“Being authentic is a milestone on my path to wholeness” Helen Zee
To be honest, it has been a little challenging to write this post. Mulling over words, expressions and diving deep into what authenticity means to me, without making it sound so regimented and concrete in the way I think, feel and take action.
The process is an internalising one where I see my ego and I’m not running from my true persona. Over the years it has meant that I have stopped play acting and the verbatim has decreased in trying to justify what I am saying versus what I am doing. It means that you will rarely find me saying that I never eat chocolate jam donuts over a cuppa, and the waiter brings out a chocolate jam donut. It is being honest in that moment, and having an air of transparency about myself.
If you were shown a flash card with the word authentic on it, would the image of a baby come up for you? The way they draw on their emotions at any given time, fully express them in that state and switch over to the polar opposite? They are transparent, honest, and genuine and act on the courage of their conviction at that time. They can switch from belly laughs where you think you are the best maestro orchestrating a comedy show for them – to a full blown out cry and tears just moments after.
As adults it is rare that we can express ourselves in such a true manner. These are pivotal years at honouring and nurturing a person’s truth. It’s through societal and family conditioning that feelings are cast inside – to be seen but not heard…to make your father/mother/other happy as long as someone else’s peace and structure is maintained. This culminates to many layers of conditioning needing to be stripped to feel our truth in every moment. And in doing so one gets to experience and accept their shadow self.
SHADOW SELF
“to confront a person with his own shadow is to show him his own light” ~Carl G. Jung
Those of us integrating a path of wholeness tend to uncover, explore and work with our shadow selves as part of our personal growth. By understanding, accepting and integrating all of our “selves” we allow ourselves to be present in our whole path and embrace, love and honour the uniqueness in ourselves as well as in all humanity. I discovered my shadow work with the teachings of Rachael Jayne Groover in her tele-seminar series “The Art of Feminine Presence”
Reflections to inspire personal growth in Authenticity
Many yogi’s come to class and put more than their physical body through the moves. Satya – truthfulness is a state that is observed and becomes quite developed in class. Your practise may alter day to day, week to week even from left to right. And you are there observing your physical body, state of mind and wholeness at this time. It does drop you into the present moment to feel all that there is.
How would your life be different if you were more authentic? Do you find yourself saying one thing and your mind chatter is running a different script?
What can you do daily to increase your trustworthiness and integrity? Do you stay in a situation that you feel uncomfortable in or do you excuse yourself and leave?
What is your personal code of ethics? Are they second nature to follow?
What can you change to demonstrate them if they are not in alignment?
In summary, being authentic may not be everyone’s top 10 values. But it’s a high one on my list. It has not happened by accident. Many home runs and missed balls were played to realise that it’s a state of being for me. Being transparent to me, my loved ones and my clients is important in the way I live my life. I have no hidden agendas behind how or why I share myself
