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Here’s the secret to life in one word: Authenticity.
If you think about it, it explains our entire path from forgetful, separate individuals, to awakened master. Authenticity is being yourself, in every single situation. All the time. Not just some of the time. ALL of the time. It’s learning to love yourself, and promising to present the actual YOU to everyone that you meet.
Can you imagine that? I bet you can, and it sends up some scary little chills up your spine. You mean, “Talk about all the things I see out of the corner of my eye to anyone who will listen?”
Not necessarily.
Being yourself does not mean that you ignore all social protocol and engage in rebellious behavior just because you can.
Being yourself means knowing all of your abilities; recognizing the areas that need work; and acknowledging your fears. It’s about transparency, and knowing and loving yourself so well that you must present that authentic YOU to the world; otherwise, life is pointless because you’re living someone else’s life.
It’s about moving from the separated, powerless individual that you were told you were, to the powerful creator of your own reality.
Have you ever asked yourself who you really are?
Here’s a way to get both your left brain and your right brain engaged in answering that question. You can make a “ME” map that defines the current “you” based on your beliefs about yourself.
It’s really just a bubble map, which is very popular among writers and poets to grab thoughts, words, concepts and abstracts about any subject matter. It’s done quickly, without mental analysis.
Start with a blank piece of paper and write “ME” in the middle. You can circle it, or square it, or triangle it, if you want.
Now stare at that “ME” in the center, and start jotting down the first words that come into your mind. Don’t question the connection between “ME” and whatever you wrote down; the right brain thinks in concepts and if it’s coming out on paper, there is a connection somewhere in there.
You may see colors, or numbers, or images. Write them down. No judgments. Just blurt it out, write it down, connecting with lines if you so desire. Even the lines between entries may have a hidden connection that will reveal itself after you’ve finished.
Fill up the whole paper, dammit. You are a complex human that’s lived multiple lives in a bunch of bodies. There is more to you than your human mind can think in a linear fashion. Our aim here is to find those pesky hidden connections that are part of your self-belief system. Write until there is no more room.
Then you can color it in, if you’re like me and you need to add some flair.
So what did you find? Are there some surprises in there?
Did you cheat and think about every word before you wrote it down?
If your writing is picture-perfect on that map, you cheated. Your interloping mind got in the middle and not only dissected the word and its connection, but you also threw in some self-judgment about what others may think if they see your messy map. Throw it out and try again.
Do you see how much you can learn from a simple exercise?
Save your maps, and do new ones from time to time, because every day you are expanding into a creative master. The entries will change, so it will be fun to compare past and new maps as you evolve in this lifetime.
No judgment required! Instead, try appreciation for yourself. You are a badass for being willing to go inside to assess your inner landscape.
That’s authenticity!
Here’s one of my “ME” maps, in case you want to see how messy my writing is:
author: Kimberly
