

442. Hi Luz, this is great, with a hint of ‘ouch’ as I recognise some of the behaviours you describe. Much of what I, and many of us, did was for recognition because it was how we were brought up – devoid of true love, feeling only emptiness and hurt, but as adults we can turn that around as you have done by learning to feel what is on the inside and taking our identity and expression from that.

443. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.”
     This is so, so powerful. When we take our control out of the way and commit to allowing ourselves to be open to the all, then great magic can occur.

444. I could recognise how I still look for and indulge in recognition in my life after reading your blog Luz and how easily I can be deceived by a story or issue that may come up for me and be attached to it as a form of recognition and a way to stop me from a deeper connection to my heart.This happened recently and it was only when it was pointed out to me that I could see it was a distraction to not wanting to go deeper with the love that I am.

445. Luz, this is gorgeous and inspiring to read – the power of true expression and communication from lived experience is beyond measure. A blog to re-visit and enjoy. Thank you!
     “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.”

446. Your last line says it all Luz ..”All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” I have found this too, the more I commit to life the more I am able to see the areas of my life I need to look at, where I still stumble and see them as markers to move forward from, the more I am able to see the true purpose in my life.

447. I do feel more expanded when I express but still get distracted one way or another. There are some periods when I manage to express daily with all of me and during that time I usually feel amazing and a lot of other positive things happen in my life as well.

448. “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” Absolutely this is so true, I used to fear expressing my truth, worried if my words would come out right, my fear was based around my dyslexia. Yet when I started to trust my connection to express the truth everything fell into place. This supported my confidence and the more I trusted, the easier it became to express the truth and each time my body confirmed the lightness and joy felt within.

449. Thank you Luz for sharing your experience of unlocking your expression, something I’m still in the process of. “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” – and therein lies our responsibility to live in such a way that our expression comes from a true source.

450. Luz your sharing is thought provoking for me, as I feel the need to go deeper into the Livingness and not just cruise along. If I am in the Livingness then it becomes my truth also, not something I do or believe in but who I am. “Letting go my identification with knowledge”. Much food for Pondering . Thank you Luz, Expression is Everything!

451. Luz, thank you for sharing you experience with expressing on Social Media. I too have experienced similar feelings, but find the more I express, the more I am willing to get myself out of the way and just write what is true for me without the need for perfection. Your last paragraph sums it up beautifully: “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.”

452. This is very inspiring, reading this I can feel how you are taking the responsibility of allowing yourself to shine in day to day life. Thank you.

     1. it is a powerful blog and a reminder to remain true to yourself.

453. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” Such a clear and precise declaration of purpose, commitment and way to live. Thank you, Luz.

     1. Thanks for sharing that Jonathan, I found that particularly inspiring today.

454. This is an absolutely rocking blog, wise and inspiring and one which has left me with much to ponder. I look forward to returning to this blog and finding more jewels within its expression.

455. Thanks Luz. Your blog has made me reflect more honestly about how and why I express myself, and how and why I hold it back. I hadn’t considered before how owning knowledge is what makes it personal. It leaves me in self-doubt and at the mercy of what others will think. Thanks for the reminder that what we say or how we express is for everybody.

456. It is inspiring to read what you write, Luz. You write with no holding back, sharing your journey of re-discovering yourself and exposing yourself for all to see. By doing so I feel inspired, as so many others, to also dig deep to re-discover my truth and honesty.

457. ‘And then another issue kicked in – how am I going to resist the excitement of my own worth being confirmed every time a ‘like’ is clicked? Double crazy.’ I too know this roller coaster of thoughts dominating my way. But having read this it is simple to see how ‘crazy’ it is to allow the outside to dominate our inner world.

458. This is a great, inspirational blog, Luz. “Each day I am learning more that ‘Expression is Everything’ and that I am just a vehicle of expression. All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.” I “knew” that before, but felt it, while reading your blog in a deeper lovely and touching way. Thank you Luz.

459. Thank you Luz for sharing all these realisations that you’ve had around expression and the level of commitment you have for developing the way you express, making it about love and truth rather than recognition.

460. A blog about true expression is much needed, as it indeed is one of the most important things in life. How much expressing ourselves determines how we feel and how much we are truly us is immense. We always think we need to stop wanting something from the outside – it is the wrong end to look at. Express more of you in every situation and the need to fill yourself up with the outside will fade more and more.

     1. This is certainly what I find to be true Steffi. The more I speak what is there to be spoken the fuller I feel.

461. Through Universal Medicine I have experienced, in others and myself, moments of how expression does differ from recognition. Expression just comes in then out like breathing and afterwards that’s it. Recognition is sticky and needs whatever comes out to be what came before it, and it doesn’t matter what it is – it could be the ‘likes’ or the silence, it doesn’t matter because both can be recognition.

462. Recognition has been a killer for me, my whole life. It seems so much simpler to play it cool, or borrow other people’s cool so I know what I am going to say is going to be ‘liked’. I’ve predicated my life on finding palatable things to say without really taking any time to check my own feelings. And then when I do feel strongly about something, it comes out sideways because I’m awkward expressing something that is deeply felt and personal. What a waste of an opportunity; to simply be me, and share me, and develop me so that the world has another point of reflection that is growing and learning to shine. We don’t need another 7 billion copycats, we need 7 billion intelligent, loving human beings.

     1. Simon this delivers such a power packed expression of truth! I too always seem to fall for the trap of being “liked” and expressing the full divinity of truth. But what you say here “so that the world has another point of reflection that is growing and learning to shine. We don’t need another 7 billion copycats, we need 7 billion intelligent, loving human beings” makes it clear the responsibility we have to not hold back!

463. Hey Luz, how can I press the ‘like’ button under your article after reading what you’ve written about recognition and ‘likes’? – just kidding 😉 .
     What I love is that you talk about that we do not get so much recognition for expressing truth as for sharing a funny pic on social media and the disappointment about this. Isn’t that a great reflection of our society? We like entertainment and support it with ‘likes’, but if it comes to truth we hold back. It is a big big ‘Ouch’ for all of us to see how much we did withdraw from Integrity. But also to see that we need this entertainment to not feel the enormous sadness and hurt we do to ourselves by not living love and truth – by not expressing.

464. Dear Luz, thank you for this article to ponder on. I feel like I can often rely on recalled knowledge in situations, rather than express deeply and honestly from my body…It is a process to allow myself to be more open and vulnerable, rather than protective from the world. There is much here to ponder on about expression and our online expression…which I too often have held back from with similar thoughts and fears. I guess what you have exposed here is that the moment we begin to commit to truth, we should not have a picture of it being all ‘lovely dovely’, as it is a process of working through ALL the lack of expression from the past. A process well worth it as presented by many, such as the Benhayon family.

     1. Thanks for sharing Arianne, thats beautiful. Unlocking the lack of expression in our body comes from opening up and feeling vulnerable in the body, and then expressing the truth we are connected to. Also love how you said “we should not have a picture of it being all ‘lovely lovely’” and even having a picture at all is something which gets in the way of expressing truth because it is simply a livingness.

465. Hi Luz, this is such a hot topic globally – modern day issues driven by the Internet! I definitely have a similar relationship and have actually been sitting on a blog for a long time but haven’t sent it in as I was scared of what my old friends might think… Your blog has inspired me to revisit that blog and see if I can do the same, ie get myself out of the way and make it about love and truth as that is what we are here to do. Thanks

466. I’ve been undergoing a similar revelation, tentatively starting to express myself out on Linked In (and in life if the truth be told) and it has been very revealing. It’s shown me first that I have not really been expressing myself up to this point…. Playing it safe is one little trick, or just not saying anything at all. But the beauty of this experiment, is that as I keep working on it, keep writing, and keep on expressing, I find I feel so much about everything and anything. The expression may be a bit rusty, but over time that keeps improving and I’m more than capable of communicating the depth of what I feel.

467. “Without the need to fall into further shame, punishment or to make further ‘stories’”, which of course are all the distractions that we put in place to stop our divine expression of the everything we can so clearly feel.

468. What you have shared here, Luz, opens up the can of worms that social media truly is. A study I read about recently showed that whenever we get a “like” or a comment on social media our body releases endorphins which make us feel good. So, we are getting a little chemical “hit” each time we see that little thumbs-up. As with anything like that, we get hooked on it, so we can then get stressed if we are concerned that we will not get it (“what if no-one likes what I have posted? What if someone un-friends me?”).

     But what you have shown the light on so brightly is beautifully said here:
     “I realised that I had also been confusing connection to others and self-empowerment with recognition and prestige, to then land in disgrace and deep self-doubt.”

     The internet and social media have an enormous potential to bring connection to each other, and share changes which can be truly evolutionary for us all. At the moment we are generally stuck in a quagmire of looking for the “hit” of recognition, and making sure that we are liked by others. By bringing our full expression to everything, including social media, to the best of our ability, we are able to demonstrate how much more is possible than settling for just being recognised.

469. In a world where the majority of people struggle to express even the simplest of messages to another, I am seeing more and more each day how essential the development of our expression is. When our expression is shut down, or held back, so much of who we are is shut down as well. To begin to understand ourselves at a much deeper level and to take responsibility for the way we live begins to open the doorway to our own unique expression and from that comes the ease and simplicity of communicating to another. Like you Luz, “I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too”. We do not express just for us, but for all.

470. It is all so simple, but the way we live largely determines what and how we express. I can feel how the need for recognition makes my own expression more measured and calculated, while when I am in the knowing of my own worth expression is more free and open, not needed to be anything.

471. That is great Luz, and a fascinating journey you have been on with your expression. I have had my ups and downs with expression; for the 1st few years of my life I said nothing, then could not stop talking, but people did not want to hear the truth so I become more quiet, adjusting what I said to not rock the boat or sound different. But this did not work as I just became frustrated with everyone and myself. The more I say and express what is there to be said the simpler things are and the more content I am within myself – it is amazing the difference simply saying what I feel to say makes!

472. The difference you explore between sharing knowledge and lived wisdom is an interesting one. When I have used knowledge to show off or to preach there has been uneasiness, because I have worried about the need to remember the facts. When I have expressed from a knowing, because its something I have experienced, it’s totally different. There is nothing to remember because you just know it through the experience of your body, and there is no need to defend, or investment in trying to persuade or impress.

473. To express ourselves in full, no matter what is our greatest responsibility.

474. “I then felt how much we are measured in our virtual world in terms of likes:” – this is in our real life too, we constantly seek approval and to be liked by another as a way to value our self worth – or as a substitute for love. In truth, the internet and real life are no different, they are one and the same.

475. Awesome blog Luz and very much needed – how many people across the world will be able to relate to this. Being ‘liked’ on social media and equating it to self worth has sadly become a world wide epidemic. For many, gone is the true quality of what we produce, replacing it with more importance on being accepted and getting as many likes as possible. This simply highlights our own lack of self love and is a form of abuse.

476. What I have discovered is that the more I express, the easier it becomes to express. It’s like a muscle that I had allowed to atrophy for fear of being rejected, judged or not fitting in. The more I have exercised this muscle the stronger it has become, and day by day it feels very empowering to no longer hold back from what I feel to say and not be attached to how others may or may not react.

     1. Love that analogy Debra. Expression does indeed become easier the more you exercise it – since letting go of the need to fit in more than ever before I am now effortlessly more open to say slightly challenging (but needed!) things/questions to people, and am less held back in conversation.

477. Luz what you have shared has much for me to consider. Social media and the Internet are great tools, however when we express online, it is there for all to see, and I had similar internal battles when I first dared to make a comment online. Those questions about being accepted or rejected surfaced for me too, and had me paralysed for a while, ready to retreat and not press the send button.

478. Social media indeed offer a reflection of us and how we are in the world from yet another angle. Social media, in this light, can be seen as a means simply to express or as a way to evolve through expression.

479. “When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” So true Luz. Getting out of my own way allows miracles to happen.

480. Luz, i love the title of your blog, this sums it up brilliantly, ‘Recognition is Nothing, Expression is Everything’, i can feel how recognition pales in compassion to expression, as you say expression is from the whole, true expression is who we are; we can express the divine through our bodies. Whereas recognition is us wanting to be seen or known or identified with something because we feel we are not enough as we are, this is a constant, unending search that can never satisfy us.

     1. We treat recognition like it is everything, yet it never quite fulfils and leaves a longing for more. True expression however is very satisfying as the connection within is already there and not something sought outside of ourselves.

        1. Yes well said Annie… expressing in full, holding nothing back is very satisfying and feels completely different in the body than when we have expressed to gain recognition. The latter requires us to read ahead what it is that will impress, please or placate another… something many of us have mastered!

481. We can use knowledge to manipulate, control others and that we are better than others because of how much we know. This feels horrible even to describe and creates deep separation between people.

     1. Yes Janina this is very true… we have many ways of getting through life once we have separated from the love we are, and hence that all others are too, and all of them are manipulative and controlling in some way or another. Using knowledge to be better than others is but one way, and yes, perpetuates further deep separation. The fact we champion only one form of intelligence as the one worthy of merit… the acquiring and regurgitation of knowledge, shows we have already separated from the love we are in order that this be our way.

        1. As i was never a person who had a lot of acquired knowledge i hold that always against myself thinking i am not good enough or intelligent enough. Today i don’t have that anymore and at times when i don’t know something i simple ask or say i have no idea. And i can appreciate that there is an higher intelligence which comes through feeling everything and been consciously present in our bodies.

        2. Yes what you describe is awful, and so many have a similar experience to you… not being good at the type of ‘intelligence’ our school systems instil. Being one of the ones who was ‘good’ at that type of recall and regurgitation I didn’t suffer inadequacy, however I was very relieved to discover that it isn’t true intelligence as it was such an effort to sustain.

        3. I like how you described it Jenny – to “suffer inadequacy”. That is actually how many people feel in the school system. How important to understand that we are all different and have different strengths and abilities and to honor that for ourselves, otherwise we are lost in the endless struggle to gain recognition from the world, or give up.

        4. Yes, and what’s not realised is that those who excel in the system are often more lost than those who ‘suffer inadequacy’ in it… because when we get the recognition and acceptance for excelling, we think we’ve got it nailed. It’s like two steps away from realising there’s more to us, rather than one step when we feel inadequate.

        5. Wow I never saw it like that Jenny; to feel inadequate is more honest as we can clearly see that something is wrong in our school system and society.

        6. Yes exactly… the one who has it ‘nailed’ because he or she can excel within the system is in far deeper illusion that all is ok in their world. At least when you feel inadequate there is a loud, clear marker from which you can begin questioning why that might be so. Of course most of us who ever feel that way manage to keep personalising it for a great deal of our lives, perpetuating our own sense of ‘not enough’ ad-nauseum.

482. “Even if I make mistakes, it feels awesome to not hold back anymore, and to claim my expression back. I now know my expression is not mine, it comes from the whole and it is for the whole which I am part of too, and this makes a huge and totally different story.” We all have a job to do expressing what there is to express for us. Also if we stand alone in a group with expressing the truth of what we have observed and felt.
     I had this situation a few weeks ago. And even nobody agreed to what i said and it still had an impact on the group. People changed their behavior even they disagreed to what i offered. That is the power we all have that through our expression we offer a change for humanity to restore brotherhood.

483. ‘All I need to do is carry on committing to the refinement of the way I live, the way I connect to myself and my body and the relationship and commitment I have with a greater purpose.’ I love this Luz. I can totally relate to the habit of speaking from the perceived safety of knowledge rather than trusting and allowing my expression to come from my heart, that is the only way I would ever speak in the past. Gradually this is changing, and the key to the change is how I live and how connected I am to me.

484. Recognition is like a drug addiction. When you first experience it you enjoy what it brings you. After time, it does not give you the same satisfaction and you need more and more. You are just digging a hole in yourself full of emptiness. By expressing from within there is no need for anything outside of you needed… because there is no empty pit to fill.

     1. Beautifully put Steve, recognition certainly does have it’s appeal initially, and then the need for more grows exponentially, trying to fill the empty pit as you said. Once we fill our body and lives back up with love, the need for recognition and acceptance dwindles until it is rendered nought and there is only truth to express.

     2. That is exactly my feeling on it Steve – the need for recognition is really just a need to fill a void we feel within. A void that cannot be filled from anything outside of us and only from us living the fullness of who we are. It’s got to come from inside, an acceptance and allowing to be grander then life itself. As soon as we put investment into anything outside of ourselves that void or pit just gets deeper as we separate more from our true inner selves.

        1. I find that when I do express what I feel inside, even if I am hated for it – it feels better that I was honest with myself and with another – much better than holding back or trying to please someone. In fact, pleasing anyone, or trying to keep the peace, trying to make people like you feels pretty sickly. This is something that I have done consistently throughout my life and have found it to be greatly exhausting. I am still working on changing this long standing habit, which some have called an addiction.

        2. Yes – a good point about being invested in things outside of yourself, including whether people “like” you or not. Examinining my own investments shows up the pockets of emptiness in my own life, which are sometimes uncomfortable to take responsibility for, but I have found that it is an opportunity to deepen my self love – which is ever so “rewarding”.

     3. Yes Steve, needing recognition just makes you calibrate, behave and express in a way that others may like you. You never get enough and if you don’t get liked the fall is deep, as well as the self-bashing and self-loathing. If we express what we feel without seeking a certain outcome – this is very freeing and builds self-confidence.

     4. The way society has been setup recognition is the only way to know you are worth something. Learning that recognition is indeed the drug addiction you describe, and not only is it poison, it isn’t needed to know the wonderful value that each of us brings to the world.

     5. Absolutely Steve. This can also be applied to teenage girls and their relationship with social media – I have experienced and seen many young women (like myself) care quite a lot about how many ‘Likes’ their profile picture receives on Facebook, and after ‘achieving’ a high-like-earning photo, they strive for more! After a couple of months when they decide to change it again they feel they must out-do their previous likes – they’ve accepted more friend requests, so surely there must be more people who will like it!! If this does not happen quite commonly the picture is deleted, or swapped for another with more attention-seeking features viewable (to put it politely!).

     6. “recognition is like a drug addition…” what a great analogy Steve! The hole/pitt is the emptiness that comes with missing yourself, deeply, deeply so.

     7. this is a powerful analogy Steve, recognition does become like a thrill that leaves you seeking a bigger thrill, even if that recognition is failing, it becomes something you seek out in all that you do.

        1. I’ve been feeling the emptiness of not expressing too – so I don’t know which is worse, the emptiness of seeking constant recognition – or not expressing in the first place….either way it doesn’t feel great.

        2. I agree Joel and I was really stopped by these two questions..”Have I perhaps got too excited with knowledge in the past, to the point that I got tempted to take ownership of it and use it for recognition? Yes!
           Have I invested in knowledge to fill up my bottomless pit of lack of self-worth and to cover up my hurts by becoming smug, self-righteous and by preaching to others? YES!

     8. Great point Steve about recognition, and the thing is, we would rarely even identify many things we do as ‘recognition’ as often they are just seen as everyday things in life (i.e. being a mother, being good at sports, getting attention for being funny, being popular in a particular group etc)… however with many of these activities and behaviours, there is always the seeking of ‘more’ because what we are doing only seems to provide us with temporary relief from the emptiness we feel. As you say however “By expressing from within there is no need for anything outside of you needed… because there is no empty pit to fill.”

     9. That is the truth Steve. Depending on how much recognition we receive we position ourselves above or below others and separate from each other more and more. When we move and express from the one unified truth all we feel is love and oneness.

     10. I find myself nodding voraciously reading your comment Steve. The cycle of recognition is like a ferris wheel where you aren’t allowed off. Great to be up high with the view, but it always, always comes down and you just have to find something else to take you back up again.

     11. Perfect analogy Steve. Need begets more need, endlessly empty. Expressing from the inner-heart magnifies and overflows and wants for nothing.

     12. Truth well delivered Steve. And the crazy thing is it is such an illusion to think we need recognition to like ourselves. We can never ever get enough recognition to fill the emptiness of not loving everything about ourselves.

     13. Yes Steve recognition is a drug of addiction… each ‘hit’ lasts only so long, and then another is needed. It is the drug of choice when we have separated from knowing who we are from our essence… Love! Love is already everything, and so no recognition is needed or sought.

485. On reading this blog Luz, I really had to take an honest look at myself, where do I hold back through fear of what family and friends may think. Truth is not owned by us therefore it is a crime to hold back and not share our expression fully with everyone equally. I never really even acknowledged that I cared if I got likes or not on social media and always had this false not really caring what other people thought when in truth I cared deeply. Thank you once again Luz for helping me take a deeper look at myself so I can more truthfully express.

     1. This is revealing kevmchardy..you stopped me in my tracks this morning. The pretence of “not caring” is a great furphy, a lie that we are only telling ourselves. I know I have done this when there has been a great welling up of hurt inside me – denied, pushed down and silenced.

     2. Yes it’s a great point kevmchardy, it is always false not to care as in truth we all care deeply because we are all connected and from the same source. In that sense ‘not-caring’ is always a separation from that truth… and as Rachel has said, stems from a great welling up of unresolved hurt. It is in effect a bravado, or attempt at protecting oneself from further ‘hurt’. If I don’t care, then I can’t be hurt any more. Since we DO care, and this is unchangeable… it is all an act of futility!

486. Thank you Luz for your honesty in sharing your journey with expression on social media. I can relate to getting ‘stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach’ and it has certainly been an ongoing journey for me expressing with more honesty and getting myself out of the way so that other people have the opportunity to connect or not with what I share without any imposing energy and wanting them to ‘get it’ and to be recognised for this.

     1. ​
        Awesome Helen.. pondering myself why I preach sometimes. It is my pride saying “I know” as a form of protection. The difference is I do know but, if I am not connected and not honouring where I am at I’m not being me so, my expression is less than what it should be, and at that moment if I do not know me I am not in the knowing. I feel the responsibility of just being me.

487. Luz everything you write blows me away! Your ability to really look at yourself truthfully inspires me no end and you never fail to get yourself out of the way and say what needs to be said. This article especially is to the point and shows by embracing a true Livingness, our expression has no bounds.

488. I love the honesty of your blog Luz and the realisations you have made over the investment in knowledge you have and what can happen when you let go of this – in fact this is a bit of a corker! Awesome to read – thank you.

     1. I agree Michelle, especially this section..”What if there is indeed lots of wisdom that can come through me, but because I can get stuck in old patterns of owning knowledge and a tendency to preach, I am getting in the way of true purpose and great intelligence to come through me?” As this has been my difficulty all my life and especially within my teaching career.

        1. I love what is being shared here too. I have known many academics who pride themselves on their intelligence and knowledge and cling to it, invested in what they think it brings them – recognition and power. However in doing so they are missing out on something far richer. As has been shared – when we get ourselves out of the way wisdom can flow through, not for just for self but for humanity.

     2. ​
        I agree michelle819, I love how Luz pulled it a part as much as they could. Sometimes it can feel so complex when you are faced with an issue. Sitting down and writing it out (of you) can be complex and messy as it may sound however, it is a sure thing that a release of how it has been when your will is willing to go there. Thank you Luz for going there! You’re a champion. A true hero!

489. Luz this sharing is similar to many of the tangles I tied myself in when I started commenting on blogs. Putting my name to a comment and feeling anxious about what others would think, or was it good enough. It has been an interesting process to let go of these hindrances and just have a go and now I enjoy it and i can feel my expression in everything has become more open and honest.

     1. I agree Mary and also, I felt this deeply..”When we genuinely make it about truth, magic does happen, and we are able to constellate connections and conversations with others that can unlock places where we feel stuck, no matter how much knowledge is at hand in our minds.” When we trust this process all we need to do is turn up and be as present as possible and the rest is a simple flow. Knowing this allows us to not be held back by the knowledge block.

     2. ​
        Lovely Mary how dee-light-full “It has been an interesting process to let go of these hindrances and just have a go and now I enjoy it and i can feel my expression in everything has become more open and honest”. Having a go is all that you need to do. As the teachings of Universal Medicine has presented we are an authority on everything if we are honest because we have experienced it. Love It ! Love Me !

490. Oh the tyranny of being “liked”. At primary school we learn not to be too free and open otherwise…we might not be “liked”. High school is worse. Be cool, or else…no one will “like” you. At work, at church/synagogue/mosque make sure you don’t rock the boat….or, well you know what will happen.
     Each and every time we learn not to speak freely it stuffs down our expression.
     What then are we left with other than recognition? The need to be “liked”?
     No wonder we sit at our social media site in the privacy of our own home and fret over what to say.
     What an incredible point we reach when we let go of the addiction to being liked and start to unleash the beauty of our true expression…the outpouring of our love that holds all in love and needs not the pressing of a “like” button to confirm its quality.

     1. Well said Rachel, how draining is it putting so much effort into being liked or accepted instead of just expressing from truth

        1. What it feels like Joe, in that “needing to be liked” state, is frantic. It is a bit like looking for keys in the bottom of you bag, scrabbling around the contents and berating yourself for what you find in there….or trying to choose an outfit to impress people and hating everything you pull out and the way it looks when you put it on. (I am sure men have similar if not the same issues). When we let our love flow there is none of that. Just deep knowing a flow that exudes a delicious confidence. Everything looks good when you put it on in that state!

     2. Love your comment Dr Rachel, it rings so true. Everyone can choose to either get one’s self worth from the quality of ‘likes’ on social media or from the quality of their words, knowing that that quality is fantastic, supportive and exactly what someone needs to hear, regardless of whether or not the post seems to fall on deaf ears. I have found it confronting at first, watching some amazing contributions to social media by myself fail to earn even one like. It has felt like a stab in the chest. But this is identification and me looking for worth outside of myself and knowing that feels even worse than not getting any ‘likes’! So I continue to express as I feel to on social media, and if I ensure the quality of what I share, it won’t matter so much if no likes come my way.

        1. When something brings me to a profound stop I do not even think to “like it”. I am feeling its message unravel me. That requires a “love” button that the social media sites have not equipped us with yet.

     3. So true Rachel, what an exhausting drain it is to try and only speak what others want to hear or that keeps us in the good books with them. Each time we edit or censure what we have felt to package it up to look good or cool with whatever crowd we are with we dishonour ourselves.

        1. And as a result nothing changes. No one is called to evolve, to be more Love and to bring more Truth.

     4. Love this Rachel, it is so powerful when we let go of feeling the need to be liked, as you expressed being liked stifles our expression as we make it about others rather than seeing it as an opportunity to express truth that ultimately effects the all. The truth in our expression absolutely sets us free, as we can be who we are and show others that living and expressing ‘you’ in the world is so very needed.

        1. What an offering it is to everyone! You are not rendered a social outcast to dwell on the fringes of society forever!
           May we discover that it is the truth that flows from us that ignites our being, not the little likes that make us feel OK for a little moment in time.

     5. The need for approval for the way you speak is an incarceration. If expression is motivated by being ‘liked’ your expression will always be measured. Until we can stand and say whats what with backlash and still know what we said was every bit worth saying… then we’ve wiped the floor with being ‘liked’.

        1. Oh yes Luke!! Get me a mop, and lets go!

     6. Well said Rachel. When we forget (refuse) to be love, we hunger for being ‘liked’. Thus, in full illusion we seek to be recognised and accepted by others when really it is our own love and our connection to it that we so desperately crave.

        1. Beautifully put Liane.

     7. Yes Rachel – well connected. Primary and High Schools can be vicious in terms of being in or being out/being liked or not. You could be dumped within seconds and then back without really knowing what happened. It is a tentative foundation and you can mould yourself to avoid this happening. And this is what happens in social media as well – we mould our posts/comments to be liked. Until we work on what you say – letting go of our addiction to be liked – that we can be free of such imposition.

        1. And that fear, created as children and teenagers, lasts into adulthood. Social media and nervous drinking at parties flush it out to be seen unlike anything else.

     8. haha Rachel this is so amazing! Loved your comment. “At work, at church/synagogue/mosque make sure you don’t rock the boat….or, well you know what will happen.” this made me crack up laughing. Its so true, we have all these silent rules and barriers that we place around ourselves and expression, and withering away our potential to be our divine expressive selves. But this is so false, and living with these rules and abiding by them is living in the shadows. We have created this world where its okay to exist with measures but never step too far into the power of our universal expression.

        1. Gorgeously said Harrison. My question is whose rules are we abiding? Who is it that stands to gain by people living in the shadows, living and existence meted out in small measures?
           Whoever it is, it isn’t us as a whole.
           How timid have we become? How allowing of wide scale abuse, choked on our own words and feeling no sense of entitlement to speak up.

     9. Yes beautifully said Rachel, and case in point… ‘when we ‘unleash the beauty of our true expression… the outpouring of our love that holds all in love and needs not the pressing of a “like” button to confirm it’s quality.’

        1. This why it becomes so important to develop our feeling awareness. We are then able to sense what comes towards us from outside, and also what comes out from us not the world.
           We start to know ourselves not by what we do, but by the quality we bring to all we do.

        2. Yes, and this is true evolution!

491. Absolutely awesome Luz, you are so spot on with the concept of it not being for us, the information that is delivered. I absolutely applaud you for your commitment to sharing and expressing your truth 🌸

     1. I agree Natasha, we think we come up with things and own information but the more I appreciate how energy simply moves through us and gives us thoughts the more purpose I see there is to express what is there to be said. Otherwise it is gone and onto the next. The crucial thing here is to choose which energy we align to, so we can guarantee our thoughts are going to be for everyone and not just about bettering our own lives.

492. We come back around again to the same point and if we are open to it, see life anew, with more responsibility and more understanding of who we are and what life is about. Such a way of living life has only been true and accessible for me since becoming a student of Universal Medicine. I am in awe and wonder of how through Universal Medicine so many people are expressing in their own ways, such as in this blog, about life unfolding for them and how it can be an unfoldment back to love for us all.

     1. I agree with you here Simon. I am deeply inspired by the stories and journeys of each person I have come into contact with through Universal Medicine, how each is different yet with the same underpinning of commitment to returning to love. The momentum this is building for humanity can not be under estimated.

     2. Like you say Simon – this awareness was not on my radar before starting with Universal Medicine. Its been a an eye-opening, revelation on so many different levels, certainly not restricted to health, but so much has been learnt in so many aspects of my life. Expression in writing, talking and just Being is simply the most recent unfolding of that study.

Comments are closed.