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Authenticity

Become the Author of Yourself

Following the path of inner authority.

Key points

  • We can reclaim the power and responsibility author our own lives.
  • The information comes from hundreds of clients curious about how to internally reference authority.
  • Lessons from our origin myth can help to face the challenges of authoring our lives.
  • There are concrete recommendations for supporting self-authoring.
Ractapopulous (JL G) / Pixabay
Source: Ractapopulous (JL G) / Pixabay

An old root of the word authority is “author.” We can say that in childhood, we are predominately authored by the adults in our world. That is, their values and expectations greatly define who we are. Pushback often begins around 24 months as we are more intrigued by the word No, and crescendos in adolescence.

A robust adolescence will often give rise to significant questions:

  • What might I lose by interrupting my compliance with external expectations?
  • How much of myself is lost by continued compliance?
  • What are my beliefs?
  • How different are my beliefs from those of the prevailing authority figures?
  • How safe do I feel stepping away from their beliefs?
  • Do I jeopardize my experience of belonging?

These questions remain far into our adulthood with bosses, cultural norms, and organizational values.

Origin Myth Teachings

Many indigenous peoples tell their origin myth at the day's main meal. Typically, there’s an oral tradition with the story passed down through generations, hoping to convey some essential life lessons.

Many people identify with the Judeo-Christian origin myth. The story of Adam and Eve is believed to have been created around 600 BCE by four contributing tribes. We could view the story from a traditional religious perspective, containing themes of disobedience, sin, and banishment. This version will not likely not be recited at your next main meal. Let’s take a closer look at the story.

From the book of Genesis, “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man this, ‘From every tree of the garden you may eat; but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you must not eat; for the day you eat it, you must die.’" (St. Joseph Edition of the Bible)

As the story goes, a little temptation and the intrigue issued by “don’t eat of that tree,” well, you know the rest. God, or the father in the story, decides it’s time for Adam and Eve to find a new home. And the prediction that death would follow their disobedience is actual. From a mythic perspective, their childhood dies. Their choice has them shifting from being obedient to claiming more inner authority. Now, they must create their own moral standard, deciding what’s most essential for them.

We can say that the myth offers several significant considerations:

  • Does parenting often include the desire to have children remain children?
  • Can there be a punitive response from a parent when a child claims more inner authority?
  • Is losing a sense of belonging to a family or an organization one possibility when exercising more inner authority?
  • Is it common for children to believe they can know as much as a parent?
  • What does it take for a parent to honor children desiring their own values?

A Personal Step into the Origin Myth

At 19, I ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of philosophy. The 19th-century German Philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach significantly impacted my religious beliefs. On a weekend visit home, I decided to declare my inner authority. I gathered my Irish Catholic family, took a deep breath, and announced, “I’m an atheist.”

My mother, not sure what an atheist was, decided it had something to do with Communism and collapsed into a heap. My father abruptly reacted, “I don’t give a damn what you are. When you’re home, you’ll go to church.” I quickly responded,“ Well, looks like I won’t be home much,” leaving me feeling quite smug about the courage to take a significant step away from the tribe, claiming inner authority. There were a few occasional comments about my church attendance, but, for the most part, my atheism got very little attention from the family after that initial declaration.

Inner Authority Recommendations

  • Permit yourself to feel any belief or value emerging in you that differs from the people and organizations you travel in.
  • Is the risk worth voicing or acting on in accordance with your worldview?
  • How will you support yourself if you come forward with your unique vision?
  • Get honest about your inability to create genuine belonging through compliance.
  • Accept your emerging inner authority as not so much about you but more about anyone devoted to living authentically.
  • Hold a measure of compassion for yourself and those holding diverse beliefs.
  • Learn to accept the responsibility to author yourself, again, again, and again, along with the tension accompanying the process.
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