This quote came from a video I watched, produced by the Shift Network. In case you are not familiar with the Shift Network, they are a group that promotes oneness and conscious business. They put on a day of oneness, with thought leaders including Neale Donald Walsch, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and Marianne Williamson each fall. I was listening to a replay earlier today.
It struck me deeply as an incredibly simple and profound statement.
The Soul grows through subtraction.
(I thought it would be clever to change grows to glows... smile)
This simple statement could help you realize your potential if you can comprehend its simplicity. We usually think of ourselves as needing to become more of something. More schooled, intelligent, capable, or beautiful. We have this idea that we are not enough, so we keep adding to our personalities to be more and have more.
If you understand that you are an expression of divine intelligence, then it stands to reason that you were born being enough. You are exactly enough to be who you were meant to be. Our goal therefore should be to subtract all those things we come to understand we are not.
We were born from perfection and came forth into this world to become extraordinary. Few have the faith, desire, or belief to achieve an extraordinary life, but everyone has the potential.
- I am not?
- I am not what?
What are you being, that at the core of you, you know you are not? If you strip away all that you are not... what are you left with?
Authenticity.
You would become authentically you. The you, you were meant to be, extraordinarily you. Your purpose would light up within you. You would shine your light everywhere, on everyone.
Most of us are caught up in attempting to live up to the expectations of others and self-imposed obligations. This maintains a gap between who we really are and who we want to present ourselves as, to the public, our friends, and our families. Denying who we are or who we wish we could be. We are hiding aspects of ourselves because we are afraid of not being accepted or loved for who we really are.
Self-examination is required to become aware of who you are and to integrate all aspects of yourself into the self you present to others. Current times demand subtraction of what you are not, like removing the tarnish from precious metals to reveal the beauty underneath. You too, must subtract what you are not and reveal your beautiful extraordinary deliciousness lying hidden behind any fear of rejection or unworthiness.
You are pure love at your core. Step beyond your fears and reveal your shiny brilliance, I know it’s with you... do you?
Subtraction in Art — and in Life
As a painter, I understand subtraction intimately. Some of the most powerful moments in a painting come not from what I add, but from what I leave out. Negative space breathes life into a composition. Editing a color palette down to its essentials creates harmony. Simplifying a complex scene reveals its true emotional core.
The same is true of the soul.
When I strip away the overworked layers — the colors that don’t belong, the marks made out of habit rather than intention — what remains is the painting it was always meant to be. Clear. Resonant. Unmistakably itself.
You are no different. Beneath the accumulated layers of expectation, performance, and self-doubt is something luminous. Something that was always there, waiting to be uncovered. Not built — revealed.
That’s the work. Not addition. Subtraction. Because the soul is revealed through subtraction.
A Question to Sit With
Take a quiet moment today and ask yourself honestly: What am I carrying that isn’t really mine? What roles, beliefs, or behaviors have you layered on over the years that no longer reflect who you truly are?
You don’t have to answer it all at once. Just let the question breathe.
If you’re ready to go deeper — to see yourself clearly and begin the work of revealing who you truly are — a Personal Energy Portrait may be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s one of the most intimate and illuminating experiences I offer.
Explore Personal Energy Portraits →
— Tonya
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