June 7th teleclass: Journey toward authenticity (Meditation teleclass)

Our journey toward authenticity is the journey toward our true self. Consciously or unconsciously, we are all looking for our true self. This is because being true to oneself and being aligned with your Higher Self is the same thing. Being aligned is joyful, happy, connected state. And not being true to or being misaligned with feels uncomfortable. At the extreme end, misalignment can cause serious physical disorder.

What do we mean by our true self? One ancient definition of divinity in human form is a person who thinks, speaks and acts in the same way. The person who has no internal conflicts is true to his or her self. In the modern idiom, we call that being authentic.

Authenticity does not imply there are no challenges or desires left. Rather these challenges flow--flow along toward greater inner depth. These desires unfold gradually and naturally--transforming and morphing themselves as we move along our journey through life.

One of my big contributions to authentic spiritual science and human growth movement is the realization that our body, mind, emotions, intellect--all have their own authenticities. These authenticities are separate, interrelated, and often exist in conflict. This has to do with the fact that we are not uniform beings; we have multiple entities living in and through us. These “personalities” are easy to spot if we only pay a bit of attention. For example, our digestive system may be sensitive. Our emotions may be happy but rigid. Our intellect may be sharp but have poor short-term memory for numbers.

We group these entities, associate them with our name, and call them John or Mary. Yet, we seldom pay attention that our 'me me me' is not a one 'me' but a whole collection of 'me's.

And the punch line: Each human person is a unique collection of body, mind, spirit, emotions, etc. entities, each of which is seeking to express itself authentically. These entities compete with each other at their authentic expression. We all experience these conflicts, particularly in youth, as all these entities strive to find their authenticity. Which one is more important? The smart mind, sex drive, a beautiful body?

For example, in my youth I have made a choice between sowing my wild oats as most young men desire to do and my very strong spiritual urge. At that time the choice was no brainer, and I spend years putting some serious time practicing meditation. I got a lot out of that--I found my divinity. But I neglected my humanity.

More commonly, we all know of people who in pursuit of financial or intellectual glory (business, science, or art) neglect their body. We also all know how academically unremarkable athletes tend to be; we joke that humans do not have enough blood to feed the brain and muscles at the same time. We can also say the same about relationship choices, particularly in youth. These are all examples of various “personalities” seeking their authenticities, competing with each other for authentic expression.

How can we journey to being more authentic? Which part of us should be given priority with respect to our authentic expression? Who are we who are seeking our true self? What is self anyway? Well, regular contemplation or meditation practice helps. Having insight into all your personalities helps in understanding which one is more important to you. Life coaching (surprise, surprise?) helps as well.

What else? That we will discuss on the call. Bring it along!

Copyright (c) Dr. Anatole Ruslanov