|
Carol
Adrienne's work and teachings have been a great
inspiration to me! In August of 1998, about four months after my
father passed away, I read about one of Carol's
workshops in a Learning Annex catalog and
synchronistically found her book on a bookshelf at the
bookstore. The themes of her teachings were
familiar and comforting, as they confirmed the thoughts
and ideas my father had shared with me shortly before
his passing. Her books and workshops ignited my
spiritual curiosity, setting me on my soulful life path,
which led to the very creation of
SoulfulLiving.com! Carol's participation has been
an integral part of SoulfulLiving.com, at its soul
level! Thank you, Carol, with all my heart!
~Valerie, Founder and Soul, SoulfulLiving.com |
Authenticity
The idea of being authentic has caught our attention
much like the word empowered did a few years ago. It’s
curious why authenticity seems so valuable to us that we talk
about what it means, wonder if we have it, and search for ways
to find it and express it. What makes us think we aren’t
authentic?
The other day I was talking to a thirty-four-year-old
mother of two small children who lives in Minnesota. I’ll
call her Rae. She told me, "I’m not real thrilled with
life right now. My kids are two-and-a-half and four-and-half,
and I went back to work last January selling real estate. I’ve
done sales, customer service, and public relations but I don’t
like the idea of hopping around in my jobs. Real estate is
okay, I guess, but I really love metaphysical stuff. Reading
books on spirituality recharges me. My family all goes to
church, but church doesn’t seem to fit for me anymore. I
need to find my life purpose!"
Becoming Aware
She went on to describe her inner restlessness, her feeling
she is "not doing something right" and her growing
conflict with her parents and husband. My hunch is that Rae is
in a process of shifting values within a milieu that is
familiar but not very supportive of her search for
fulfillment. Like many of us who are unhappy with where we
are, Rae was putting the focus on finding her purpose—which
for her meant finding the right career. However, finding the
right career can be a mythical panacea that is not the answer
to our deepest inner longings to feel recognized, happy, and
fulfilled.
Last month in this column, I mentioned the book by Paul Ray
and Sherry Ruth Anderson, The Cultural Creatives. In
that book the authors describe three main streams of
consciousness operating in the United States: the
Traditionalists, the Modernists, and the Cultural Creatives.
As Rae and I talked about the values and interests of these
three groups, she realized that most of her friends and family
held beliefs that sounded like the Traditionalists—e.g., a
patriarchal view of family life, traditional roles for men and
women, family, church and community are where you belong, and
adhering to conservative customs that maintain familiar ways
of life. She felt particularly at odds with the idea that all
the guidance you need for your life can be found in the Bible.
Her desire to work and have an independent income was not only
viewed with criticism by her parents who thought she should
devote herself completely to being a wife and mother, but also
by her husband. Their frequent fights over her work hours is
costing her much anxiety and guilt.
Original Nature is Shaped by Conditioning
As children we have no trouble being authentic. Remember
when you woke up in the summer happy with anticipation for the
day? Remember the joy you took in having your friends sleep
over? Remember your parents’ mixed reaction when you blurted
out some delightful, albeit disconcerting, blunt truth?
Growing up, we naturally question authority or the status quo
because curiosity and the need to understand how the world
works are prime motivations in our developing psyche. At some
critical point, however, it is inevitably driven home to us
that in order to get along in the world, sometimes we need to
withhold our opinions, listen to our elders, deny what we see
and hear, lie low or even lie. We begin the process of putting
a lot of stuff—beliefs, opinions, self-criticisms, pain,
fear, disappointments, humiliations, anger, rage, feelings of
distrust and abandonment in a closet—with the idea that
maybe it will go away or we’ll sort it out later.
Making a Break
Each of us is born into a family or a situation that
already has a code and a belief system that works to some
degree. For those of us who are adventurous enough—or
unhappy enough—to search for personal fulfillment, we may
find we are attracted to interests, cultures, lifestyles, or
beliefs that don’t jibe with past conditioning. Usually,
without any conscious intention to upset the status quo, we
find that we’re "not in Kansas anymore, Toto," as
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz once said. One of the most
poignant interviews I had was a few years ago with a teacher
named Jim who lived in the Mid-west. His wife was also a
teacher and one day they were looking over the salary schedule
for teachers. He said, "My wife looked at it and was
excited to know that every year she would receive a 5% pay
raise and would retire at 65 with a pension. We had just
bought a house and all the furniture we would ever need, and
when I thought about how the next forty years were all mapped
out for me, I got profoundly depressed."
By his family’s standards, Jim and his wife had
everything. He said that given his family’s outlook, he
would have found it easier to commit suicide than to get a
divorce. Eventually, he told his family he was going West to
give himself a chance to pursue his dreams of being a
comedian. As painful as the decision was, he later divorced,
met the love of his life, and now is active in spiritual
teachings and is a master of ceremonies in a comedy club. Jim’s
need to live an authentic life was literally a life or death
issue.
Inner Listening—Alert Presence
The voice of the authentic self seems to be the same as the
intuitive voice, that quiet, but persistent voice that
whispers new ideas to us in the middle of the night, on
vacation, or after meditating. Intuition speaks in short,
clear messages that are qualitatively different from the
repetitive mind chatter that makes us feel anxious. Intuition
tells us where the authentic choice is—for us.
When we are birthing a more authentic version of ourselves—especially
when we are unconsciously growing away from the
familiar unspoken contracts and agreements we have with
people, we experience some or all of the following feelings,
which Rae expressed in our conversation. I asked her to state
what she does not want as the first step in identifying
what she does want. She said, "I don’t want to
be dependent on anyone. I don’t want to feel unsure of
myself. I don’t want to be tired all the time. I don’t
want to be negative, to always see the down side, or to expect
the worst. I don’t want to be a fearful worry wart. I don’t
want to be a people-pleaser. I don’t want to feel that I am
not being authentic."
In a recent article in Noetic Sciences Review (March-May
2003), Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now, says,
"More and more, you realize that you are not your
thoughts, because they come and go. They’re all conditioned;
they’re all just the contents of your mind. Instead of
deriving a sense of self from those contents, you realize that
you can simply observe the contents. A deeper sense of self
arises then. That is the aware presence, and it feels very
spacious and peaceful, no matter what happens in your
mind."
Below is a list of some of feelings that comprise a syndrome
of inauthenticity—which occurs when our inner needs,
values, and self-image don’t match our outer expression,
behaviors, and accomplishments—and some major
characteristics of an authentic person.
Inauthentic Self
Feels anxious
Is a people-pleaser
Second guesses every decision
Rationalizes
Is rigid
Wants to impress others
Says or does things he regrets
Doesn’t expect much
Placates
Hides or denies feelings
Feels like a victim
Is paralyzed or hyperactive
Uses addictive behavior
Feels confused and overwhelmed
Feels helpless or hopeless
Is depressed or angry
Gets trapped in endless mind chatter |
Authentic Self
Feels optimistic
Is honest and open
Commits but is flexible
Thinks for himself
Goes with the flow, open to change
Wants to do her best
Knows when to apologize
Knows how to accept and receive
Negotiates
Listens to feelings
Takes responsibility
Acts when appropriate
Makes healthy choices
Knows when to stop and reevaluate
Knows how to ask for help
Feels happy a lot of the time
Is tuned into a larger field of intelligence |
Challenging Situations
It’s easy to assume that once you learn the secret of
authenticity, you are going to be confident, balanced, wise,
and resourceful all the time! However, some situations
carry more stress, which may cause us to regress into old
patterns. Think of the times you have attended cocktail
parties, business meetings, job interviews, high school
reunions, and blind dates. These are the Authenticity Olympics
for most of us!! Begin to notice with which friends you feel
more yourself—more authentic. You may feel more comfortable
in small gatherings--or oddly enough, meeting a stranger on a
plane where you find yourself spilling out feelings you haven’t
shared even with family members. It’s easier to be authentic
when your identity is secondary to other actions, like
chatting with the owner of an adorable and friendly dog. A
good sign that you are feeling authentic is when you feel
expanded and relaxed. Feeling hemmed in or contracted is a
sign that you are shutting down and not being as present as
you could be.
Start Now
Becoming a self-confident, happy, and fulfilled person who
uses her talents to create prosperity and well-being--as well
as to give service to others--is a life-long task. How might
you increase your sense of being truly authentic?
- MEDITATE. Practice clearing the mind
regularly. Observe passing thoughts as if they were
clouds.
- SPECIFY THE FEAR. When you feel fear about
some new action or decision, write down exactly what you are
afraid might happen. Get very clear about the shape of the
fear and what you are actually dealing with.
- FIND THE ROOT. Ask yourself, Whose voice is
talking to me? Who is making me afraid? Is it my voice? My
parents? The voice of mass media?
- MANAGE AROUND THE FEAR. Write down specific
things you could do to work around the fear so that you can
take a small step in spite of it.
- DROP SELF-DOUBT. The best way to feel good
about yourself is to complete something that you have been
putting off, or to set one small goal and achieve it. Nothing
begins to erase self-doubt more easily than a little string of
successes.
- LOOK FOR A THIRD SOLUTION. Whenever you are
agonizing over two choices, remember that this polarization
serves a purpose—to keep you from taking any step. When lost
in black and white thinking, look for a third option.
- APPRECIATE YOUR UNIQUENESS. Everyone has a
special knack, talents, and skills. Everyone.
- STOP STRUGGLING. There is a time for
perseverance and a time to let go.
- ENJOY THE MOMENT. Take delights in small
pleasures and beauty. Be with people you love and enjoy.
- TAKE TIME. Slow down. Avoid the tendency to
fill up the space.
- STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE. Nothing
drains energy more than suppressing action, passion, and
commitment.
- SIMPLIFY. Troubles arise when we set
ourselves up to do too many things or to manage too much
stuff. Being authentic is being able to say yes when you mean
it and no when you need to.
- SPEND MORE TIME IN NATURE. The beauty,
quiet, and harmony of nature helps you observe your thoughts
as separate from who you are. Natural surroundings help put
options into perspective. Peaceful sounds of birds, flowing
water, wind, and waves lull the mental chatter and clear the
mind. To quote Eckhart Tolle, "When your sense of self is
no longer tied to thought, is no longer conceptual, there is a
depth of feeling of sensing, of compassion, of loving that was
not there when you were trapped in mental concepts. You are
that depth."
You need not make huge changes in your life to experience
being more alert and present. Acting on any one of the choices
above can immediately change how you experience your life.
© Copyright 2003 Carol Adrienne, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.
Carol Adrienne, Ph.D.,
is an internationally-known workshop facilitator and
author whose books have been translated into over fifteen
languages. Her latest book is When Life Changes, or You
Wish It Would. Oprah hailed, The Purpose of Your Life:
Finding Your Place in the World Using Synchronicity,
Intuition, and Uncommon Sense a must-read. She is also the
author of The Numerology Kit. An electronic copy of Your
Child’s Destiny—a numerological guide for parents is
now available at www.CarolAdrienne.comm.
Carol is available to for keynotes, workshops, and seminars
and can be reached at Carol22@sonic.net
or (510) 528-2226 weekdays 10 am to 6 pm PST.
Visit
www.CarolAdrienne.com
for
- Information on private consultations and life coaching.
- Ordering your personal 28-page Numerology Life Chart—delivered
by email.
- A free thumbnail sketch of your Day of Birth
- Free newsletter subscription-- Enter your email address on
the home page.
- A calendar of seminars and retreats.
- Book recommendations
- NEW Stay tuned for Information on new Tele Class Series
|
Click
Here to Learn More About Carol Adrienne
Read Carol's Past Columns:
April
2003
March
2003
February
2003
January
2003
December
2002
November
2002
October
2002
September
2002
August
2002
July
2002
June
2002
May
2002
April
2002
March
2002
February
2002
January
2002
December
2001
November
2001
October
2001
September
2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February
2001
January
2001
December
2000
November
2000
October
2000
September
2000
August
2000
July
2000
June
2000
May
2000
April
2000
March
2000
February 2000
January 2000
Visit
Carol at her Website: |
Some
of Carol's Book Titles:
|
|