A lot of people start their lives being taught what’s right and what’s wrong in the world. We are tricked into believing that there is a way that we’re supposed to live our daily lives. We enter through this process of socialization in our homes, in schools, and other organizations where we’re taught to assimilate into popular culture. We’re taught what types of clothing are appropriate, what types of conversations are good, what types of emotional behaviors are acceptable, and what’s not considered acceptable.
The majority of the time our families teach us that it’s better for us to be good than it is to be ourselves. As a queer and trans person, I have personally hid my true self for more years than I’ve been authentic to my true nature. I truly believed that masking my true personality, my likes, dislikes, and interests was what I was supposed to do to find love and acceptance. For a long time, it actually was what I had to do to find love and acceptance from my parents and my family members.
There came a time when I fully recognized the amount of suffering that I was bringing on to myself by being dishonest with those in my life. I recognize that I was being tricked into lying in order to be loved by friends and family. Embracing authenticity requires accurate knowledge of the self. On the entrance to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, it says these words in greek: “Man, know thyself, and you shall know the universe and the gods”. I mean, it seems kind of crazy and at the same time overly simple. Many people will go on these journeys trying to look for God and come up more confused than when they started. What if we stopped searching for something outside of us and they looked within for the answers you’ve been longing for?
I began my journey of self-discovery through a great time of emotional turmoil. I knew that something in my life had to change and so I got to work. I began the process of educating myself about spirituality and came to understand the true nature of my soul. I understood how I fit into the whole universe. Having an understanding and gaining proper knowledge of spiritual truths is vital for the spiritual process to go to the next level. It is possible for people to have spontaneous awakenings and if this is true for you, that’s awesome. However, that was not my experience. I had to go searching for the information that I needed.
After doing all this research I began to put my understanding and the things that I learned into practice. One of the great mistakes that so many spiritual individuals make is that they confuse knowledge and spiritual information with wisdom. We must practically apply the information that we learn in order for that knowledge to transform itself into wisdom. Knowledge without experience is just memory and information that we store in our minds. Applying this knowledge is what we truly need to begin the process of transformation.
After having some experience and practicing these spiritual truths, my personal fire to gain more knowledge and have more experiences grew exponentially. I found it very important for me to study the spiritual truths that I found in hermeticism which contains ancient theological truths that are found in many of the world’s religions. Gaining this knowledge and applying the truths that I found, allowed me to take leaps and bounds in my spiritual growth. It helped me understand the process of manifestation and how to manipulate my energy not just for my material benefit but also for emotional and spiritual healing.
After gaining this knowledge and experience, one must put it together by fearlessly taking bold steps to live in their truth. You must be willing to remove the masks of illusion and lies that you have accepted as truth. You have to be willing to step out of fear and into your true identity. You must be willing to be still with yourself and get quiet enough to hear your soul’s whispers. At first, it might feel impossible to recognize but that is just because you have been tuning it out to listen to the noise of the world. Once you quiet yourself down you will hear it loud and clear.
Let’s try an exercise that will help you to jumpstart your connection to your authentic self.
An important way to connect to our soul is by tapping into our own intuitive voice. Many of us have been tuning out our intuition because we felt that we couldn’t trust ourselves. It’s time we tune back into our soul’s frequency so we can walk to the beat of our own drums! You will want to read through these steps before you sit down for this process. This should take you at least 15 minutes, but it could be longer if you’d like. I recommend that you make this exercise special by lighting a candle, burning some incense, getting your favorite crystals and putting them around you or holding them, putting on some healing music, or anything else that puts you into a spiritual mood. Get your journal and something to write with and let’s get started!
Step 1. Begin by sitting in a comfortable position. Begin your practice with some deep belly breathing for 5 mins to connect to the present moment. You want to focus on the rise and fall of your belly, making sure you’re expanding so you know you are using your diaphragm. It’s ok if your mind wanders, just come back to the breath.
Step 2. Set the intention to connect to your soul. Ask the universe, ancestors, or guides to help you hear your soul’s voice with confidence and clarity.
Step 3. Invite your soul to meet with you. This is the highest energy that you carry with you. This is the all-knowing all-loving, everlasting aspect of yourself. You will want to spend a few moments here just sensing the energy you feel from this aspect of yourself. Imagine what you think this part of you looks like. Perhaps you just get a feeling, that is perfect!
Step 4. Ask your deepest questions. here are some examples. What does your soul have for you in the future? What are you destined for? What things in your life deserve more attention? When listening for an answer, don’t try to think but focus on the breath and allow the answers to come from your heart space. Give yourself time here and don’t rush. It may take a bit of time if you are out of practice but trust that it will come.
Step 5. Extend gratitude to your higher self for showing up to you. Know that this energy lives within you and can be drawn from at any time.
Step 6: Take a few deep breaths and return to the space around you, giving gratitude to yourself in this moment for taking the time to try this out.
Great job! Remember, what you received here is some valuable knowledge. Don’t waste it but put it into action!
An individual is a unique expression of the divine and for us to attempt to be someone that we’re not is for us to disrespect the divine within us. We have to respect who we are as individuals. And while there will be plenty for us to learn on this journey, this is a great place to start.
If you want to take some direct steps to access your authenticity today, schedule a free discovery call with me today!
If you want more magick in your life, come check out my free Facebook group where I invite fellow LGBTQ+ individuals to do this healing work together! I can’t wait to meet you and spend some time with you there!