Once upon a time... there was a town called Whimsical Valley. It was a theatrical place.  Everyone pretended to be different characters. They enjoyed playing roles for fun.

A man on one side of town imagined himself as knight in shining armor. A woman from across town idealized herself as a damsel in distress.  Their roles drew them together.  Others fancied themselves as heavenly messengers on a mission to save the world.

In the beginning, everyone relished playing a certain personality one day and something else the next. But, after a while, their amusement turned into monotonous drudgery. They would repeat the same roles.  By and by, the people of Whimsical Valley had performed their parts for so long that they started believing their starry-eyed roles. They found it harder to remove their disguises.  Eventually, their masks started sticking.

One day, a wise magician was passing through town. He saw people had trouble removing their masks.  So, he went to the local paper and took out an ad for a free demonstration of his Miracle Mask Remover. "No sticky sprays or messy powders," the ad read. "Guaranteed to remove masks with continued application."

Almost everyone in Whimsical Valley saw the ad, but only a few showed up. The magician sensed most had grown so accustomed to their masks that they no longer believed that they wore them. He knew they didn't think his presentation held anything in it for them.

On the night of the exhibition, he passed out free samples of the mask remover and instructions on how to apply it. He urged the attendees to become aware that they were acting from fictitious ideas about themselves.  He explained that they were too identified with the parts they played. "You've worn your masks for so long," he said, "that you don't even know you have them on anymore. But, if you practice these instructions everyday," the magician continued, "your masks will eventually fall off." Then, he vanished.

Some people felt the wise man had a good product but were unconvinced they wore false faces. They took their bottles home and never opened them.  They continued to act out the roles of their masks, all-the-while, believing they were being themselves.  Other people resented the magician suggesting they were someone other than who they thought. They spread rumors in Whimsical Valley that the magician was a fraud.

Yet, some of the people who attended the demonstration tried the mask remover. Most forgot to use it everyday because it was a new activity for them, but when they remembered, they applied the magician’s instructions. It wasn't until their masks started coming loose that they were even able to really believe that they wore them.

One by one, the brave people who practiced the magician's instructions took great delight in rediscovering their authentic features. Each one knew that this was the familiar appearance he used to know and felt nothing but gratitude for the wise man's visit. He had helped them return to what they originally were.

Interested in finding your authentic identity? Here are three simple rules:

1) There's nothing for you to do, only something to understand. It's important to remember your genuine features are mixed in with a lot of acquired identifications of what you think you should be. You are not your physical body, your personality, thoughts, feelings, home, career, bank account or any concepts that you may have about yourself. You are just as different from these things as you are from the clothes you put on in the morning. You may experience bursts of spontaneous singing. In short, your real tastes and personal identity will seem to emerge when you choose to see them.

2) Assume you already know everything there is to know about yourself. There's a lot more comprising your entirety than you realize. Thinking that you presently understand yourself is like gazing at the tip of an iceberg and taking for granted you've seen the whole thing. In actuality, most of what you do and say is determined unconsciously.  Most of our behavior, for example, has been learned by unconsciously imitating others. People are strange. It's as if we have an inborn mechanism that automatically makes us imitate anything we see or hear. Believe it or not, almost everything we do and say is because we've heard somebody else do and say it first.

3) Realize no person or situation stops you from experiencing who you are. Your innate self is something you can enjoy in this life right here on earth. It's a rediscovery of what you essentially are and not a rare occurrence reserved for a privileged few. It's an interior growth into spiritual maturity.  With patience and persistence, you'll start realizing who you are and what you're not. Understand that you don't need to start from anywhere than where you are.  No sincere effort on your part is ever wasted. Begin with the thought that having just a little bit of light leads to more light. It always does.

No one goes to a king and asks for a penny. Try applying this same principle to your inner life.  Boldly request to experience your genuine nature. Just dare a lot and you'll get a lot.