The Astonishing Beauty of Your Authentic Self

Introduction

When you don’t honor your authentic self, you suffer deeply both internally and externally. In fact, not knowing your True Self leads to self-doubt, insecurity, depression, anxiety, seeking approval, and needing validation.

Yet, when you know the beauty of who you really are, you move fearlessly through life.

Why it is Difficult to Live Your Truth and Be Your Authentic Self in Today’s World

When your mind leaves its center, your attention is drawn outward and becomes entangled in the manifest world. As a result, you begin to lose yourself in the world around you.

So, when you search for yourself, your search is fruitless because the ego—the false self—tries to direct your thoughts, beliefs, and actions away from the truth.

To be clear, nothing is wrong with the external world, but trouble arises when your entire sense of self becomes dependent on outside forces. For this reason, you may not even know who you really are, and will suffer from the desire to fit into a deluded society.

Indeed, ancient humans were much more dependent on communities for survival. So, it was prudent to be accepted and adjusted to the status quo, rather than to fend for yourself.

Subsequently, we’ve created a shadowed society that lives in fear of judgment. Afraid of being looked down upon and hungry to outdo others.

So, the ego oscillates between the ideas of inferiority and superiority, comparing and competing for approval and recognition.

In our world, many people stop living their truth even when it makes them unhappy because they want to be accepted, often by others who are equally unhappy.

This creates conflict within and makes it difficult to connect with other beings because we are no longer heart-centered. Likewise, the ego’s interactions and relationships are equally inauthentic.

Some people live their whole life in this unconscious state. To know thyself means knowing yourself beyond your conditioning, and letting go of the false concepts and desires that arise in you.

When you break free of these egoic patterns, you will not be consumed by self-doubt and you will recognize the timeless splendor of your authentic self.

Otherwise, you will not have a strong base, your core will be hollow, and your shell will be weak.

Consequently, you will struggle to stay grounded, you will not feel fulfilled, and your identity will shatter from other people’s words and actions.

Who or What is Your Authentic Self?

People often say, “be yourself”, but what do you refer to as yourself? For most people, it is their personality. Yet, your personality has been conditioned and influenced by outer experiences and other people throughout your life.

So, it cannot be said that this is who you truly are. For, being your authentic self means realizing who you are at the deepest level.

It means unmasking the ego and refusing to identify with what is false. Only then will you have unwavering peace amidst the ego’s tendencies towards doubt, confusion, suffering and fear.

Who you are is beyond descriptions and concepts, and self-knowledge is freedom. Your True Self is formless, and you will come to know this through direct recognition—not by theory or philosophy.

You need nothing to be your authentic self, but to get rid of the ideas that are not in accordance with truth.

When the ego ceases to pull your attention, your authentic self stands revealed. Your life unfolds peacefully, your intuition directs your actions, and you will move with life’s current.

When difficulties come, you will not be moved because you have the knowledge that everything is always okay.

The Unconscious Conditioning that has Caused Many to Forget Their True Nature

The Golden Buddha

Long ago, there was a golden statue of the Buddha that had been covered up by plaster to conceal its value and prevent it from being stolen. Eventually, everyone forgot about the gold beneath the plaster, and it was not discovered until 200 years later.

In the same way, your authentic self is already there, beneath the covering of fear that is the ego. Yet, many believe they are the ego and have forgotten the eternal truth of their authentic self.

As a result, you compare and compete for self-worth, oscillating between inferiority and superiority, and seeking the gold that you already are. In fact, comparisons are all relative, but the ego uses them to secure your identification with it.

For instance, when you believe you are worse than other people, you make them better than you, and vice versa. Our whole society is suffering from this illusion.

The Oscillation Between Inferiority and Superiority

Not being good enough is an illusion, it is time to wake up

If you believe you are inferior, you will try to make yourself superior—by looking down on others—because the ego finds inferiority intolerable. Therefore, this cycle of judgment will cause suffering.

Yet, bear in mind, this is unreal. This pattern of comparing and competing creates the idea that there is always a winner and a loser.

Therefore, you strive to be better and superior, never feeling fulfilled or that you are enough. All of this is maya (illusion).

This conditioning is limiting and disingenuous – it causes one to constantly want more, seek validation, status, and praise. However, it is never enough, and many suffer when they don’t satisfy these cravings.

Perfect is only a concept, it is time to take off the blindfold.

Some people may consider themselves to be superior intellectually, while others feel superior based on their looks, status, gender, or even race.

When you compare yourself, you may find areas in your life that you believe you are superior in, but even this will not fulfill you. Your authentic self is totally complete and you are the bliss you seek.

To be superior is only an idea. It is relative to the ideas you have about other beings. This is only a viewpoint based on arbitrary standards that align with the current status-quo.

Do you see the insanity of this yet? The good news is that neither superiority nor inferiority can describe you. They exist only as a concept in your mind. So, it is subjective and not the ultimate reality.

The Path to the Discovery of your Authentic Self

Contrary to what is ingrained in society, we don’t need to compare or compete. In fact, when we do, we uphold the dysfunctional patterns that engender jealousy, hatred, selfishness, and insecurity.

Consequently, when you compare yourself, you subscribe to an idea that you are not enough. By believing this, you forsake the truth.

We are all one. Really, one’s worth can never be diminished or enhanced by comparisons because each one of us is already complete.

So, any sense of lack comes from the ego. Furthermore, anyone who looks down on you and believes themselves to be superior, does not see reality. They do not know truth. They do not know you and they do not know themselves.

Recognize how this conditioning creates suffering. Then, you can stop identifying with this pattern and tying yourself to other people’s opinions or to society’s expectations of you.

To clarify, there is nothing wrong with friendly competition or using comparisons as a measure or base, but do not tie anyone’s self-worth or identity to them. Recognize that superiority and inferiority are simply ideologies. They make no difference to your authentic self.

You don’t need to fit into a mold to be happy. In fact, the mold creates unhappiness within you. As you release this dynamic and become aware of the ego and how it causes suffering, your identification with it thins away.

This does not mean you fight against the ego or try to get rid of it through effort. Instead, become aware of its unreality.

Let go of the desires to please other people, to judge them and yourself, and to enhance yourself through acceptance, status, and approval, because you are already whole.

Honoring the Beauty of Your Authentic Self and Strengthening Your Resolve

When someone else rises, it does not cast any shadows on you. Rather, it brings forth more light. Likewise, when you choose to see light in another, your choice brings you out of the darkness.

Letting go of your desire to please others frees you from the fear and shame of being ridiculed. Without this burden of fear or the feeling that you are not enough, your life becomes more authentic and fulfilling.

You are infinite, boundless, and ever free. This is your authentic self, but you will only know this when you stop identifying with the egoic patterns that show you illusions and shadows.

If someone looks at you and sees only a shadow, it’s because their eyes are closed, and they don’t see you truly. So, forgive them, because they don’t know their own light and are lost in darkness.

You are always effortlessly perfect in your essence and do not need to compare or compete.

True power honors the astonishing beauty of your authentic self and lies in knowing who you are beyond all illusions. It does not diminish others but can empower those around you.

True power is undeterred by what people say about you or do to you. Therefore, it is unmoving. When you see yourself as part of the whole, nothing is against you. Everything is for you because it is you.

So, you connect more to life with the vibration of love. Through this, the energy of the divine is free to work through you. You are the ever-free Brahman.

With Endless Love,

Ravelle

Thank you for reading. I would love to know what your takeaways are in the comments below.

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