Authenticity

For the most part, truth and reality are based on perception and agreement. Our perceptions of right and wrong and our collective societal agreements here on Earth dictate to us what is true or false. It is difficult to discern what is true or false within all the various facades that we individually wear and are present in the structures that surround us. The perception we have of our reality itself is illusory. There are many misperceptions we have about who we are and what we are- psychologically and physiologically pertaining to our individual selves and collectively as humans. When we look around us, there are many behaviors we see that are blatant misrepresentations of the truth. False advertising, politician’s campaign ‘promises’, revealed hidden atrocities of history, the fine print of various offers and contracts, and the list goes on. There too, are hidden aspects of ourselves, that need to be seen that often we refuse to see, that others may see in us, or things we have yet to learn about ourselves. Our shadow selves and our unhealed parts of ourselves are what keep us from living the lives we wish to, the way we are meant to experience life. When we aren’t able to know our true self and our purpose, it is difficult to be congruent with what it is we want or need in life and we aren’t capable of expressing ourselves authentically. 

When we find ourselves regretting our actions, feeling as if things are not going according to how we think they should be, and life begins to present us with conflict and turbulence we are out of balance and not in alignment with our true nature and purpose. It’s time to take a personal inventory to evaluate what things we are thinking and feeling and if they are in alignment with what is really happening in our lives. Are you living your inner truth, or is the mirror reflection very different from what should be reflecting from within to that outside of you? Is your inner dialogue saying one thing and your words something very different, or in opposition? Are your values in alignment with the choices you are making? 

Unless we are able to determine what unhealed inner wounds we are carrying that are generating these commotions we are experiencing perceived as outside of ourselves these same patterns will show up around us like a needle skipping on a record player. For those not familiar with that particular analogy, a looping audio track is an equivalent concept! It’s up to each one of us to be honest with ourselves and look without guilt judgement or blame at what needs our attention to be healed. This will most definitely take you out of your comfort zone and likely cause things that are no longer needed in your life that are preventing you from living as your true authentic self. You know you’re on the right track when you’re not really sure who you are anymore. We have to let go of what other people might think of us when we decide to step into our true expression of form. We can no longer live for others but with and in service to others. Being in service to others does not mean martyrdom or self sacrifice. It means sharing the gifts of your true authentic self in creativity and abundance.

What skills, talents, and gifts do you have to offer the world? Sometimes we need to dig deep to find ourselves or rediscover ourselves if we have lived a life oppressed and held captive by others- knowingly, or unknowingly. Once we become free of or make the choice to step outside of the structures, people in our lives, or beliefs systems that have been holding us back from our true self, it can be stressful and confusing. How do we see ourselves, now that these factors have been removed from our lives? How do we pick up the pieces and move on? What is our present identity without these labels we formerly identified ourselves as? It takes, strength, courage, patience and unconditional love to explore your inner self and gain clarity and determine what your personal values are and to maintain the integrity to be congruent with those values. We are not defined by the way we look, our marital status, sexual preference, career choice, whether or not we have children, how many things we have acquired, or how much money is in our bank account. It’s how we feel about ourselves and about all those things, and what we do with what we’re given that matters. We have these bodies and this energy and the free will to choose what we’re going to do with it, so why not be the best YOU that you can be?!

Learning about who we truly are and choosing to authentically represent ourselves is not an easy road in this world of distortions and illusions that are so often promoted and perpetuated. It’s a process and an ongoing journey to define what parts of ourselves are truly us and what thoughts, aspects, and beliefs do not belong to us or have been conditioned and imposed on us by our family upbringing (or lack thereof), through our relationships, and from those of societal standards. Regardless of these external influences on our lives, it is ultimately our responsibility to make the choices and changes that lead to the path of freedom and to that of our true God self. When we are expressing our authenticity from within, our lives in all ways, will naturally move into alignment, reflecting externally, the positive changes we wish to see in the world around us- that of peace, harmony, and unity.

With peace, love, and gratitude to all,

K. Miller

All Things Are Bound Together

Alki Beach at Sunset, Puget Sound, Seattle

Humankind has not woven the web of life. 

We are but one thread within it. 

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. 

All things are bound together. 

All things connect. 

~Chief Seattle, 1854

All Things Are Connected

Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man, all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each ghostly reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father. The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give to the rivers the kindness you would give any brother.

If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our Grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the Spirit of Life. So if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the Earth is our Mother? What befalls the Earth befalls all the sons of the Earth.

This we know, the Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the Earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

-Chief Seattle

Signs and Symptoms of Inner Peace

  • A tendency to think and act spontaneously, rather than on fears based on past experiences
  • An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
  • A loss of interest in judging other people
  • A loss of interest in judging self
  • A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
  • A loss of interest in conflict
  • A loss of the ability to worry (This is a very serious symptom)
  • Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation
  • Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature
  • Frequent attacks of smiling
  • An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen
  • An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it

~Author Unknown

Keep your heart light,

Enjoy,

Love,

K. Miller