I offered to send Facebook Birthday Cards to a friend of mine who runs a self development company and has close to 5,000 Facebook friends and was so incredibly busy. It lasted a day before one of her friends commented that if it was coming from her it would be more authentic. Shows how well our true friends know us.

So what makes something authentic, the definition is as follows

Authentic |

To Emeli’s friend we were not being authentic, so what has been said over the centuries in regard to this matter that clutches at our heart strings, let’s have a look

1. Janet Louise Stephenson is an author who writes about abandonment, something that happened to her as a child until she was adopted by a  Mormon family. She later searched for her mother and wrote a book about that experience.

2. We know when we are being authentic, we are not coming from those millions of frazzled thoughts in our head, but the openness of our hearts: The Song of the Heart.

3. Perfectionism is often said to be the booby prize as it stops you doing so much in your life as you don’t try things that you believe you won’t get right. Time to get real!!

4. We praise the doers of the world, but does just churning out tasks fulfil one’s soul. I believe there is another question that must also be answered in our daily to and fro, Who are you being about it. Here’s a fine article comparing the two: Doing vs. Being.

5. Authenticity goes by a few other names as well. Bravery and Courage are two that come to mind.

6. Brene Brown is a shero of mine, a she hero. Can you imagine the ride to work if everybody was totally open and allowing themselves to be seen, frightening or compelling, you choose: The Gifts of Imperfection.

7. How often do we catch ourselves seeking approval from our peers to justify our worldly existence? How much easier life would be if we could drop this malady from our daily actions.

8. What do you sell your soul for? I know that I get a knot in my stomach whenever I do this: Who will Save Your Soul.

9. The queen of authenticity, Oprah Winfrey admits that she wasn’t always that way. It was something that came to her later in life. She wishes she had come to it earlier.

10. With 80 publications to her name, authenticity is just one of the many subjects Marianne Williamson is one of the worlds most respected experts on. She rose to fame with her iconic Return to Love first published in 1992: The Power to Change.

 

11. Freedom is not just being released from behind prison bars. Nelson Mandela said if he had not been willing to forgive his guards whilst in prison for 28 years he would never have been free for that period of time.

 

12. How do you pray on a daily basis? Prayers can be construed as a matter of relationship with our true nature, more than a request or an invocation. Its purpose is to learn to be an ally of mystery, instead of trying to drive life according to our need and interest or to get specific help: Spirit Prayer.

13. Teal Swan has her fans and detractors. Teal  is an internationally recognised spiritual leader and an influential new voice in the field of metaphysics. She was born with a range of extrasensory abilities including clairvoyance, clairsentience, and clairaudience. Teal survived 13 years of physical, mental, and sexual abuse before escaping her abuser at age 19 and beginning her own process of recovery and transformation.

Today, she shares what she has learned with millions of people, teaching them how to find forgiveness, happiness, freedom, and self-love in their lives. She reaches a wide audience through a range of powerful and accessible online resources and through various publications, media interviews, frequency artwork, and Synchronisation workshops that she presents around the world.

 

14. Do you fit in or are you like the zebra in the middle showing off their best backside shot because that’s whats authentic for them: Dancing Fool.

 

15. And this is an apology to Emeli’s friend, don’t believe everything you read on Facebook if you don’t think its authentic.

I see the power of authenticity in friendships and love can make or break trust, It’s something we must continually practise or it just falls away.

Namaste until next time my dear friends.