The Naked Blogger

've just finished reading the novel The Hundred Year Old Man who climbed out of the window and disappeared by a guy called Jonas Jonasson. It was great fun and the main character is a role model for living in the moment. I mention it because of a note from the author. He said "I started it because of the book's title - I immediately fell in love with it once I had invented it. I said to myself that I wanted to read a book with such a title; I only had to write it first!"

So when The Naked Blogger dropped into my mind it just had to be written. I can feel the relief out their that it wasn't The Naked Vlogger and for those of you with a very visual mind, the title is metaphoric rather than literal, so you too can relax!

The title dropped in as I read an article which began ‘A man known as the Naked Rambler has made legal history – by appearing before leading judges in the nude.' Stephen Gough is quite well known in the UK. This former marine is making the point that it is his human right to be naked in public, and keeps finding himself in prison as a result.

Our need to cover ourselves, beyond the practicalities of goosebumps and chaffing, is a remarkable bit of programming which dates back to the Garden of Eden. With the apple came shame of nakedness. From that point on it has been necessary to cover not just our bodies but our thoughts as we judge our desires, aspirations and feelings as good or bad, worthy of publication or necessary to hide.

It may be easy to forgive others but when it comes to our own demons we often find less compassion. How many of us have had the public nudity nightmare? It is amazing how many people have told me that they live their lives as if they are just about to be found out, to be shown up for the fraud they are.

Recently I seem to have been presented withseries of "flashbacks", a sort of potted history of Bill Ayling. At first I found this really embarrassing. It was like being in the naked nightmare. Did I really think that? Did I really say that? Did I really do that? But each of these thoughts seem to be an opportunity to let go of a judgment and to embrace the current reality rather than uphold a complex web designed to cover my nakedness.

What I find incredible in my personal review is the ever present guiding consciousness which has always been around, infinitely patient and free from judgment. The more I learn to trust that consciousness the more I find myself comfortable in my own skin. My thoughts need less censorship and there seem to be less of them. When those demons pop up from time to time they don't carry quite the same charge, and can often be viewed with amusement.

Just as it is ridiculous to imprison someone for nudity so it is to censor ourselves. Don't worry, that isn't a cue for a great confessional, nor am I going to bring the public nudity nightmare to a town near you. It is however a personal permission to be OK with who I am in each moment. It is a release from judgment of my own thoughts and feelings. As that judgment fades so does the need to cover up. An opportunity to Blog Naked if you like!

Go easy, tread lightly, free,

Love

Bill