The Write Movement · Essay
Journey of a Guiding Light
By Addi Casseus · April 2, 2024
Chapter 1: What are your Core Values?
The first step to finding your path is to know yourself. To know yourself-really know yourself necessitates divorcing from all the programming you’ve been given since birth.
If you were lucky to grow up with conscious parents, this may be easier. As parents evolve, they are learning to cultivate their children’s personalities, and desires, and empowering them to be themselves. However, for those of us who grew up from the previous generations, I have heard that many of us have had to abnegate many of the false teachings that no longer serve us. These teachings include those coming from schools, church, clubs, society, television, movies, learned histories, family traditions, peer pressure, music, and much, much, more.
Meanwhile, most of our parents did the best they could. Each parent (hopefully) wants the best for their children. However, many parents are ill-equipped to raise whole, confident, consciously-minded, self-aware humans. Unfortunately, many parents expound upon the already innate genetic traumas that are passed down to the child. They further exacerbate this trauma with more damage!
At the same time, for a myriad of reasons, some parents gave their children up. While many children grow up in the foster care system, some are adopted where their lives are exponentially better; and some are worse. Some were given up due to unsafe living conditions, drugs, or abuse.
You see, regardless of how your early years were, what’s important is what informed your values. How you grew up will continue to play a significant part in how you see the world—that is if you don’t make the conscious decision to recreate what you value.
Explore Your Past: Reflect on your life experiences, upbringing, and cultural background. Consider the values instilled in you by your family, community, and society. Examine how these influences have shaped your beliefs and priorities. Acknowledge both positive and negative experiences, and discern which values resonate most authentically with your true self.
The greatest accomplishment for a human is to learn who she/he/they are.
What are your core values?
I remember hating when someone would ask me that. It seems like such a pretentious, arrogant question. Like, the person who’s asking has it all figured out; and somehow, you’re supposed to have it figured out.
But Queen Afua tells us to connect with our Inner self. Take time for introspection and self-reflection. One of the first things I do in any new space is to create a sacred space for where I can quiet my mind, listen to my intuition, and connect with my inner wisdom.
Through meditation, journaling, or prayer, you too can delve into your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs to uncover what truly matters to you.
Here’s an exercise to help you explore what principles and beliefs are most important to you. What values do you prioritize in your spiritual, personal, and professional life?
If you’re honest with yourself in this exercise, you can uncover your core values.
Let’s dig into your thoughts about these controversial topics. Thinking of the first words that come up for you as you read these words, be honest about your opinion. Saying what comes up for you makes it real, giving you room to rationalize, accept, change, and/or come to a realization. The goal is not to judge yourself. The goal is to hear yourself vent deep or dormant feelings.
This is not an exercise where you audibly render your sanitized, politically correct ideas. If it helps, imagine you are alone on a deserted island, where no one can hear you.
How do I feel about:
How did you do? Did you find that you had not thought about some of these topics? Maybe your response was strong, or apathetic. Either way, it’s not a judgment. There are so many things that affect the world that you may or may not be aware of. The point of this exercise was to see how felt about it. I walked you through how to pay attention to your physical and emotional responses to different situations and choices. Your body and emotions can provide valuable signals about what resonates with your core values and what feels misaligned. Trust your intuition and inner guidance system to lead you towards choices that honor your authentic self.