Winter: Accept and Respond
True Authenticity
Most everyone can agree that being authentic – at least in my world – is essential to living a happy and fulfilling life. But do we really know what authenticity means, and how it plays out in our lives? Here are my thoughts on true authenticity.
Let’s Get Real
It’s time to be very honest about authenticity (is that redundant?!). We all think of being authentic as being real – sharing what we truly think and feel. It’s about showing our vulnerable, true selves to others, rather than hiding behind a facade.
True Freedom is Beyond Our Projections
src=”https://dev4.arclightgraphics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/movie-projection-awakeningself-spirituality-conniehabash-300×200.jpg” alt=”audience in theater looking at screen” width=”298″ height=”198″ />Life certainly has its ups and downs, as we all know. But those ups and downs are often not perceived accurately by us. We are like movie projectors, carrying around a screen that we place between us and our lives. If we can catch ourselves projecting and take the screen down, true intimacy, connection, and healing can occur. It is the key to our personal and spiritual awakening.
Out of Hiding, Into the Light
Have you felt stirred up in yourself and in your life lately, as if all your issues have come to the surface? You’re not alone. The powerful archetype of the recent eclipse has brought what is ready to heal and transform out of hiding and into the light for all of us.
Last month was the first time I had ever seen even a partial eclipse here in California. This juxtaposition of the moon in front of the sun shows us how our unresolved issues and blocks to our growth – represented by the moon – can conceal the light of our True Self.
The Shadow
An eclipse casts a shadow, and our own personal shadow is a collection of the parts of ourselves that we don’t like to acknowledge or to be seen. When we are met by this great archetype, or powerful symbol, of the inner shadow through such a potent example as an eclipse, it’s common for our own shadow material to rise out of the darkness for us to recognize, embrace, and heal.
Anger is Unspiritual (NOT!)
It’s quite common in spiritual circles to put down anger. Anger is bad, they say. Or anger is unenlightened. We must transcend our anger. We must think loving, good thoughts, and put all that anger out of our mind.
Hogwash.
Saying that anger is bad, whether it’s tacit or directly stated, is just another way that we beat ourselves up and deny our truth and empowerment. It’s an easy way to judge and criticize ourselves or others for anything less than perfect behavior.
