Authenticity and Being True
Authenticity is a word that we are hearing a lot lately, but what does authenticity really mean and how do we get to the core of who we really are?
It starts with understanding how we became who we are, our origins, and where we began. We are all subjects of conditioning, and there are three main stages. It begins in the womb and how we integrate that experience. As babies develop in the womb we are like sponges absorbing the environment and energy of our parents. How our parents interacted with us as children in the developmental stages of our life leaves a strong imprint on how we feel about ourselves in the future. The way we are treated as children by our peers and family members can leave a life long imprint on how we connect and trust in others. These three stages help create the stories we tell ourselves and how confident we feel throughout our lives. All these factors make up for our environmental conditioning and impact how we interact with the NOW. This is something that makes us as humans so vulnerable. Our environment shapes us for the good and the not so good and we have little control over that.
One way to start undoing the conditioning is to realize that because of our environment, we create protective armor to shield ourselves from perceived future harm based on our childhood conditioning. It's important to know that there is wisdom in that armor. That as vulnerable children, we did whatever necessary to survive the conditions we were given. So we created belief systems and armor to protect us from feelings of vulnerability.
As adults most of us are unaware of this armor and have no idea that it is affecting our ability to express ourselves authentically in the present moment .In order to start integrating the past, we first have to remove the armor of our false identity and allow the emotions we have been protecting ourselves from to be seen. We need to give our inner child the love and compassion that it deserves so something new can emerge. That new emergence is your authentic self.
Living an authentic life is an ongoing practice. It is a lifestyle that requires time and courage. It requires you to take a long look at all parts of yourself, including the parts of you that might seem scary to face. I recommend starting in a safe community to practice. Make sure to create healthy boundaries as necessary and work at it slowly. Eventually one day you will look back and barely recognize the person you once were. You will be free!