The Importance of Being Authentic

**Please allow me to rip off some of Oscar Wilde's ingenuity for the moment.  Although earnestness does have its importance in this life, these days authenticity seems to be in scarcer supply.  

In these tough times, both economically and socially, we get caught up in the fear principle (which incidentally is also the title of a book that predicts a serial murder epidemic in the future).  We read the paper, we watch the news, we talk to our friends.... everyone is anticipating this disaster or that.  Stress levels are at an all time high.  This all leads to greed, desperation, and panic.

The reality is, the stress will always be there.  It always has been there, it has just continually evolved into different forms.  We are worried about the quality of our life, our attachments, and our things.  What about being worried about who we are as people?  In our quest for survival, we have forgotten who we are and what we are here for.  The need to connect with our true self is also vital to our health, yet we fight it.  We pile on layers of "stuff" to hide it.  From emotional baggage to designer clothes, it seems it is easier to bury the true self and trek on in our day-to-day worries.  For those of us fortunate enough to not have piled on so many layers, the job of digging shouldn't be too bad, but for the majority, that is not the case.

The energy we spend into living with these masks is, literally, draining.  So why, if it is so much harder to hide do we still do it because believe it or not, you are not fooling anyone.  We hold on so dearly to that which we know and crave acceptance.  It is hard to stand out from the pack.   Fortunately, there are new packs cropping up everywhere.  There are people everywhere waking up in their lives and saying "This isn't working."  Duality never works.  The YOU in you is dying to come out and be a part of this world. 

We all have a purpose in this life and in this world.  Understanding your life purpose starts with being honest with yourself.  How sad that you can spend a lifetime busying yourself with just surviving when there are people all around you that can benefit from your unique talent.  We ALL have a unique talent so don't sell yourself short.  

Think of all the time we waste on trivial things.  Now think of how much time you spend with yourself, in silence, just connecting with your inner spirit.  It is vital to our health, both mental and physical, to be with ourselves on a regular basis.  Commit time each day to connect to yourself.  Meditate, breathe, or just sit in silence.  Get to know YOU and allow whatever comes up in this time to come up.  Many people, myself included, will feel their pain come up.  Pain, anger, sadness... these are all normal emotions, but if you don't sit with yourself, they are going nowhere.  As you move from one busy task to the next, the emotions stagnate and eventually we fall into depression, anxiety, and various other mental ailments.  

This may all make you feel more sensitive and vulnerable but this is normal, this is just the layers peeling away.  Just know that once you start this process, you cannot go backwards.  Your awareness will become heightened and you will see that it becomes harder and harder to wear the masks.  Authenticity is your goal.... you are DESTINED to be the YOU in you.

One of my favorite books that really set me on this path that I HIGHLY recommend is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Although I feel you should read the book, I will quickly summarize the four agreements here as they are very helpful for this subject:

1) Be impeccable with your word: Your actions and words should be consistent with your authentic self.  To project negative energy or words towards another person is only projecting our own insecurities.

2) Don't take anything personally: Do not allow the negative energy of others to poison you.  Is is not about you, it is really about them.

3) Don't make assumptions: Do not assume you understand what others are thinking or saying, it doesnt always reflect the reality.

4) Always do your best: Always put forth your personal best and have no regrets.

Once we can understand and follow these agreements in our daily lives, we have achieved a true sense of what authenticity is.  Remember, you are responsible for your "stuff".  It is imperative to our evolution that we become aware of our "stuff" so that we can heal and not continually project it on others.  Therein lies the importance of being authentic.  Without authenticity, we are preventing ourselves from properly healing from anything we may carry as well as blocking true connections with the people in our lives.  

You should know the real YOU so that you can then introduce that YOU to everyone else.  If they don't love YOU as much as you do, well.... remember, don't take it personally.