To be authentic means there is a chance you will be judged, sometimes harshly.
As a spiritual teacher, for 20 years I have taught and still teach that being authentic and vulnerable takes courage. In my belief system, being vulnerable does not mean you are weak, it takes a tremendous amount of courage to share your story and to be the authentic you.
Be authentic to your soul.
I also teach the true meaning of unconditional love. When I ask student what “unconditional love” means I get many different definitions. Some say-it is to love someone no matter what they do, to accept your loved one as they are. My favorite is their dog gives them unconditional love and that is how they know what it is. These are all true but this is my definition- being authentic to your soul and allow others to love you the only way they can. Can they accept that you are not like them and don’t think like them? Is judgement the only way they can love you?
What we are taught is too project a version of ourselves in attempt to have others accept us. Meaning, they love the person they want you to be because that is what you project. Their beliefs, their religion, their ideas. They are not loving you, they are loving what you are doing for them or showing them. It validates them and tells them that they are doing the right thing for their own life. Sometimes you will even compromise your own authenticity to be accepted. This is when we begin to lose who we truly are and then wonder why things are not going the direction we desire.
During this time we are dealing with so much unrest, the pandemic, social divisiveness, and like me, you may see that there are so many perspectives out there. This is the way it should be, we are not all standing for the same thing, we will look at things differently.
I upset the apple cart.
I want to share my story with you in hopes that this may help some of you during this time. This past week on my personal social media page, I proposed a question. It was meant to be thought provoking and to truly gain some understanding for myself. Many people have told me that they don’t post political or religious topics on social media, because they get push back and I did it anyway. I upset the apple cart and walked away from the conversation hurt by the very personal attack.
It took me sometime to begin to process this ordeal. I was feeling as if everything I stood for was being deeply criticized by a friend. It was very raw and I am sensitive, I feel others emotion’s and would never intentionally hurt anyone.
Do you want to be on an island?
My wonderful partner, Dana felt for me and we had been talking about this as she was helping me process. She came in from the yard and said to me, “I have been thinking about this, do you want to be an island, or do you want to be vulnerable, you are a spiritual teacher and you will be judged?”
This is what I believe and teach, so this is my time to walk it. We have a duty to speak out when we don’t agree with things in our world.
Why are some people so afraid of understanding those that are not like them? We each have our own perspective but our experience is ALWAYS different that someone else’s. I believe that by looking beyond our own circumstances to see another persons point of view we can create the balance we all need right now.
My Promise.
This experience taught me and as I start my new podcast next month, I promise to always be transparent, authentic and vulnerable. I will have judgement, I am sure of it, but as a spiritual teacher, I can’t sit and do nothing when I can use my voice for good. We can open our eyes and we can see the authenticity of what is happening in our world.
Please provide your insight into our current situation. I really want to hear from you. Share with me some things you would like me to talk about on the podcast. I will choose one of you for a reading with me.
Let’s be authentic and transparent to create the change.
