What Does It Mean To Live an Authentic Life?
What is Authentic Living and How It Leads to an Empowered Life?
What is living an authentic life? More and more people are moving towards authentic living. Even in business there is a movement towards authenticity. More and more you hear buzzwords like Conscious Entrepreneur and Heart Centered Business as people express their authenticity in all arenas of their life. Businesses are increasingly focusing on the well being of their employees and things like yoga and meditation techniques are being used in the work place.
On a deeper level people are moving towards a more integral life. They no longer wish to compartmentalize their lives. There was a time when, if you practiced meditation for example, you didn’t dare talk about it at work, or even with your biological family. Life consisted of many compartments, a compartment for friend, a compartment for work, a compartment for family and so on. You never mixed the compartments. Things are changing now and the change is rippling all across society.
Living an integral life means you no longer live a compartmentalized life, compartments that are separate from one another. The word integral means complete, essential parts that make up a whole, and necessary. Living an integral life means that all your arenas in life, e.g. family, friends, career, spirituality are connected to each other making up the whole of your life. No longer is your spiritual life disconnected from your work life. No longer do you feel it necessary to keep ‘spiritual friends’ separate from your work friends.
Living an integral life empowers you and gives you more energy. Why? Because you are no longer split up into so many disjointed pieces. It takes a lot of energy to separate your life into compartments, particularly if you put on a different face or personality for each one.
An empowered person is a person who can be Who they authentically are in any situation. They have no need to change Who they are in different life arenas. They are genuine human beings, no matter what situation they find themselves in. Authentic living is the ability to be Who you truly are in all areas of life. You express Who you are whether you are at work, or in a spiritual group, or with your family.
As you move towards a more Authentic life, you may find it challenging to simply be yourself in any given situation. You may find yourself wanting to change Who you are to fit in or be accepted. However, you will find that as you express Who you are authentically, you will attract people who will respect, admire and love you for Who you are. One thing about a person who always expresses who they are is that the people around them always know where they stand. In the long run, this is always better than never knowing what the person talking to you really feels.
Living an Authentic life is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. However, as you continue to express Who you are, your authenticity, in all situations and begin to take down your compartments, you will find a freedom, a power and a deep fulfillment like none you have ever experienced before.
Kristopher
