YES! Day 1

Last night while consulting my sources, I received the message to begin the year immediately. And what better way to begin it than to define exactly what it means to live authentically?

Turns out that I'm not the first person to attempt this journey--not even the first on Blogspot. And so I will link to I Should Be Wise, whose wonderful description I will use as a starting point:

In a by no means exhaustive list, I believe people live authentically when they:

• treat both themselves and others with respect and compassion;
• are less anchored in the past and less worried about the future, but live in the moment;
• eat and drink healthy food and beverages mindfully, ethically, and sustainably;
• take care of their bodies, minds, and souls by exercising each;
• don't eat, drink, use drugs, shop, have sex, or engage in other addictive behavior in order to try to heal psychic wounds or holes in their souls;
• heal psychic wounds by doing necessary tough inner work, by grieving what needs to be grieved, and by forgiving themselves and others;
• don't use narrow understandings of ineffable matters (God, for instance) to harm, marginalize, hate, or judge others;
• engage in work with a purpose of higher good, a purpose that is not solely amassing as much wealth as possible;
• are grateful for the abundance in their lives and are willing to share it;
• remain curious and open to learning and new experiences; and
• love easily, frequently, and cosmically.
  

To me, all these things are very important facets of living authentically. And taken together, they point to a definition: Living authentically means living one's life according to one's own God-given, Self-defined vision, with full integrity, responsibility, focus, and conscious awareness.

And that means my vision must now become defined. As of now I have only a vague idea of my mission and purpose in life. I know it has to do with mastering the physical body, creating beauty, spreading kindness, and teaching others how to find the truth about life, God, and who they are. I know it has to do with embodying feminine values and feminine Divinity. And I know it has to do with love and healing. But can I spin that into a concrete way to actually live on this planet and keep body and soul together?

It must be possible, or I would not have been given the desire to do it.