The first aspect of Authenticity is the radical notion of Self Acceptance of your True Self as a valuable member of the Humanity I just mentioned. If you haven't yet worked out all the many wonderful and delicious parts of who and what you truly are, that's ok. Make a pact with yourself that you promise to always always love yourself no matter what. Even better, sit with it. Sit comfortably in a semi-dark space, breathe in & out slowly until you feel comfortable, repeat this mantra three times: "I promise to practice to Self Compassion because I love myself and I am valuable." That's all. Simple words. (Feel free to change the words as long as they are positive.) Again, the 1st step of Authenticity is to accept yourself. 

The 2nd step is to acknowledge your membership in the human race. It's the aspect of yourself that reaches out to the rest of humanity in brotherhood or sisterhood. It's an ancient concept that peace in the world begins with that common step of reaching. There is a lovely saying from the ancient world, "Do ut Des," which means "I give in order that you may give." It basically describes a tender sentiment by way of how we share our humanity in the world so compassion is shared authentically. Isn't it amazing how these ideas have been around for centuries? It's an ancient concept that still rings True-with-a-capital-T-True, and one that we can't skip over, and expect to make an authentic mark in the world. Basic decency is what my grandmother would have called it! We act  and feel in ways that reveal our authentic self  and how we relate to the rest of humanity.

That's Just the Beginning!

We can't go over every aspect of Authenticity here in a short blog. After all, I've written an entire book on the subject:

The Path of Authenticity!

I've already listed two aspects of Authenticity: loving yourself and showing compassion towards others. The third aspect is something I call 'The Seven Steps of the Path.' Now the Path = how we move through time and space. The seven steps are:: Thinking, Feeling, Believing, Connecting (with someone), imagining, and Remembering. An Authentic Self is incredibly conscious of all seven of these ____ on the Authentic Path (see my last blog on being aware.) Conversely, if we aren't traveling the path, aware of these seven steps we are not an authentic traveler of the path.

Another aspect of Authenticity is the deep closely held core truths about you that make you a person. When you face True North while you journey what  is True North for you? I'm talking about your attributes, core beliefs, and core values, desires and goals, In my book I talk about all if these in detail, but for our purposes here it's enough GIVE SOME EXAMPLES. 

The last aspect of Authenticity is Integrity. This is a simple truth but its True-with-a-capital-T-True. Integrity is when your inside matches Your Outside. This is perhaps the most import of Authenticity. You walk the walk and talk the talk. When you have Integrity, you are a True Self. Whategver and Wjpever you say you are, you truly are.