Quotes About Authenticity

being ordained is not about serving God perfectly but about serving God visibly, allowing other people to learn whatever they can from watching you rise and fall. "You probably won't be much worse than other people," he said, "and you certainly won't be any better, but you will have to let people look at you. You will have to let them see you as you are.

Consciousness. That was it! The difference between my ordinary urban life and my wooded Tantric retreats was consciousness. If I could be completely conscious and present in each moment, it wouldn't matter whether I practiced Tantra in Bali or on the Bowery. Not only would location not matter, but neither would strict adherence to "traditional" Tantric practices. Anything I performed with complete consciousness would be completely alive, authentic, and transformative.

See who you are. Be what you see.

We had all commenced that thrusting and parrying that always goes on when you meet new people. How I hated those games. I wondered if they went on forever. Did you ever grow up enough not to have to jockey for position? Could you ever just say, 'Hi, I'm Rachel Gold. I like to read and eat. Who are you?

Integrity isn't something you have in some parts of your life and not in others. You either have it or you don't.

many who claimed to want the truth actually wanted anything but.

I'm not saying don't do it. I'm just saying don't pretend it's not a big deal when it obviously is.

We need to find the courage to say no to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity.

You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back. Barbara De Angelis

How do you know if you like someone because you really do like that person, or if you like him only because you think you're supposed to?

What I'm about—what I'm all about—is revealing something true. Something deep inside, that maybe you didn't even know existed. But that you need to share with the world.

Confrontation is what happens when you are less than honest and you get caught.

The question was whether James would love me if I was someone else.

could also relate to wanting me to be someone I wasn't, though James couldn't be faulted for that. It had been all my doing.

The trouble with waking up in the morning is that you look like who you are. That's great if you like who you are – not so great if you don't.

I think the reason that men are so very violent is that they know, deep in themselves, that they're acting out a lie, and so they're furious at being caught up in the lie. But they don't know how to break it…. They're in a rage because they are acting out a lie—which means that in some deep part of themselves they want to be delivered from it, are homesick for the truth.

She'd never learned to censor herself.

Develop the habit of reaching in. It's a way to come home to ourselves, to be whole. Those who consistently express themselves feel homesick if, from time to time, they are unable to.

The emotional excess of music felt more real than the muted emotion and soft demeanor I expressed in daily life. When I was this passionately engaged I didn't need anything else to "complete" me; not a man, not a career affirmation. I only had to give in to the music to live an immense life that I could experience any time I chose.

Try not to worry about what others will think—you alone are inside your soul and know what will bring you the greatest satisfaction and make you feel fully alive. Be acutely aware of the things you enjoy and have always wanted to do. Don't dismiss an interest because you think it's too late to start. Remember, Socrates wanted to learn to play the lyre three days before his execution!

You deserve to be happy. You also deserve to be you

You must get hurt a lot," he murmured. She looked at him in surprise. "Why do you say that?" "Because you don't hide anything. You put yourself out there for the world to like or dislike.

It's not your name that's important. It's who you are. It's living a life of truth, a life without fear

If you like what you do, then own it," he said. "Be whoever you want to be. The worst thing is trying to be someone you're not.