True Living with Authentic Intention

Process

Living authentically requires a certain recognition of perspective and a supportive process. Many of the perspectives and philosophies individuals have been culturalized to possess are contrary to authentic manifestation and sometimes even self-destructive. True Living uses the following process to further support authentic living.

Finding Integrity

Although Truth and Integrity are strongly related they are very different things.  Truth is what is correct and accurate and honest for you as an individual.  Integrity is a state of being whereby we hold only Truth in our heart, mind, body and soul. Integrity becomes an ever developing process of manifesting Truth for ourself and those around us.  It involves becoming whole and clear only when encased within the embracing of our Truth. Integrity also involves embracing and accepting other individual's Truth and recognizing it as part of the greater fabric of our existence.  Honoring and supporting other people’s Truth even when it differs from our own is the highest manifestation of integrity.  With True Living we constantly seek the highest Integrity in thought, action, emotion, and word possible at all times.

Recognition of Choice

Everything we do in life is a result of choices we make. In every turn and interaction we face one or more choices on how to proceed. At times it may feel like there is "no choice" but the reality is that we just don’t like the consequences of the other options. With True Living we seek to recognize the choices we are given in life, understand the real consequences of the options, and make choices based on desire and intention rather than fear of the consequences.

Expectation vs. Desire

Many people walk through life with "images" of how things "should be." These "images" and "shoulds" cloud perception and judgment in life. They lead individuals and even groups down a path of thinking that this is what "will be." Eventually it is discovered that the "images" of what individuals think "should be" and come to believe "will be" do not match the reality of what actually is.  Needless to say this is often disappointing and can lead to frustration and despair when the mismatch continues over time. With True Living we focus on understanding the core issue of the "image" and replacing the "should be" that follows instead with desire. Once the desire – usually broad and not too specific – is firmly acknowledged we can begin the process of intentional manifestation.  True Living focuses on our desires and how to fulfill them with maximum joy.

Intentional Manifestation

Intentional manifestation is the process by which we empower and grow our authentic self. It begins with understanding our goals, needs, and desires. Once we are clear about what we desire we can give thought to the best way to manifest it. By pausing to give thought on our manifestation we are able to be intentional about going about it. This means we can think about what is effective, what is an appropriate venue, and what behaviors and attitudes are most effective.  True Living infuses intention into every thought and action.

Ethics

Societies are built on a foundation of ethics. They help individuals decide what is right and what is wrong so that the society can exist together as a community. Each culture’s ethics might be a little different but they all have commonalities and at least a few specific ethics in common. Commonalities include ethics about behaviors like theft, killing, physical violence, work, and spirituality. The problem with ethics in societies, however, is that they are subject to corruption, hijack, or just blatant disregard either by individuals or even collectively as a society. The other important thing to note about ethics is that they are "flexible" in most societies even though by their very definition they really aren’t. Within a reasonable limit there is some "flexibility" within which an individual can still avoid being perceived as blatantly wrong or bad. In some societies as they become more open, individuals can find wide latitude in how to define their personal ethics – specifically in areas such as work, relationships, and certain social behaviors. With True Living we seek to define our own ethical beliefs and then live wholly within that framework as much as is humanly possible.

Values

While ethics help define right and wrong for a society our individual values help define what is important to us. While right and wrong help us know what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior the important issues as defined by our values help guide the choices we make in life. Values can often be seen best by looking at the choices we make in life. Examine choices such as career – Are we in a career that we enjoy? Does this career earn a lot of money or only a little? Which is more important to us – happiness or wealth? Examine our relationships – Do we have a lot of friends or just a few? Are they close and intimate or just casual? Does our house have many material items, lots of gadgets, expensive art or none of that? What kind of car do we drive? Where do we spend our money and on what? Do we give money or time or both or neither to charity? Do we recycle? All these examinations and more will help define our values as we begin to understand what is important to us. Be careful in assuming what the core value is though, because values, like ethics, are subject to corruption or flexibility. Additionally, values can get caught up in the fear cycle of "image", "should be", and "will be." Although something may be important to us, we might not always act that way because of our fears of choice.  With True Living we will define our own values free from societal pressure and self-destructive behaviors.

Communication

Communication skills, or more appropriately poor communication skills are often the biggest stumbling block individuals face in manifesting their inner truth. While we may reach a point of greater understanding and recognition of our inner truth, ethics, values, and desires – if we can’t articulate it well to both ourself and others it might all be for naught! When communicating our inner truth it is important to properly acknowledge our emotions. Emotions revolving around big life issues such as career, relationships, marriage, kids, money, love, intimacy, housing, and parents are usually deep and complex. Common components of this emotional swirl are fear and shame. These two components are often rooted in our childhood or our culturalization from society. In True Living we work on overcoming these barriers but first we must learn to communicate through them. With True Living we will focus on skills such as articulating our gut response, identification and articulation of fears, voicing our emotions, use of "I feel" statements, and identification and articulation of choice.

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