Welcome,
I'm Tamara,
Your happiness expert and this is a meditation on authenticity.
On Thursday,
The happiness habit is to practice knowing and showing your authentic self.
When you learn to trust yourself,
In Golda Mir's words,
You can create the kind of self that you'll be happy to live with all your life.
Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.
So,
I'd like you to start by finding a position,
Either seated or laying down,
That you can hold comfortably.
And then once you've found that position,
Allow your eyes just to close gently,
Without effort,
Without squeezing them tightly.
And check in across your face,
Through your jawline,
Right up to the top of your head,
Down your body,
Out to your arms and legs.
See if you can relax as much as possible.
And I'd like you to start by taking an inhale with me.
And just feel that breath,
Flood your body and release it.
And again,
Another inhale.
Inhaling strength and confidence and release.
Release anything you need to let go of.
And one last time,
Inhale.
And release.
An authentic person knows what they want,
They know what they're feeling,
They know who they are and what they stand for.
Authentic people aren't afraid to show who they are.
In fact,
They couldn't possibly imagine hiding who they are from those around them.
As you begin this journey to connecting with that inner self,
I want you to think back to a time as perhaps a young child when you knew exactly who you were and what you wanted.
When children play together,
Everybody runs to the left.
Nobody questions,
Should I run that way?
What will happen if I go the other way?
Why are we doing this?
There is a deep-seated knowing that comes with play in childhood.
All too quickly,
As we begin to become educated by our parents,
By our school,
By our peers,
Perhaps by your community or your religion,
We start to develop a list of shoulds and musts that go along with behavior and etiquette.
And quietly,
We begin to believe that perhaps these others know more about what's good for us than we know about ourselves.
Being authentic is your ability to tap back into that deep knowing that actually,
You are your best expert and you know what is best for you.
This is sometimes described as separation of ego and true self.
Ego is that part of you that needs to please,
That part of you that defines the way you want to be perceived by others.
Some might say it's the mask you wear.
Your true self isn't what you see when you look in the mirror.
Your true self is the one who's looking.
The ego is always looking for something,
But the spirit or true self knows what's already there.
So I'd like you to start just by thinking about what you know about yourself.
Asking the question,
Who am I?
Who am I?
There's going to be lots of different answers to this question.
Who you are today is different than who you were five years ago.
Or perhaps it's the same.
Who you are when you're being a child is different than when you're being a colleague.
Or is it?
Just explore this question.
Who am I?
Take a moment to be a student of yourself.
Think about how you've set up your participation in this world.
Are you a morning person or a night person?
Do you love abundance or simplicity?
Do you love starting things?
Or are you someone who loves the whole process and completion is included in that?
Are you a social butterfly?
Or do you prefer alone time?
As you begin to spend time thinking about who you are and more importantly why you are that way,
You develop a keen sense of your authentic self and this leads to the confidence to show that self to those around you.
Brene Brown says,
The truth is belonging starts with self acceptance.
Your level of belonging in fact can never be greater than your level of self acceptance because believing that you are enough is what gives you courage to be authentic,
Vulnerable and imperfect.
As we move to the silent portion of this meditation,
I'd like you to plant the intention of spending time today really recognizing who you are at that true self level.
We will use a mantra for the silent portion and it basically means my true self can be trusted to lead me.
This mantra is Om Ritan Nama.
As you sit during the silent portion,
You'll repeat that to yourself silently again and again as an anchor to keep you from your thoughts.
Om Ritan Nama.
I'll mind the time so you don't have to and when this meditation is complete,
You will hear a chime.
Om Ritan Nama.
Om Ritan Nama.
Om Ritan Nama.
Om Ritan Nama.
Om Ritan Nama.
Om Ritan Nama.
So,
It's time to release the mantra,
Bringing your attention back to your physical body,
Back to this moment.
Remember,
As you shine your inner light on your true self,
Anything becomes possible.
Knowing yourself and showing yourself to others will increase your happiness.
Have a beautiful day.
Namaste.
