A couple weeks ago I attended Wanderlust in Whislter, BC, Canada. If you’d like to know more about my experience see my previous blog entry Wanderlust. My last class of the weekend festival was 4 Keys to Authenticity presented by Gary Zukav, author of The Seat in the Soul and his wife/spiritual partner Linda Francis. Gary and Linda touched on the 4 keys to authenticity over the next hour as well as their own spiritual partnership.
Gary began with allowing us to ask/answer questions and was interactive with the crowd in order to curtail the session to our needs. He told us that authentic power can be a metaphor into a medicine wheel: 4 seasons, 4 phases of the moon, seasons of life (infancy, youth, adulthood, elderly). He and Linda shared the 4 keys to authenticity: emotional awareness, responsible choice, intuition, and trust. He reminded us that we hold all the answers ourselves. That we need to look inside and see if that works for me, if not than simply let it go. This is something I’ve been practicing since my retreat in Sedona in 2017. I’m not always the best at letting those things go, but I am definitely getting better at recognizing what does and doesn’t work for me. I’ve learned that often times I know that something isn’t working, but I fight letting go of it simply because I want it to work. All the while driving myself to insanity forcing something that is never going to work, work. All I do in these situations is bend and break what works for me, creating resentment, anger and utter frustration. The more and more I observe this in myself, aka become emotionally aware, the easier it is to letting go of those things that are not working for me.
They went on to say that emotional awareness has 2 energies: Love and Fear. Gary had us “feel” for physical sensations in chakra areas and observe our sensations. By feeling he guided us to take a deep breath, connect with our bodies, and feel for sensations in each of the 7 chakra centers. If it is painful, it stems from fear. If you feel gratitude, appreciation, contentment, patience, or caring, it stems from love. By doing this practice it informs you when a loving part of you is active as well as a struggling part. By becoming emotionally aware and tying that to physical sensations in your body, it is like a roadmap on the areas you are balanced or may need to work on.
I read yesterday ‘Consciousness is not to be attained-its to be allowed’ (Jessica Huie-“Purpose”). The more we allow ourselves to truly sit with our feelings and actually feel them, the more we allow ourselves to be conscious of all that comes with that. This is where the real work starts! It’s not always easy, but without this step you’ll continue the same cycles you’ve been in your entire life and nothing will ever change. Emotions are meant to be felt, and feel them we must.
Responsible choice is the next key. Whatever you do you create Karma. When you act in fear, you create karma. Our thoughts are our choice whether you believe that or not, you choose what you create, as we choose our thoughts. If you are negative, you’ll receive negative. Same goes for positivity. I have lived this. I used to be a negative, complaining person and it seemed that I was supported in that throughout my life. That is until I started to be more positive and then sure enough my life conintued to be supported in positivity. You get what you exude, so choose wisely.
During the lecture Linda “called out” Gary so to speak. The two of them were sitting in chairs on a stage with microphones simply taking turns in speaking about the keys and authenticity as a whole. You could feel and hear a slight tension between them in a differing approach to the lecture. There were times that Linda or Gary said something and they somewhat conflicted each other. Instead of leaving this tension as is, Linda acknowledged it and simply asked Gary how he felt at the moment. This was the responsible choice to support her spiritual partner in his authentic power and she felt he wasn’t being authentic in that instance. Turns out he was insecure about if he’d be able to answer our questions or not answer them as well as he’d hope to as well as some other things, but by ‘calling him out’ she was able to help him observe and understand the feelings as well as look deeper into where those insecurities were stemming from. They were basically able to demonstrate responsible choice as well as being a supportive spiritual partner. We were able to witness the discomfort between them, but then the connection and appreciation for support once it was acknowledged.
Power struggle is a struggle for manipulating control. Set an intention not to be in a power struggle and simply respond rather than react. Choose what you want to create when you step back and observe your impulse. At this point someone in the audience asked about anger. Gary’s response was “No one can stop you in creating anger except for you” I believe this and hear it, but I am still learning how to practice it. I can recognize when I’m angry, I can even pinpoint where it stems from most times, but I’m still figuring out how to let go of it once I’ve recognized it. I’m still practicing and will continue to do so, as I don’t want to choose to be angry, that’s miserable. I’m reading The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner which has some wonderful lessons and stories about anger and the subtle hold it can have on us without us even knowing.
Intuition is the 3rd key. Intuition is guidance happening all the time. Everyone has that guidance, you just have to be open to it. Being open to my own intuition was a pivotal moment in my life. Once I was open to receiving the divine guidance that is given to each and every one of us, my life changed. I received validation constantly that I was on the right path in a “just knowing” feeling. It’s not the easiest thing to explain, but in my gut, I just knew. This is my go-to if I question something, I check in with my gut and it is a distinct difference in feeling between yes and no. There are many ways to check-in with your intuition and you should explore what works best for you in your knowing. Intuition is an ongoing process, one that takes practice as well as mindfulness to continue to go deeper. Get curious. Ask the universe for guidance or help when you need it. If you’re open to seeing the signs and symbols the universe will send to you, I promise you will see it. It may not be in the way you expected or wanted, but you will see it in some way.
The last key to authenticity is trust. Trust the universe. Every experience is karmic necessity. You are given what is required for your spiritual development. This is a hard one for me, especially when the really tough life lessons occur. I want to ask “Why me, Why is this happening to Me?” Like I’ve done something wrong to deserve having to go through this pain, heartache, loss, etc. The crazy thing is that on the other side of that is the lesson and the clarity you can feel after actually letting yourself go through that and actually letting yourself feel it all and observe what that does to you and for you is a true gift. I know it’s hard to wrap your head around at the time, and even sometimes after, but the hard times are what make us who we are and we have to trust the universe the most in those times.
So these 4 keys are an incredible guide to being your most authentic self. They aren’t as straightforward as we’d like at times, but then again nothing really is. Gary said something beautiful in closing out the lecture when talking about his and Linda’s spiritual and business partnerships. He said that when he speaks, he communicates, but when Linda speaks, she connects. One can only hope for such a balanced realtionship and I always have the goal of doing both when I speak.
Gary has a book The Seat in the Soul which is on my list to read, especially after having had the pleasure of hearing this lecture. There is also a podcast on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday where she speaks with Gary and Linda. Gary and Linda also have an institute seatofthesoul.com with differnt courses and retreats to learn more.
It is my goal to live an authentic life every single day. I am grateful to Gary and Linda for sharing 4 keys to doing just that.
Mindfully Authentic 