Are we authentic all of the time? Probably not! Do we touch our inner authority in those times of turmoil, confusion, fogginess, or darkness? Maybe… sometimes. But mostly our authentic self is a place to be discovered and uncovered time after time. Authentic living is a feminine art in which to be engaged, a practice of life to be danced, a voice to be brought forth from our deepest wisdom.
We yearn to be able to know the steps, to move gracefully from our authentic self. When we wake up to the idea that we have NOT been authentic, that our dance of life has been the movement of trying to look good, trying to please, trying to take care of others, trying to say the best thing to soothe or smooth the agitated feelings of others, we begin to wonder how the authentic self was lost.
This is a great place to be!
Recognizing the inauthentic self at our masquerade ball simply leads us into the practice of flinging off the masks to see clearly what else needs to be removed to get to the core of who we are and to be able to express it. Living in the joy of life is diving deeply, sleeping sweetly, dancing lightly, and expressing fully. It comes from being in connection with our unmasked self, our soul that is bare and open for exploration.
How do we begin the practice of exposing and revealing the essence of who we are? How do we open our ears to hearing the beat of our own rhythms? How do we learn the erotic dance of taking off what needs to be removed; to unveil the feminine inner authority of our hearts that can only be known by each of us, and should be judged by none of us?
Attune to the inner music…
By diving deeply into our womanly essence and filling our cup from that well, we gain a new wisdom, a new way of relinquishing something old that no longer fits. It takes a quiet, strong intention of wanting to know something different, something true, something about ourselves not previously known because of a need to pretend to know all that we think we should.
Now off comes the first layer, the pretense of thinking we can be different than who we are. As we surrender to hearing the message of the music that leads us further into the dance, there may be a discomfort because we are not used to exposing ourselves to ourselves. The messages from our inner wisdom may seem foreign at times and so quiet we must be extra still in our listening, but they guide us into the steps of the dance that is uniquely and spiritually choreographed for us.
As we explore the knowing of the feminine “Who” of us, we realize that we are now in the spotlight of change and transformation. We may realize that we are women who require order, a place just for ourselves in our home environment, a career that is totally different, partners who are truly encouraging and collaborative, and much more. Then, as a result of knowing the feminine “Who,” there are messages that call us into the changing of our life costumes. The messages from our deep womanly well could be to remove the old habit of eating what was expected, or to loosen the collar of conversations we no longer find interesting, or to unbutton the tight-fitting piece of criticism that has been binding us. We can kick off the shoes that have led in a direction that is no longer desired. We deserve to be guided into one that feels freeing and unconfined. As we are unbuttoning and ridding ourselves of that which no longer aligns with supporting who we are, we begin to sense the ease of authentic movement.
…and dance!
Now we feel the possibility that is ours: to rumba to the music of our inner selves, to rock and roll to the rhythm that inspires us to throw off into the ethers all that we’ve accepted and that no longer serves who we are. We feel the beat of the disco, the heat of the tango, the sensuality of the swaying and shimmering, the grace of uncovering our beauty and greatness… and still, in learning more of who we are and what we are to do, we stumble and sometimes even fall. But at least we have stepped out of the dress rehearsal and onto the stage of our awakened selves. We are now participating with vitality and vigor in the practice of the feminine art of being authentic women.
We are engaging in the “shake-down” of how to go wild with no holding back. We are expressing who we are from that inner place of finding out and knowing. We are changing, transforming, and evolving into the joy of living who we are as we continue diving deeply, sleeping sweetly, dancing lightly, and expressing fully… as fully as we dare in the baring of ourselves and our souls.
