Why Strengthening Core Identity is the Foundation of the Practice

The Mental Pilates Foundation

Strengthening your Core identity is the foundation of the Mental Pilates practice and, as such, it can not be emphasized enough.  We all have a story about who we are in our mind.  I refer to this story as our "theme".  But for me, and I believe nearly everyone else, it isn't really quite that simple.  You see, I have many themes about who I am going on in my head.  I have the theme that I like to believe most of the time; that I am a smart, hard-working, creative person trying to make a difference in the world.  But I also have other themes lurking, call them sneaking suspicions or lingering doubts about who I am.  These are such things that I am a procrastinator, lazy, someone others do not believe in, etc.  There are times when these "competing" themes about who I am latch on to "frames" of supporting evidence and, for some amount of time, become the dominant theme of who I believe myself to be.  As I described in an earlier blog entry, it is as if there is a horse race among the competing themes and the one in front has an unfair advantage as it scoops up all of the frames it needs to maintain the lead.  

The underlying purpose of strengthening your core identity is to realize that these "themes" are just behavior patterns that are struggling to survive within your own head.  They are not looking out for your own well being, they are looking out for their own existence.  These competing stories (themes) about who you are need evidence to survive and when they latch on to such evidence it often gets greatly magnified into some dramatic, declarative statement such as "See, that's just the way I am!!!"  As long as there is a fragment of doubt about your true core identity these competing "themes" will exploit your self-doubt to their own advantage.  

So, the purpose of the Core Identity, values and purpose statements are to remove any lingering doubt about who you are and your purpose for being.  You are not any of these stories (themes), good or bad, that compete with one another for your awareness.  Your Identity is at a lower level of existence, your inner Core.  Beneath your habits, beliefs and rules is a being that has needs, abilities and a purpose; which is to foster, shepard, root for patterns that elicit vitality and provide fulfillment.  Becoming absolutely certain of this identity gives you a rock solid foundation, an unwavering confidence.  This crystal clear clarity is the foundation because when one of the "themes" starts a feeding frenzy and attempts co-opt your awareness it is clarity that overrides the doubt; and enables you to redirect your awareness back to the known truth that you are not any of these competing "themes".  No matter what type of "rhetoric" flies through your head, you can see it as the desperate attempt of a theme attempting to perpetuate it's own existence. That is why strengthen core identity is the foundation of the Mental Pilates practice.