4 Ways to live more authentically

It is common for people to desire to live more authentically, that is, to feel more at ease with life.  To be honest with yourself about who you are and why you what you do is actually easier than you think.  Make changes as you see fit.  Consider four ways to live more authentically right now;

1) Pay attention to your body.  Your body language is always sending you signals.  Where you seem drowsy, feel restless, slouch or or are generally inattentive, you are expressing disinterest.  Its possible you are in one place in body but another in thought or soul.  If you do not wish to be somewhere, you are acting against deeper will.  This tells you that you are not listening to the subtler or natural tendencies inside.  Where posture exudes confidence and you are at ease in your own skin, you know you are in the right place.

2) Notice your thoughts. The more you notice the kinds of thoughs racing through your head, the better you get to know your true self.  Where the mind is focused on the past or future, or if you find yourself dwelling on judgment and comparison, this is ego or fear based living.  Shifting attention is simply shifting focus from thought-to-thought.  To be focused on this present moment is where you are most true to yourself.  Awareness takes over from thought in the here and now.  Only love and acceptance exist.

3) Recognize emotions as a gauge.  Such energy originates as thoughts in the mind and is often mistaken for feelings (of the heart).  When you make choices that resonate, you do not doubt, fear or question. Negative emotions indicate how far away you are from making the best choice for yourself at a given moment.  Positive emotions reinforce how authentic or good you feel about your choices.  If you feel torn in some situation, then emotions point you in the most suitable direction.

4) Be aware of your feelings.  These are the unexplainable vibes you get. It is your intuitive side that has no logic the mind can grasp.   True feelings are a synonym for pure awareness and the feeling centre is in the heart.  When you live in this moment, you appreciate where you are and see it in realtion to the big picture.  You feel interconnected to all that is and gain insight into yourself from everything, seeing it as a reflection of divine nature.

Step back for a new view

Whatever the situation unfolding in your midst, as you step back, you see things from new vantage points.  You can appreciate them from a non-emotional angle.  Recognize that you are conditioned to overlook the deeper message, to misconstrue messages you convey to yourself.  The ego mind sees through its filters and the heart feels its way to the silent truth.  Its all here.  Notice taking a breath is like creating distance between you and situations initially obscured.  Creating physical space between yourself and a situation is another alternative. Immersing in nature brings you face to face with what you already know and feel in the heart.  Do what works.

Allow it to dissolve

People are taught the more they read and absorb, they more they know, the more knowledge they have. This is ego.  It creates the illusion of dissatisfaction, restlessness and insecurity.

Devotion is another dimension of intelligence.  It is often interchanged with the term, prayer. Yet, one can be devoted without praying and one can pray without being devoted. Devotion itself is not about repeating methodology.  It is not about doing.  Rather, its about being aware.   Devotion implies being selfless, de-void of Self, not self-interested.  It is merging with the flow.

Notice the nature of creativity has nothing to do with intellect.  When someone plays music by ear, the person is not learning.  The person is being one with the harmony. For someone to step outside the natural rhythm to teach how something was done, the very describing of it takes something away, makes the reptition mechanical.  You require no teacher to listen to the heart.

Kahlil Gibran echoes 'The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.' True nature cannot be taught or learned.  Many people come to think they have to struggle to be themselves.  The truth is any struggle you encounter is your own-self-created resistance.  Be aware and allow it to dissolve.

3 Ways to know truth for yourself

Everything in life is a pointer that invites you to experience greater clarity. Imagine you are a mirror and choose to polish it. Ask yourself what it is to feel liberated. This is grasped in relation to its opposite. You measure heartfelt wisdom through direct experience.  Explore how it feels.

1) Let go of your reasons.  You are your own judge and jury.  Life gives you all the evidence to confirm what you value.  Be aware of how you navigate through life.  What represents your compass and reference points? Let them go. The helm of the ship knows how to steer itself.

2) Allow the Self to disappear. Be aware of what you cling to and how you create stepping stones or maps to follow in life.  Ponder the possibility that you do things for no reason.  Only the truth knows why things happen.  The mind can only imagine ideas of the truth.  You cannot change something using the same level of consciousness that creates it. Something sees beyond.

3) Say nothing.  See everything.  Nature is an infinite spectrum of miracles.  You are a telescope.  What you see is limited by filters. See them as they are and they dissolve instantly. 

Live the truth of yourself

Live the truth of yourself.  Who you truly are exists beyond all your illusions and fear. Humans create mental barriers to block seeing true self.  Fear is warden of this imaginary prison.

Know everyone is a messenger bringing self a message from the heart and soul. May you recognize the soulful message of loving kindness. Share who you are in all you do and do not do, all you say and all you do not say. Be aware of all you are and always have been, all you will forever be. Every thought you create, every choice you make, either conceals the love you are or expands on it. Notice how it feels to be aware that every being, all things, are divine.