The Secrets We Keep: How Sharing a Secret Frees Your Energy

The secrets we keep drain our power, because the energy we spend hiding them is energy we could use for living. When you share a secret that matters to you, you free that energy and loosen the beliefs behind it, like “I’m not enough” or “I’m unworthy.” Then you can turn that same energy toward the belief that you are good.

What is your secret? I want to take you somewhere special to explore this question.

Spring 1971, in Jane Roberts’ living room

This week, let’s sit in Jane Roberts’ living room in the spring of 1971, as secrets began to be shared. I’m drawing on Susan M. Watkins’ book Conversations with Seth, which records those class sessions.

Seth told the class that each of them had put up paper people in front of themselves, hoping the others would relate to those paper people while the real person stayed behind them.

What is a paper person?

A paper person is the role you play. The composed one. The psychic one. The reserved one who never speaks up. The one who never disturbs the balance of the room. Flat, presentable, and safe to be seen.

The living self stays hidden behind it.

I think we all recognize ourselves somewhere in that list. We create these roles to feel safe, to be liked, to belong. Over time, we forget there is a whole, vibrant person behind the cutout.

The invitation to tell a secret

Seth wanted the emotional self of each person to step forward from behind the paper figure each had posted in front of the real one. So he invited class members to tell a secret that mattered to them.

The stories came. Stolen candy. An affair. A dog struck with a stick. Jane and her mother being on welfare. Gradually the secrets grew deeper.

Seth observed that the class members were convinced a secret had to be negative. That alone is worth pausing on. How often do we assume that what we hide must be shameful?

Why secrets cost so much energy

As Watkins records it, Seth explained that the real value of telling secrets is the liberation of the energy tied in knots behind the thing we refuse to look at.

He described one member who was spending half her energy keeping a secret unknown, building a fortress around an image so that no one could find it.

Imagine what you could create with half your energy back.

The purpose of telling secrets

A clinical social worker who sat through those class sessions offered a beautiful perspective. The purpose of telling secrets was to bring up what people have hypnotized themselves into believing: that they are evil, not enough, damaged, or unworthy.

Once those beliefs come into the light, the same power of self-hypnosis can be redirected toward a new belief, that you are good. And the energy once spent hiding can be used for positive goals.

This is the part that moves me most. The very mechanism that kept you small is the one that can set you free.

How your secrets disempower you

When you carry a secret:

• You stay on guard. Part of you is always watching, managing, protecting.
• You reinforce the belief. Each time you hide, you tell yourself, “This part of me is unacceptable.”
• You keep people at the paper person’s distance. Real closeness needs the real you.

How to use your secret to liberate yourself

You don’t need to tell the whole world. Begin where it feels safe.

1. Name it to yourself. Write it down, perhaps in the Vent Journal. Seeing it on paper already releases some charge.
2. Find the belief underneath. Ask, “What have I believed about myself because of this?”
3. Share it with one safe person, a trusted friend, a coach, or a therapist. You can also work with me 1:1.
4. Choose a new belief. Use the same focus you once spent hiding to affirm, “I am good. I am worthy.”
5. Notice your energy. What wants to be created with the energy you just reclaimed?

Remember

Your secret may turn out to be something lovely. Sometimes the thing we hide is a dream, a gift, or a love we were afraid to claim. Whatever it is, the real you behind the paper person is worth meeting.

Your secret might be a gift

Seth’s observation that the class assumed every secret must be negative stays with me. When I ask people about their secrets, I often find that the thing they hide most carefully is something beautiful. A talent they’re afraid to share. A spiritual experience they think others will laugh at. A desire for a different life. A love for themselves that feels too bold to admit.

These hidden gifts cost energy too. Every time you shrink to fit the paper person, you leave part of your light behind. Telling the secret of your gift can be just as liberating as confessing something you regret.

A practice for this week

Sit for a few minutes with your eyes closed and breathe. Ask yourself, “What is the paper person I show the world?” Notice the first role that comes to mind.

Then ask, “What is the living self behind it longing to say?” Let the answer come without judging it. Write it down when you open your eyes.

Finally, ask, “What would I do with my energy if I no longer needed to hide this?” Let yourself imagine it fully. That vision is the energy waiting to be reclaimed.

Frequently asked questions

Why do secrets drain your energy?

Keeping a secret takes constant effort to hide and protect it, and that effort pulls energy away from living and creating.

What is a “paper person” in the Seth material?

It’s a way of describing the presentable role a person shows the world, while the real, emotional self stays hidden behind it.

Do I have to tell everyone my secret to heal?

No. Writing it down, finding the belief beneath it, and sharing it with one trusted person can be enough to free its energy.

Which book is this story from?

Conversations with Seth by Susan M. Watkins, which records the class sessions held in Jane Roberts’ home.

Ready to step out from behind your paper person? Start by writing your secret down in the Vent Journal, or book a 1:1 session with me and let’s free the energy your secrets have been holding.