Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness.

Today, I'm going to talk

about true authenticity.

Now, this is a really interesting

topic because, you know, you might

think, Hey, I'm being authentic.

I'm just telling it like it is.

Or there's a basic idea of

kind of this is just who I am,

too bad if you don't like it.

You know, that authenticity is this kind

of unrestrained expressing of whatever's

on our mind or however we're feeling,

no matter how it affects other people.

But true authenticity is not about

just doing whatever we want to do and

saying whatever we want to say while

disregarding how it affects other people.

It's really about knowing yourself

deeply and being yourself more fully.

So being able to engage with the world

around you in ways that are not defined

by the egoic mind and this tendency

towards fear, greed and reactivity.

But rather engaging with the world

in ways that are defined by your

deeper nature of awareness itself

and its qualities like compassion,

wisdom, patience, courage, and love.

These qualities are an integral

part of awareness and an integral

part of what it means to be more

and more authentic in our lives.

So being truly authentic doesn't

mean to just say or do whatever

we want with no restraint or care.

It means having the ability to unhook

ourselves from the thinking mind

and speak and act with awareness

and compassion as best we can.

And authenticity is a practice.

So as we train in mindfulness,

as we become more aware, we're

essentially becoming more self-aware

and more able to show up with

true authenticity in our lives.

So as always, thank you for your

practice and your presence here with us.

And now let's settle in

for today's meditation.