what is the authentic self on a personal level?

[LoveandPurpose]

Leo said that it's the self-actualized version of oneself.

But that would mean changing yourself. Isn't discovering who you really are more a looking and accepting rather than a changing of oneself?

[LoveandPurpose]

PLEASE MY DUDES

[B_Naz]

When people look at who they really are and accept that, then they naturally change. It's not a forced change

Most people believe that they are this person/identity, but who told them or encouraged them to be this? Most likely their parents and society -> not created by themselves.

People merely believed in this identity that they made by following the influence of the outside to create this authentic nature which validates the identity. The problem with this is that there isn't any investigation or questioning on the self.

Also change is kinda bullshit. "Oh I'm going to change my life", well your life is already changed. Every minute you're changing, it's a dynamic mechanic.

Authentic self is the self that is reading this now

Edited March 19, 2019 by B_Naz

[kieranperez]

There is no static authentic self (unless you’re talking about complete Nothingness). As far as your character, yeah you’re always changing. This is why enlightenment is necessary in order to truly understand and learn how to embody true authenticity through trial and error. This is also why it’s important to apply radical ruthless honesty. All your lies, phoniness, pretending, putting on a certain image is important because it burns all of that up. 

I suggest you look into the following resources:

• Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton
• Practicing Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton
• Peter Ralston’s books
• Peter Ralston’s Cheng Hsin Workshop: Communication & Relationship
• Psychedelics
• God  

[ivory]

Authenticity is a complex topic. But at a basic level, here are some of the qualities:

 

• You do things out of love and enjoyment rather than to seek validation or doing things you think you "should" do.
• You do the things you say you are going to do.
• You accept where you're at on your journey (self-acceptance) and realize that change happens at a slow pace.
• You express your likes and dislikes.
• You take responsibility for you life and your actions.
• You do things because you love yourself, not to be hard on yourself.
• You are able to be honest with others about what you do and who you are.

[Zigzag Idiot]

On 3/17/2019 at 2:09 PM, LoveandPurpose said:

Leo said that it's the self-actualized version of oneself.

But that would mean changing yourself. Isn't discovering who you really are more a looking and accepting rather than a changing of oneself?

Being a Human Being and Still Being the Absolute

The development of consciousness has to do with living in this life from the perspective of the Absolute. The Personal Essence, the Pearl Beyond Price, has to do with being a human being and still being the Absolute. If you’re just the Absolute, you are not a human being. But you live in this world, you have a physical body and a mind, you have work and relationships. You need the Personal Essence in order to be able to live personally as a human being and still be the Absolute. So the development of the personal aspect has to do with integrating all of these things that are important for our life into the various levels of consciousness, and then into the Absolute. This is an actual process that has to do with the metabolism of the Absolute into the Personal Essence. Although it is rarely mentioned in spiritual literature, the integration of the person into the Absolute is vital because we live in the world and not in a monastery or cave. Integrating the person into the Absolute is more difficult than experiencing the Absolute. Integration requires that you deal with and metabolize your unconscious and your personal history. You have to really let all of the unconscious come out, to face all of your specific issues and areas of conflict and ignorance. Many traditions don’t care about integration but strive only to reach the Absolute. They don’t care about the personal life. The point for them is to know the Absolute and leave. In other traditions, and in our work, the point is to know the Absolute and live in the world as an expression of it. So how can you live a human life from the perspective of absence? That is the realm of development, change, and transformation within consciousness.

Diamond Heart Book Five, pg. 145 

Development of Essence from Being Impersonal to Being Personal

Unlike other aspects of Essence, this personal aspect (the pearl) goes through a process of development, growth, and expansion. Here the concepts of development and growth can be seen in their true and literal meaning. This true personality of the being is born, fed and nourished. It grows, expands, and develops in a very specific sense. It is really the development of Essence from being impersonal to being personal. Others might call it God becoming a human person, an individual. 

Essence with the Elixir of Enlightenment, pg. 163 

Experiencing the Pearl Beyond Price

The pearl beyond price, the incomparable pearl, the personal aspect of Essence is central for many important reasons. It is actually the true essential personality. It is the person. It is experienced as oneself. When the individual finally perceives it, the contented expression often is "but this is me!" The sense is of oneself as a precious being. There is then a fullness, a completeness, and a contentment. It is as if the individual feels full and complete, realized. Nothing is lacking. No more search, no desire or wanting anything else. The person feels "now I have myself. I am a complete individual. I am full. I am fullness. I am complete. I want nothing else." 

Essence with the Elixir of Enlightenment, pg. 161

It is Possible to Experience Egoless Beingness

Thus it is possible to experience egoless beingness, to be, as a substantial presence that is not a mental construct, and still live a human, personal life, in which love, work, knowledge, creativity and accomplishment make sense, a human sense. This true existence, this presence, this being beyond time that makes sense of human and personal life, is the Personal Essence. It is the reality of which ego is only a reflection. It is the truly integrated and developed human being. This is the beautiful presence that the traditional literature of work schools calls the “pearl beyond price.” The experience of universal impersonality of ultimate reality occurs when the separate individuality is transcended, when the separate individuality is seen not to be our true self. But this is the result of transcending the personality in its totality. Something different happens when we investigate the personality’s manifestations in more detail, exploring the hidden essential truth within it. The ego is a reflection of this true element of Being, the Personal Essence, and exploring the characteristics of the reflection can lead us to the reality being reflected. By isolating and understanding the elements of the false, we can begin to approach the elements of the real.

Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 32 

Knowledge of the Incomparable Pearl is Rare

The knowledge of the Incomparable Pearl and the process of its development is rare even in the most complete spiritual teachings, and the traditions that know it do not speak much about it. This is why the overwhelming impression one gets from most spiritual teachings is that the goal of spiritual work is the realization of impersonal Being or the realization of the Soul’s relationship to it (as in the Christian tradition.) The literature regarding the Pearl is sparse, and when it can be found, it is usually couched in metaphorical and symbolic language. Sometimes the language is more direct and descriptive, but it appears metaphorical to most people, because they lack the direct experience. The story, “The Hymn of the Soul,” in Chapter Eight, is an example. There are very few direct references to the Personal Essence in the literature, and these are found mainly in old books not in circulation. In this chapter we will describe some of those references; although they are rare, they tend to confirm and support our own understanding of the importance of the development of the Pearl.

Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 115

Relating Without Object Relations 

The Pearl beyond price can relate in a personal way without the need to activate past object relations. So its capacity is not only innate but also natural and spontaneous. 

Pearl Beyond Price, pg. 172 

Station of the Pearl

The station of the pearl beyond price is so significant because it is not a matter of a state of consciousness or a state of being; it is rather the condition of the actualization of one's realization in one's life. Being becomes personal being, a complete human being living fully the life of objective truth. 

Essence with the Elixir of Enlightenment, pg. 166 

The Essential Structure that the Soul Develops as She Metabolizes and Transcends her Ego Structure 

The pearl can also be seen as the essential structure that the soul develops as she metabolizes and transcends her ego structure. Ego structure gives the ego-self the sense of being an autonomous and unique individual. But this structure is constructed through fixed mental impressions in the soul; hence it both dissociates her from her essential ground and limits her development because of its rigidity and fixation. The essential pearl provides the soul with a sense of individuality and personhood that does not depend on fixed impressions, but on spontaneously arising forms of essential presence that structure her experience of herself and give her the capacity to function as a person. The soul matures and transforms into a person of essence. However, the qualities and actions of this person are quite fluid and flexible and are objective responses resonant to the needs and inputs of the environment.

The Inner Journey Home, pg. 223

The Pearl is an Ontological Presence

The pearl is the real, complete, balanced, and rounded personality that psychologists believe they are talking about when they are discussing the ego. We must remember that the ego is a structure, or structured process, whereas the pearl is Essence, which means the pearl is an ontological Presence. We call it the Personal Essence because among all the essential aspects it alone is personal. It is experienced as having a personal flavor to it, in contradistinction to impersonal. All aspects of Essence, even love and kindness, are impersonal. But the pearl is personal. And this is its miraculous quality, totally unexpected and unfathomable. 

Essence with the Elixir of Enlightenment, pg. 162 

The Pearl is the Actualized Individuation of Your Soul

When you are who you are, when you are just precisely yourself, you are your “point.” Just that. This has nothing to do with any qualities, functions, capacities, and skills you may have. It has nothing to do with your status in the world, and nothing to do with living this life in a body or not in a body. It is your nature. The Pearl Beyond Price is the connection between this genuine center and all the capacities, skills, and understanding that are a part of your growth as a human being. It allows your capacities, functions and accomplishments to develop in a genuine way as an outgrowth of your spontaneous unfoldment. It is the result of living in the moment, living in a way that is true to who you are. This is your genuine personal life, your own development, your own growth. The pearl is the actualized individuation of your Soul. So the personal essence is connected with your unique function, your unique work in this life. To actualize your particular unique work in this life means to be your personal essence. It is the essence of all that you have developed and integrated in your soul as you live a real life. Everyone is born with the true self, with the point. Although we feel that the point is unique in each of us, the quality of the point is universal. Then how do people become so different in their personal lives? This is due to the particular development of their personal essence.

Diamond Heart Book Three, pg. 66

 

note: Almaas refers to the soul with the feminine pronoun 'she'.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Zigzag Idiot

[Zigzag Idiot]

On 3/19/2019 at 3:58 PM, kieranperez said:

There is no static authentic self (unless you’re talking about complete Nothingness). As far as your character, yeah you’re always changing. This is why enlightenment is necessary in order to truly understand and learn how to embody true authenticity through trial and error. This is also why it’s important to apply radical ruthless honesty. All your lies, phoniness, pretending, putting on a certain image is important because it burns all of that up. 

I suggest you look into the following resources:

• Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton
• Practicing Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton
• Peter Ralston’s books
• Peter Ralston’s Cheng Hsin Workshop: Communication & Relationship
• Psychedelics
• God  

I'm not disagreeing with what you say. I would just argue in there being also this personal aspect of essence which is the cleaned up version of the false personality that the Fourth Way speaks of and realizing the nothingness of it.  All the passions of the Enneagram within oneself transformed into the virtues on the flip side of the specific energy.

[kieranperez]

3 minutes ago, Zigzag Idiot said:

I'm not disagreeing with what you say. I would just argue in there being also this personal aspect of essence which is the cleaned up version of the false personality that the Fourth Way speaks of and realizing the nothingness of it.  All the passions of the Enneagram within oneself transformed into the virtues on the flip side of the specific energy.

Personality types show common patterns. You could make an infinite number more personality types as that’s the nature of making distinctions. I certainly think personality tests are helpful. I wouldn’t cling to them though. They point out tendencies you have had even prior to taking the tests. I see a lot of people, myself included (particularly recently), getting too fixated on them though so don’t try and base your decisions based on tests. 

Regarding the cleaning up aspect of which you mention, that’s where radical, ruthless, non-manipulative honesty comes in in your interractions with others and with yourself. This burns the boat of all the pretending (there’s A LOT). This is incredibly powerful. Honesty is a spiritual practice that we don’t appreciate. Honesty is transformative in myriad of ways. 

Also, shadow work. You will always have a shadow and that work will empower you to become more and more authentic.