Genuine implies actual character not counterfeited, imitated, or adulterated.
I don't know if it is because I am getting older, my focus is different, or if it is indeed a trend, but it seems to me that I hear or read more about the quest to actualize your Authentic Self or True Identity
Recently, during a mentoring session, I suggested a quest along these lines, and the client said, "I am so sick of the Authentic Self stuff; it is so overused." For a few months now, I have mentally wrestled with that encounter. That romp in the mental wrestling arena has made me realize that an essential part of all that I do stems from a yearning to return to my True Identity. By saying that, I am admitting that I have lived a life under phony pretenses or as a fake me. I can understand how that might not be an easy awareness for many or a quest someone would like to undertake.
Self-actualization is not an easy road; it is a road with many twists and turns. However, these deviations or detours are part of the unraveling of our programming. A return to the genuine me requires that I shed all of the counterfeit labels that I and others have knowingly or unknowingly placed on me. Does this quest beckon an answer to Who am I if I am not that? Of course, it does! But it takes a bit of perseverance and tenacity to get to the bottom of the who am I riddle. So let's take a moment to explore this concept.
Our exploration starts with the beginning of our life here on earth. I believe that we already existed before entering this world through the birth cannel or brought forth through a cesarian. We are Spirit (a soul, energy, a speck of light) and agreed to take on the glove of our human body to participate in this time-space continuum. This statement is the answer to the question. Who am I? I am Spirit.
If you are Spirit, then you are not your body. Instead, as Spirit, you live in a form we call the human body. Embodying (no pun intended), this idea becomes your baseline. You can begin to examine every imposed false identifier, adulterated aspect, and how they have affected your ability to self-actualize or remember the power within and your true identity.
The infant knows they are a Divine Spark thrown into a body who suffers. Ah, there is another Knowing. This human body suffers from the onset. I am cold waaaaa, I am hungry waaaaa, I am wet waaaaa, you get the picture. Most babies adjust to the idea that there is suffering to get to the next level of life. They advance with giggles and joy when left to their natural trajectory despite the gas bubbles and poopy diapers.
As Spirit in infant form, you were on a straight-line trajectory to the top of the mountain. The mountain being the return to the remembrance of your Divinity. Let's do a short visualization to anchor this idea. See in your mind's eye an arrow pointing up. The arrow's line is your lifeline, and the peak of the arrow is the mountain top, a straight shot right to the top. Easy Peasy.
Then comes the kinks, breaks, and disruptions in the lifeline, elongating your journey, obscuring your view to the top of the mountain, and making your straight line into a squiggly mess. Tragically, life's traumas will bury some Souls, covering their view of the mountain top and any possible path. Using their inner guidance system, these Souls will have to dig an upward tunnel through the middle of the mountain. But I assure you all arrive at the top.
Each should, could, and would have deviated you from the straight path. However, a gentle, nonjudgmental examination of your counterfeit labels begins to straighten out the road ahead of you. As you drop the need to please others with your persona, you will start to delight in your gifts and authentic essence. You may even discover some hidden treasures.
Finally, what does it mean to live a life as Spirit?
Close your eyes and imagine yourself as pure white light energy. The energy is tickly, vibrant, and all-encompassing. What do you feel like, where do you want to go, what are you capable of doing or being? Please take a moment to dive deep into this idea and the sensations it brings forth. Then, when you have finished exploring, write yourself a list of words of observation answering those questions.
What do you feel like?
Where do you want to go?
What are you capable of doing or being?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This, my friend, is your true essence. Can you imagine a life where you show up as THAT in all of your encounters? How does that differ from how you are showing up today? What would it feel like if you began to make strides to embody yourself as Spirit? In my experience, it requires great strength and conviction to begin to live a life void of others' expectations, rules, and regulations—a self-directed life based on self-love and love for the collective. But once you start, there is no looking back; the thrill of the sense of freedom will fuel your efforts as you become more authentic and self-directed. I once wrote:
Authenticity of Self – Me Allowing Me to be Me What will you allow today? P.S. some call the mountain top an awakened state or 5th-dimensional living. No matter what you call it, it is your original genuine state of being.
Wisdom of Solomon 2:23: For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.