The personal sovereignty journey never ends, but it does become second-nature eventually. We’ve all got our backgrounds and past traumas that brought us to where we are today, and one of the key steps to starting the journey of personal sovereignty is to accept and acknowledge who we are at this present moment: to re-discover the authenticity within.
The following is an introduction to discovering your true self again—what is it, how do we start understanding it within the scope of our lives, and how do we apply it?
Unveiling the Essence of Authenticity
Living authentically is about more than just being true to yourself; it's a transformative experience that can lead to profound personal growth and fulfillment.
Authenticity, at its core, is the key that unlocks the door to your true self, allowing you to embrace your uniqueness and live a life aligned with your values and passions.
In other words: being real with yourselves allows you to be real with the world.
So what is “real?”
Pain is real. Joy is real. Happy, sad. The key to realness (reality, get it?) is that you can feel it. There are constant signals from our physical body that, when we are aware of them, we can either choose to heed or to ignore (often based on our habitual thought or behavioral patterns). But in any case, the signals are there if we choose to clean up our consciousness enough to listen.
Sometimes we may have to shed a layer or two off the proverbial onion of the self to get in touch with feeling again; but overall, we know when we’re feeling good, and we know when we’re not feeling good. The tricky part is learning discernment between what we are feeling and what we think we are feeling based on anything from societal programming to childhood traumas.
The Proverbial Onion: Understanding the True Self
Peeling back the layers of the onion of you is essential to gain a deeper understanding of your true, authentic self. That true self encompasses the essence of who you are, beyond the distractions of societal expectations and external influences. In many ways it's like you as a little kid again!
First and foremost one must connect with who they are in the center of that onion—but how?
Daily Practice
Having a daily routine to reflect and connect with your inner voice, your hopes, dreams, and passions helps serve as a baseline compass for guiding you toward a more authentic life (this routine is called sadhana in the yoga world). Exercise helps the mind and body to harmonize once again, effectively calming both when a proper cool-down time has been recognized.
Meditation, journaling, gardening, creating art, and a respectful relationship with cannabis are other techniques that an individual can practice consistently to help shed the layers to see who’s underneath.
Simplifying Our Environments
Simplifying the world around us makes life a lot more clear. The more of our life that’s right in front of our eyes, the more present and aware we become of what we are feeling. Remember that our physical feelings are the one true indicator we can count on in this life. No one else can tell us that truth for us.)
Simplification can be applied to a broad range of topics, but cleansing ourselves of pharmaceutical medications, processed foods, media (such as news, series and movies), and even relationships can all be very healthy practices. These detoxes can all be temporary, of course; the point is, when we simplify the stimuli surrounding us, we have more space in our lives to process reality.
And the more we process reality with integrity, the deeper we get into that onion.
The Profound Impact of Authentic Living
Living authentically holds the power to revolutionize your life in extraordinary ways. When you embrace the real you, you invite genuine happiness and fulfillment into your existence. It opens doors to personal growth, empowering you to shed limiting beliefs and step into your full potential. Authenticity enhances your relationships, attracts like-minded souls, and can create deep connections built on trust and acceptance.
It sort of feels like a dream, putting it that way—but isn’t that all life is, anyway? We always have the power to shift our lives in transformative ways, but when we are jumbled up with the pains of relationships, the stress of finances, or the soul crushing of a 9-5, we feel powerless.
Achieving Potential: Constraints vs Limiting Beliefs
Now we get to the fun part! Constraints and limiting beliefs are two very different things, yet it’s easy to confuse the two.
One is real: your actual potential. Constraints help us find the maximum potential we can achieve in a given situation. Understanding the physical limitations of our body, for instance, or the financial limitations of our bank account gives us cold hard facts about what we currently can or can’t do.
Different scenarios call for different decisions to be made. For example, I can’t simply leave my family because I regret having kids; I simply must find my potential within the constraints of having less time and energy to spend working on creative projects. A combat-injured veteran can’t re-grow a limb or erase their trauma overnight; they must account for these very real constraints into their self-development goals.
But recognizing potential only limits us when we choose to let it. The truth is, your potential is almost infinite but it’s still bound to space and time and as such is often sequential you can max out your current constraints in order to “level up” to the next playing field—or you can change the game entirely: quit your job, leave the relationship, etc.
Yes, it’s that easy yet that scary… no one said developing the authentic self within you would be comfortable. But rest assured, it does get easier with time.
Shaping Your Vision With Your Authentic Voice
The “real” you isn’t a destination you reach and stay at; it’s a state of perpetual dedication to exploring, learning, and opening up. Once you are on that path, you are now exploring your authenticity as a human with a voice.
Now, your authentic voice is a powerful tool for self-expression. Maybe you’ve listened to an opera and cried. Maybe you’ve listened to a motivational speaker and got inspired. Or maybe the voice was quieter—the metaphor contained inside a piece of art, or the colors of the flowers in your garden.
Your voice is the unique and multidimensional melody that resonates with your soul and holds the unbridled potential to touch the hearts of others. Not to mention: just by using it, you’re feeling more activated, “happy,” and fulfilled than ever before.
Embrace the real you by finding and sharing your voice with the world. Make content. Share insights. Learn how to engage others without sacrificing who you are.
The best part? There’s a place for you, in the developing creator economy. Anyone can learn to shape their insights into content, upload it to a platform that partners with their users, and work towards generating a passive income. Imagine that! The journey, the leap of faith, the hard work you put into yourself can be packaged into something valuable for others and one day lead to a flowing source of income for continuing to explore more passions and ideas.
Allow your passions, beliefs, and experiences to shape your narrative, and watch as the authenticity of your voice resonates with authenticity in others.
Sovereign States of Mind Podcast
The podcast has been a project dedicated to exploring the topics that can aid us in feeling more complete in our journeys towards autonomy, independence, and personal sovereignty. Maybe you'll find some value in it!
